Studies On The Silk Proteins Of The Silk Glands Of Various Developmental Stages Of The Mango Leaf Webber, Orthaga Exvinacea Hampson (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae)

The protein present in the silk glands of different larval instars and pre-pupal stages of O. exvinacea were estimated. The result showed that the amount of protein present in the silk glands was found to increase from the Vth to VIIth instars and then decreasing towards pre-pupal stage. The molecular weight of individual proteins present in the silk glands of different larval instars was determined using SDS-PAGE. There were seven visible bands present in 10% SDS-PAGE. The molecular weights of individual proteins present in the silk glands of different larval instars were in between 127 to 29 kDa. These proteins were sometimes the glycoproteins that were essential for the secretion of the web or the glue protein like sericin.