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Simple Summary: Thailand's polyvoltine hybrid silkworm, Dok Bua, is 30% more productive than indigenous breeds and is robust and well-suited to the local environment, making it a preferred choice in Thai sericulture. However, synthetic insecticides used on mulberry pests pose risks to silkworms. Neem extract tends to be a safer alternative. The potential toxicity of Thai neem seed extract on this silkworm and their enzymatic detoxification capability could substantially affect their growth and productivity. To explore this, we carried out toxicological and biochemical assessments. The results indicated that the extract had a significant toxicity across all larval stages. Younger larvae were notably more susceptible. We proceeded to examine the activity of the key enzymes implicated in xenobiotic metabolism. The finding that the detoxification enzyme had a low level of activity in the early instar larvae aligned with the larvae mortality. Neem extract suppressed esterase activity but induced glutathione S-transferases (GST) activity, remarkably, in the whole body. Despite its toxicity, GST metabolism could mitigate the effects, indicating the detoxification capabilities of silkworms. These novel findings suggest that neem extract is toxic to all larvae, with GST playing a critical role in detoxification, highlighting the need for careful consideration in sustainable sericulture safety practices. Neem, a biopesticide, offers a safer alternative to the synthetic insecticides commonly used in mulberry cultivation, which can harm silkworms. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Thai neem seed extract on all instar larvae of the Thai polyvoltine hybrid silkworm, Bombyx mori L., Dok Bua strains, focusing on the mortality rate and the activities of esterase (EST) and glutathione S-transferases (GST) enzymes. Acute toxicity was assessed using the leaf-dipping method. Results showed that the mortality rate tended to be higher in younger instars than in older ones. The first instar larvae exhibited the highest mortality rate at 94%, whereas the LC50 was highest in the third instar at 5.23 mg L−1 at 72 h. This trend aligns with the activities of EST and GST, which were evaluated in the whole bodies of the first instar larvae and the midgut tissue of fifth instar larvae. As the extract concentration increased, EST activity decreased while GST activity increased in both the first and fifth instar larvae. These findings highlight that neem extract is toxic to all instar larvae, with GST playing a crucial role in detoxification, particularly in the whole body of the Thai polyvoltine hybrid silkworm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid advancement of deep learning technologies presents novel opportunities for restoring damaged patterns in ancient silk, which is pivotal for the preservation and propagation of ancient silk culture. This study systematically scrutinizes the evolutionary trajectory of image inpainting algorithms, with a particular emphasis on those firmly rooted in the Context-Encoder structure. To achieve this study's objectives, a meticulously curated dataset comprising 6996 samples of ancient Chinese silk (256 × 256 pixels) was employed. Context-Encoder-based image inpainting models—LISK, MADF, and MEDFE—were employed to inpaint damaged patterns. The ensuing restoration effects underwent rigorous evaluation, providing a comprehensive analysis of the inherent strengths and limitations of each model. This study not only provides a theoretical foundation for adopting image restoration algorithms grounded in the Context-Encoder structure but also offers ample scope for exploration in achieving more effective restorations of ancient damaged silk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that sericulture is an important branch of animal husbandry, not only for the production of silk but also as a valuable source of protein, it is necessary to constantly study the possibilities for its improvement as a branch of this domain. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the nutritional value and digestibility of mulberry leaves from the Kokuso 21 and Eforie varieties, as consumed by silkworms (Bombyx mori L., Bombicidae Family, Lepidoptera Order) during a summer study, in 2021. The Japanese variety (Kokuso 21) and the Romanian variety (Eforie) were used as food sources for the Triumf hybrid, developed in Romania; the larvae were divided in two batches of 300 larvae and each set was subdivided into six groups of 50 larvae, which were raised in paper trays based on their age and size. The research indicated that mulberry leaves have an average digestibility value of 54.46%; the aging process of the leaves altered their chemical composition, with most nutrients showing a decreasing trend in digestibility throughout the larval growth period, except for crude fiber, which remained unchanged in the early larval stages and increased to 26.78% towards the end of the experiment. Overall, the Kokuso 21 variety demonstrated superior nutrient digestibility compared to Eforie. An important finding from this study is the need for future research to determine the degree of nutrient metabolism and conversion into silk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect farming is gaining attention as a promising area for exploring probiotic bacteria, which can benefit both insect health and various industries. Silkworm farming is a key industry in Thailand; however, challenges such as disease susceptibility and optimising growth require innovative solutions for sustainable practices. Our study addresses this by assessing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in native Thai silkworm faeces, which accumulate as natural by-products during the rearing process. We conducted biochemical tests, including those for catalase, haemolytic activity, bile salt tolerance, antimicrobial activity, antibiotic susceptibility, and cell surface hydrophobicity, along with taxonomic classification. Out of 102 isolates, eight potential probiotics were selected, with five showing strong probiotic traits like acid and bile salt tolerance and cell surface hydrophobicity, enhancing gut survivability. These isolates also displayed antagonistic activity against pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Safety assessments confirmed their safety, with no haemolytic activity and sensitivity to antibiotics like chloramphenicol and amoxicillin. These LAB isolates (SP04, SP06, SP44, SP64, and SP67), identified as Enterococcus faecalis strain NBRC 100481, show promise as in vitro probiotics for silkworm rearing, calling for further in vivo evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorting unreelable inferior cocoons during the reeling process is essential for obtaining high-quality silk products. At present, silk reeling enterprises mainly rely on manual sorting, which is inefficient and labor-intensive. Automated sorting based on machine vision and sorting robots is a promising alternative. However, the accuracy and computational complexity of object detection are challenges for the practical application of automatic sorting, especially for small stains of inferior cocoons in images of densely distributed cocoons. To deal with this problem, an efficient fine-grained object detection network based on attention mechanism and multi-scale feature fusion, called AMMF-Net, is proposed for inferior silkworm cocoon recognition. In this model, fine-grained object features are key considerations to improve the detection accuracy. To efficiently extract fine-grained features of silkworm cocoon images, we designed an efficient hybrid feature extraction network (HFE-Net) that combines depth-wise separable convolution and Transformer as the backbone. It captures local and global information to extract fine-grained features of inferior silkworm cocoon images, improving the representation ability of the network. An efficient multi-scale feature fusion module (EMFF) is proposed as the neck of the object detection structure. It improves the typical down-sampling method of multi-scale feature fusion to avoid the loss of key information and achieve better performance. Our method is trained and evaluated on a dataset collected from multiple inferior cocoons. Extensive experiments validated the effectiveness and generalization performance of the HFE-Net network and the EMFF module, and the proposed AMMF-Net achieved the best detection results compared to other popular deep neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dimapur (Nagaland, India) is dominated by undifferentiated hillside slopes and alluvial plains. The Muga and Eri silk industries are important cultural and economic activities for the inhabitants of Dimapur. Profitable silk production requires adequate quality and quantity of healthy leaves and is highly dependent on the soil fertility of the region. Keeping this in view, the present study was carried out as a first attempt to prepare a geographic information system (GIS) map for Muga and Eri soils in Dimapur, Nagaland. A total 65 surface (0–15 cm) soil samples from Muga farms and 79 surface soil samples from Eri farms were collected and analysed for soil pH, organic carbon content and availability of macro- and micronutrients. Soils of both Muga and Eri farms were found to be extremely (<3.05) to moderately (5.09–6.84) acidic. Soils of Muga and Eri farms were found to have low to high organic carbon content (from 0.24 to 1.98%), low to high available nitrogen content (179.8–612.5 kg ha−1) and medium available phosphorus content (2.68–154.6 kg ha−1). The sulphur availability index was 0.26 and 11.81 for Muga and Eri host plant farms, respectively. The multi-macronutrient map revealed that 46.95% of the district's total geographical area (TGA) showed deficiencies in one or more macronutrients (high priority zone). Thus, these regions need urgent attention in terms of nutrient management decisions in order to reduce the declining trend of soil fertility and achieve sustainable sericulture production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major challenges that global society is facing nowadays is finding sustainable and safe methods for crop growth and development. Besides the traditional crops cultivated worldwide (tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, etc.), there is a general trend in the exploitation of polyvalent plants. Mulberry (Morus spp.) faced no exception; with its undeniable proprieties, it became suitable not only to be used in the sericulture industry, but in the food chain, the pharma industry, and environmental safety. Spare parts of the plants can be used in a very wide range, starting from introducing mulberry leaves in supplements to increase the protein content of a meal to extracting biologically active compounds from fruits and roots to be used in phytotherapy. However, the outstanding proprieties of this plant come with some requirements related to space availability and watering; requirements that can be easily surpassed by using vertical farming methods, such as hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic systems. The present paper aims to evaluate vertical farming techniques' applicability to mulberry propagation in a controlled environment and their prospects for a more sustainable and safer agricultural practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades there has been an increasing use of remotely sensed data for precision agricultural purposes. Sericulture, the activity of rearing silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) larvae to produce silk in the form of cocoons, is an agricultural practice that has rarely used remote sensing techniques but that could benefit from them. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of using satellite imaging in order to monitor leaf harvesting in mulberry (Morus alba L.) plants cultivated for feeding silkworms; additionally, quantitative parameters on silk cocoon production were related to the analyses on vegetation indices. Adopting PlanetScope satellite images, four M. alba fields were monitored from the beginning of the silkworm rearing season until its end in 2020 and 2021. The results of our work showed that a decrease in the multispectral vegetation indices in the mulberry plots due to leaf harvesting was correlated with the different parameters of silk cocoons spun by silkworm larvae; in particular, a decrease in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) had high correlations with quantitative silk cocoon production parameters (R2 values up to 0.56, p < 0.05). These results led us to the conclusion that precision agriculture can improve sericultural practice, offering interesting solutions for estimating the quantity of produced silk cocoons through the remote analysis of mulberry fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sericulture is a labor-intensive agro-industry business that can increase the community's welfare and support environmental improvement. In Indonesia, silk, as the final product of sericulture, is a potential non-timber forest product (NTFP) that provides benefits to livelihoods and the forest ecosystem. Silk is a fiber produced by the domestic silkworm or mulberry silk moth, Bombyx mori L., belonging to the Lepidopteran order, Bombycidae family, probably providing more than 99% of the world's silk. However, there are many challenges to its development at both upstream and downstream levels, including the availability of quality eggs, optimal and efficient cultivation, pest and disease control, a lack of policy support, unsustainable production, low product quality, and competition with imported products. This paper discusses the recent status and future directions of sericulture development in Indonesia. Improvements in technical and social-economic aspects can support the development of sericulture in Indonesia through increasing productivity in the upstream sector along with conducive downstream policies and governance. The domestic silkworm or mulberry silk moth, B. mori L., provides more than 99% of the world's silk. Silk, as a sericulture product, was first introduced in Indonesia through a trade mechanism and began to develop in 1953. Several factors (economic, ecological, market, and cultural) support sericulture and make it become one of the non-timber forest product priorities. However, the competitive advantages alone have not encouraged the development of prospective sericulture industry in Indonesia yet. This paper is a review of tropical sericulture development in Indonesia. The literature on the development of sericulture in Indonesia between 1989 and 2022 is used to describe conditions related to mulberry cultivation (moriculture), and silkworm rearing (sericulture), as well as the state of socio-economic development, culture, and institutions. Moriculture and sericulture techniques, socio-economic aspects, institutional arrangements, and community motivations are intertwined, creating a challenging atmosphere for sericulture development. There are potential resources, such as exploring quality mulberry production and quality silkworm production through research and development, valuable cultural aspects, and potential stakeholders to build network engagement. Commitment, cooperation, and action from all stakeholders are needed to enhance the development of sericulture in Indonesia. In this context, the central government can play an important role in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships in the development of integrated sericulture in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of natural substances able to fulfill the role of antioxidants in a physiologic environment is important for the development of therapies against diseases associated with excessive production of reactive oxygen species and ensuing oxidative stress. Antioxidant properties have been reported episodically for sericin, a proteinaceous constituent of the silk thread in the cocoons generated by the larvae of the Lepidoptera order. We investigated the sericin fractions isolated from the cocoons spun by the domesticated (Bombyx mori) silkworm. Three fractions were isolated and evaluated, including two peptidoid fractions, the crude sericin and the purified (dialyzed) sericin, and the non-peptidoid methanolic extract of the crude fraction. When subjected to Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assay, the extract showed much higher antioxidant capacity as compared to the crude or purified sericin fractions. The three fractions were also evaluated in cultures of murine retinal photoreceptor cells (661 W), a cell line that is highly susceptible to oxidants and is crucially involved in the retinopathies primarily caused by oxidative stress. The extract displayed a significant dose-dependent protective effect on the cultured cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide. In identical conditions, the crude sericin showed a certain level of antioxidative activity at a higher concentration, while the purified sericin did not show any activity. We concluded that the non-peptidoid components accompanying sericin were chiefly responsible for the previously reported antioxidant capacity associated with sericin fractions, a conclusion supported by the qualitative detection of flavonoids in the extract but not in the purified sericin fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Over the past two decades scientific research on sericulture, the agricultural activity of silk production, generated a great number of outputs in the form of articles reported and classified by one of the most well-known and used database dealing with scientific literature. This occurrence demonstrates an increasing interest in this sector especially starting from 2000s; results presented in relevant papers showed their applicability even in fields apparently not related to silk production as commonly meant, like medicine, cosmetics, and engineering. To understand how sericulture has been transcending its usual boundaries, which are its current "hotspots", and links with other fields of study, the authors propose a text-mining based analysis of the outputs of scientific research on sericulture and silk; the final goal is to establish "quantitative" indicators for researchers, entrepreneurs, and scholars. Traditionally, sericulture is meant as the agricultural activity of silk production, from mulberry (Morus sp.pl.) cultivation to silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) rearing. The aim of the present work is to analyze the trends and outputs of scientific research on sericulture-related topics during the last two decades, from 2000 to 2020. In this work the authors propose a text-mining analysis of the titles, abstracts and keywords of scientific articles focused on sericulture and available in the SCOPUS database considering the above-mentioned period of time; from this article collection, the 100 most recurrent terms were extracted and studied in detail. The number of publications per year in sericulture-related topics increased from 87 in 2000 to 363 in 2020 (+317%). The 100 most recurrent terms were then aggregated in clusters. The analysis shows how in the last period scientific research, besides the traditional themes of sericulture, also focused on alternative products obtainable from the sericultural practice, as fruits of mulberry trees (increment of +134% of the occurrences in the last five years) and chemical compounds as antioxidants (+233% of occurrences), phenolics (+330% of occurrences) and flavonoids (+274% of occurrences). From these considerations, the authors can state how sericulture is an active and multidisciplinary research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apart from being fed to silkworms in sericulture, the ecologically important Mulberry plant has been used for traditional medicine in Asian countries as well as in manufacturing wine, food, and beverages. Germplasm analysis among Mulberry cultivars originating from South Korea is crucial in the plant breeding program for cultivar development. Hence, the genetic deviations and relations among 8 Morus alba plants, and one Morus lhou plant, of different cultivars collected from South Korea were investigated using 10 randomamplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and 10 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers in the present study. The ISSR markers exhibited a higher polymorphism (63.42%) among mulberry genotypes in comparison to RAPD markers. Furthermore, the similarity coefficient was estimated for both markers and found to be varying between 0.183 and 0.814 for combined pooled data of ISSR and RAPD. The phenogram drawn using the UPGMA cluster method based on combined pooled data of RAPD and ISSR markers divided the nine mulberry genotypes into two divergent major groups and the two individual independent accessions. The distant relationship between Dae-Saug (SM1) and SangchonJo Sang Saeng (SM5) offers a possibility of utilizing them in mulberry cultivar improvement of Morus species of South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In deciding what crops to grow, farmers will look at, among other things, the economically most productive use of the water and land resources that they have access to. However, optimizing water and land use at the farm level may result in total water and land footprints at the catchment level that are in conflict with sustainable resource use. This study explores how data on water and land footprints, and on economic water and land productivity can inform micro-level decision making of crop choice, in the macro-level context of sustainable resource use. For a proposed sericulture project in Malawi, we calculated water and land footprints of silk along its production chain, and economic water and land productivities. We compared these to current cropping practices, and addressed the implications of water consumption at the catchment scale. We found that farmers may prefer irrigated silk production over currently grown rain-fed staple crops, because its economic water and land productivity is higher than that for currently grown crops. However, because the water footprint of irrigated silk is higher, sericulture will increase the pressure on local water resources. Since water consumption in the catchment generally does not exceed the maximum sustainable footprint, sericulture is a viable alternative crop for farmers in the case study area, as long as silk production remains small-scale (~3% of the area at most) and does not depress local food markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The silkworm Bombyx mori is an economically important species. White muscardine caused by Beauveria bassiana is the main fungal disease in sericulture, and understanding the silkworm responses to B. bassiana infection is of particular interest. Herein, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying these responses in two silkworm strains Haoyue (HY, sensitive to B. bassiana) and Kang 8 (K8, resistant to B. bassiana) using an RNA-seq approach. For each strain, three biological replicates for immersion treatment, two replicates for injection treatment and three untreated controls were collected to generate 16 libraries for sequencing. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between treated samples and untreated controls, and between the two silkworm strains, were identified. DEGs and the enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways of the two strains exhibited an obvious difference. Several genes encoding cuticle proteins, serine proteinase inhibitors (SPI) and antimicrobial peptides (AMP) and the drug metabolism pathway involved in toxin detoxification were considered to be related to the resistance of K8 to B. bassiana. These results revealed insight into the resistance and susceptibility of two silkworm strains against B. bassiana infection and provided a roadmap for silkworm molecular breeding to enhance its resistance to B. bassiana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The silkworm Bombyx mori is an economically important insect. The sericulture industry is seriously affected by pathogen infections. Of these pathogens, Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) causes approximately 80% of the total economic losses due to pathogen infections. We previously constructed a BmNPV-specific CRISPR/Cas9 silkworm line with significantly enhanced resistance to BmNPV. In order to optimize the resistance properties and minimize its impact on economic traits, we constructed an inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system for use in transgenic silkworms. We used the 39k promoter, which is induced by viral infection, to express Cas9 and the U6 promoter to express four small guide RNA targeting the genes encoding BmNPV late expression factors 1 and 3 (lef-1 and lef-3, respectively), which are essential for viral DNA replication. The system was rapidly activated when the silkworm was infected and showed considerably higher resistance to BmNPV infection than the wild-type silkworm. The inducible system significantly reduced the development effects due to the constitutive expression of Cas9. No obvious differences in developmental processes or economically important characteristics were observed between the resulting transgenic silkworms and wild-type silkworms. Adoption of this accurate and highly efficient inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system targeting BmNPV DNA replication will result in enhanced antivirus measures during sericulture, and our work also provides insights into the broader application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the control of infectious diseases and insect pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper describes the 16-years long activity of the Black Caspian Seas and Central Asia Silk Association, which was founded in 2005 to revive the sericultural activity in the area indicated by its own denomination. The reasons why this Association was established are described as a direct consequence of the decline in the sericulture agroindustry following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the world cocoon/raw silk decrease of production (except for China and India) since the 90s of the 20th century. Therefore, the enlargement of its membership to countries outside of the boundaries of the geographical area is outlined as well as its internal organization and the actions performed to promote the interaction among the member countries, especially the biyearly conferences. The international scenario is depicted to explain the criticalities experienced in promoting sericultural activities in the region, as well as the opportunities offered by the new applications of the silk, silk proteins and mulberry derivatives. The history and recent activities of the Black Caspian Seas and Central Asia Silk Association are presented in this paper: the countries that participated in its foundation, the FAO's action to revitalize sericulture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the following widening of the Association geographical limits of to enclose other European countries, which were not well-represented in other similar organizations. Some statistical data are illustrated for a better description of the scenario in which the BACSA executive board acted: the world silk production quantity and the relative production of BACSA countries in respect to the Chinese expansion. The themes treated in the BACSA conferences are reported to explain which matters the Executive Board considered the most relevant for the relaunch of this activity in relationships to the international challenges in the subsequent years; the project proposals that were presented to international donors are summarized. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is shown, where key-factors in determining the strengths and weaknesses of this organization and its member countries for a successful re-establishment of sericulture, are considered. In addition, future trends of sericulture with regard to innovative productions and the Green Deal are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The use of invertebrates as animal models is gaining attention within the scientific community due to numerous advantages during the development of the experiments, low cost of rearing, and fewer ethical problems. The well-documented biology of the silkworm (Bombyx mori) makes this insect an ideal candidate to be used in different fields of research. In this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of using the silkworm to evaluate the hypoglycemic action of various products of sericulture included in the diet after promoting glucose or sucrose-induced hyperglycemia in silkworms. The postprandial antihyperglycemic activity of fibroin, sericin, and powder made from pupae of silkworms is confirmed. These natural products are therefore ideal candidates for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, obesity, and other lifestyle-related diseases. Sericulture generates different natural products with potential medical applications. Silk peptides, worms, or even pupae are commonly employed in traditional Asian medicine with a wide variety of purposes, and some scientific work has been focused on their antidiabetic properties. This work evaluates the postprandial antihyperglycemic activity of fibroin, sericin, and powder made from either larvae or pupae of silkworms, and Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), employing the silkworm itself as an animal model. The results indicate a reduction in the glucose levels in hemolymph after sucrose or glucose-induced hyperglycemia when these products are included in the diet of the worms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The silkworm Bombyx mori is an economically important insect. The sericulture industry is seriously affected by pathogen infections. Of these pathogens, Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) causes approximately 80% of the total economic losses due to pathogen infections. We previously constructed a BmNPV-specific CRISPR/Cas9 silkworm line with significantly enhanced resistance to BmNPV. In order to optimize the resistance properties and minimize its impact on economic traits, we constructed an inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system for use in transgenic silkworms. We used the 39k promoter, which is induced by viral infection, to express Cas9 and the U6 promoter to express four small guide RNA targeting the genes encoding BmNPV late expression factors 1 and 3 ( lef-1 and lef-3 , respectively), which are essential for viral DNA replication. The system was rapidly activated when the silkworm was infected and showed considerably higher resistance to BmNPV infection than the wild-type silkworm. The inducible system significantly reduced the development effects due to the constitutive expression of Cas9 . No obvious differences in developmental processes or economically important characteristics were observed between the resulting transgenic silkworms and wild-type silkworms. Adoption of this accurate and highly efficient inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system targeting BmNPV DNA replication will result in enhanced antivirus measures during sericulture, and our work also provides insights into the broader application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the control of infectious diseases and insect pests.