ADVANCES IN MOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY, GENOMICS AND GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING FOR SILKWORM DISEASE RESISTANCE, SILK QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE SERICULTURE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Sericulture is an economically important agro-based industry whose productivity depends on silkworm health, genetic potential, host-plant quality, disease management, and the efficiency of silk biosynthesis. The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, has become a valuable model for molecular genetics and biotechnology because of its established genomic resources, experimentally tractable biology, and specialized silk-producing glands. Nevertheless, viral, bacterial, fungal, and microsporidian diseases continue to cause substantial production losses, while the demand for improved silk quality and environmentally sustainable production creates additional breeding and management challenges. This review critically examines advances in molecular biotechnology, genomics, gene expression profiling, molecular diagnostics, and functional genetics for improving disease resistance and silk quality. Particular attention is given to host–pathogen interactions, antiviral RNA interference, immune signalling, candidate resistance genes, transcriptomic analysis, molecular marker-assisted selection, genome editing, and the genetic regulation of fibroin and sericin biosynthesis. The potential of proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, and integrated multi-omics to identify biomarkers and explain complex production traits is also discussed. Furthermore, the review considers how molecular diagnostics can support early pathogen detection and how conventional breeding can be integrated with modern biotechnological approaches to improve resistance without compromising larval development, cocoon yield, or fibre characteristics. Major challenges include the limited translation of laboratory findings into commercial strains, the complexity of quantitative resistance, possible fitness trade-offs, and the need for reliable multi-environment validation. A framework is proposed for connecting molecular discovery, functional validation, breeding, disease surveillance, and sustainable farm-level implementation. Integrating these approaches could strengthen silkworm health, improve silk quality, reduce avoidable production losses, and support the long-term sustainability of sericulture.