Abstract
KNOWLEDGE of the nutritional requirements of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L., has recently been accumulating by the use of artificial diets1,2, and more recently successful rearing on synthetic diets3,4 and the establishment of aseptic culture4,5 have been reported. Artificial diets have been used for the demonstration of the requirements for ascorbic acid in this insect2; but so far not for the compounds of vitamin B group. From the experiment on growth inhibition with antimetabolites it has been shown that nicotinic acid and pyridoxine are necessary for the silkworm6. In this experiment either antimetabolite or this plus vitamin was supplemented on fresh mulberry leaves to induce growth retardation by antimetabolite or growth resumption, but never completely, by supplementing vitamin. This preliminary communication reports the requirements for vitamin B compounds, demonstrated by means of aseptic culture on synthetic diets.
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References
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HORIE, Y., ITO, T. Vitamin Requirements of the Silkworm. Nature 197, 98–99 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/197098a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/197098a0
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