Analysis of Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis Images of Protein from Posterior Silk Gland of Silkworm (Bombyx mori) on Day 1 and Day 4 in the 5th Instar Stage

The posterior silk gland (PSG) of silkworm is an important organ where fibroin is synthesized and secreted exclusively. Because fibroin constitutes 75–80% of the silk filament, the mechanism governing fibroin secretion, quality and yield of cocoon can be elucidated by the study on the PSG. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2–DE) and image analysis system, the changes in the protein composition in the PSG cell were investigated on the day 1 (D1) and day 4 (D4) in the 5th instar stage from five different strains of silkworm (Bombyx mori). While differences at protein level between days and strains were far less than those observed at the gene level using EST analysis. The change trends in protein composition from D1 to D4 were diverse among the different strains. The results suggest that the secretion of fibroin is regulated by multiple proteins. The site of regulation and the proteins responsible for the regulation vary with the strain, which leads to differences between strains in the capacity of fibroin secretion in the PSG cell.