Rescue of white egg 1 mutant by introduction of the wild‐type Bombyx kynurenine 3–monooxygenase gene

In silkworms, the white egg 1 (w-1) mutant, which is characterized by white eyes and white eggs, is deficient in Bombyx kynurenine 3–monooxygenase (KMO) activity. To investigate whether the w-1 mutant phenotype is rescued by introducing the wild-type KMO gene, we constructed transgenic silkworms with the wild-type Bombyx KMO gene under the control of either the cytoplasmic actin gene promoter (A3KMO) or the native KMO gene promoter (KKMO). We created two transgenic lines with A3KMO and one line with KKMO constructs. The eyes of adults in these lines were brown, and the eggs laid by the transgenic females were also brown. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) analysis showed that the A3KMO silkworm lines expressed the transcript in the mid-gut, fat bodies, and Malpighian tubules. The KKMO line expressed the transcript only in the fat bodies and Malpighian tubules. The intensity of eye and egg color in the transgenic lines was proportional to the KMO expression level. Interestingly, transgenic larvae with the A3KMO construct had a light brown larval cuticle, but the KKMO line did not. These results indicate that the wild-type KMO gene can be used as a marker gene for visually screening transgenic silkworms.