Approaches of genetic divergence studies conducted in the silkworm Bombyx mori L.: A review

Abstract

Genetic diversity is critical to success in any crop breeding and it provides information about the quantum of genetic divergence and serves a platform for specific breeding objectives. It is one of the three forms of biodiversity recognized by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as deserving conservation. Genetic diversity is usually thought of as the amount of genetic variability among individuals of a variety or population of a species. It results from the many genetic differences between individuals and may be manifest in differences in DNA sequence, in biochemical characteristics (e.g., in protein structure or isoenzyme properties), in physiological properties (e.g., abiotic stress resistance or growth rate), or in morphological characters. Genetic diversity has been conventional, estimated on the basis of different biometrical techniques (Metroglyph, ݐ·2 divergence analysis, and principal component analysis) such as phenotypic diversity index (ݐ»), or coefficient of parentage utilizing morphological, economical, and biochemical data. In the present paper the study of genetic diversity is carried out in silkworm using divergent methods (quantitative traits, biochemical and molecular markers).