Effect of ethyl methanesulfonate on viability and commercial characters of silkworm Bombyx mori L., and their inheritance

Abstract

Two races of mulberry silkworm namely Pure Mysore and NB4D2, at the age of fifth instar first day were treated with different doses of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) by oral injection. The treated larvae along with their respective controls were allowed to continue development. Silkworms of both the races exhibited gradual reduction in the viability as the dose of EMS increased. The F1- F4 progenies were obtained by selfing the moths emerged from the EMS treated silkworms and control sets separately. The experimental results clearly indicated that the silkworm batches treated with lower doses like 2.5 and 5 mM of both the races exhibited improvement in commercial characters when compared to their respective controls as well as 10 mM sets. In addition, the altered characters exhibited regular inheritance from generation to generation