Preliminary Study on a Microsporidian Isolate Occurring in the Lamerin Breed of the Silkworm Bombyx mori L. in India

Abstract

The silkworm, Bombyx mori L. is prone to infection of various pathogenic organisms. Pebrine, one of the deadliest disease of silkworm caused by highly virulent parasitic microsporidian, Nosema bombycis has been understood since long. Infections of the disease range from chronic to highly virulent and can result in complete lose to the sericulture industry. Several strains and species of microsporidians have since been isolated from the infected silkworms. A new microsporidian spore was isolated from Lamerin breed of the silkworm B. mori have been studied under scanning electron microscope, found to be different in spore size (length 4.36 ± 0.06 µm, width 2.14 ± 0.01 µm) and shape (ova cylindrical with slight depression) from standard strain N. bombycis (length 3.08 ± 0.21 µm, width 2.01 ± 0.05 µm and ovidal respectively). In immunological test, the silkworm breed Lamerin isolated micrisporidian spore does not react to different antibody (N. bombycis, M11 and M12) sensitized latex particle and thus appeared to be a different strain of microsporidian parasitic to the Lamerin breed of the silkworm B. mori.