ABSTRACT
In the silkworm, Bombyx mori, three cell lines have been established. The three cell lines are S.P.C.Bm36, BM-N, and SES-BoMo-15A. An appropriate method to characterize the genome of the new cell lines and the established cell lines is blot hybridization with the gene probes proper to B. mori. DNA was extracted from the cultured cells of several cell lines by the methods of Y. Suzuki et al. and from the posterior silk glands of the last instar larvae of Bombyx strains and Samia cynthia ricini by use of the "Freezer-Mill". In the Bm36 cell and S. Cynthia ricini, there are distinct differences from the B. mori in the major bands of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) derived from the cell lines and silk, glands. The detection of the fibroin gene was carried out in the extracted DNA the same way as the case of rDNA, by blot hybridization using the fibroin gene probe.
