Abstract:

【Objective】 Methodology for identification of silkworm (Bombyx mori) protein using mass spectra data, Mascot program and EST data was evaluated. 【Method】 Total protein of the fifth instar silkworm midgut was separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and the peptide fingerprintings of 80 protein spots were analyzed using mass spectrometry. Those mass spectral data were identified using Mascot program and silkworm EST database translated by a software called Transeq.【Result】 Forty-one proteins were identified and the full-length or longer cDNA of 19 proteins among other 39 proteins were obtained using the EST in silico cloning. 【Conclusion】 The methodology could be used to identify proteins using mass spectral data with silkworm EST data, as well as alternatively spliced variants.

Key words: silkworm')">silkworm, midgut, mass spectra, expressed sequence tag, peptide mass fingerprinting