Egg-laying ability of moths exposed to r-ray at their pupal stages and hatchability of eggs ovipositied by the same moths were examined to clarify changes in radiosensitivity of oocytes according to developmental stages in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.
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Egg-laying ability of moths exposed to r-ray at their pupal stages and hatchability of eggs ovipositied by the same moths were examined to clarify changes in radiosensitivity of oocytes according to developmental stages in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.
Higher doses of gamma irradiation, especially at the late pupal stage, resulted in lower hatchability, and induced an increase in unfertilization and mortality of eggs when applied at any stage of pupal development.
The number of matured and deposited eggs decreased with higher gamma irradiation, especially at the early pupal stage.
From these results and previous reports on the radiosensitivity of the silkworm, it can be concluded that exposure of ten day-old pupae to gamma irradiation of eight kilorad is optimal for the induction of the sex-limited cocoon color gene.