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A patent has indeed been granted. It is for homologous recombination, and so it would seem to be in conflict with what KBLB has done.
Question?
Is the relatively new patent granted David Brigham and Entogenetics a threat to KBLB or others using transgenic silkworms?
It appears as if Entogenetics will soon have it's patent approved. It also appears that once approved, KBLB may be infringing......
..........hmmmmmmmmmm
Now this technique is what can be used to insert the gene right into the native site......rather than a random insertion! One step closer to having a pure line!!!
getting such a large gene as the one for spidersilk into the silkworm is problematic.......getting that gene to STAY in the silkworm once it's inserted is an even greater problem.
I wonder if the Japanese have established a pure line of silkworms.
and so, understanding the silkworm life cycle........if KBLB had a pure line of worms, it would only take about 4 months to have many many millions of worms producing spikdersilk..........yet it hasn't happened yet.
who's to say that the spidersilk would be sold to the US military?
really????? that's puzzling!
just as I thought!
quote
"Overcoming this major hurdle has a direct impact in the laboratory and the commercial ramp up program,"
This tells me that they don't have a pure line of worms producing spidersilk yet.
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"This early testing data is then incorporated into the decision making process, regarding artificial selection and selective breeding. "
If the worms were homozygous, why need this?
There just hasn't been any real definitive announcement.....something to scientifically sink one's teeth into......if the company had worms that were all putting out a consistant fiber.....and all at a consistant reportable strength, the pps would be way up!!! There's no real indication that that is what has happened, hence the lack of any positive PR announcement.
If there were a steady line of worms, all producing spidersilk of the same specs, it would only take a 2-4 months to extremely ramp up the silk production, and set up farms and mills accordingly.....and yet "positive" announcements were made year ago?
The term "homozygosity" only appeared once in the article, and there was no validation of such a genetic condition in the rest of the paper.
Spidersilk has properties that UnderArmour [and all other competitors] will definitely want.......and it ain't strength!!!
If the spidersilk gene is randomly inserted into the silkworm genome, then there should/would be variation in percent spidersilk of the silk output.....and thus variations in the strength of the silk.
Understood, and I agree.
Unfortunately, I cannot respond to private messages.....yet.
Thanks for your information. So my question, is, if the worms are reared under similar conditions.......temp., humidity, food source/content, etc. ......wouldn't KBLB have more to show now?
PS-I can't respond to private messages......yet......
doubling could simply mean going from 100 coccoons to 200 coccoons. No data is revealing.
If a pure line was established years ago.....KBLB would be well past the state of development that it is in.
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The Bombyx Mori silkworm is not homozygous over its entire genome.
While the spider silk genes are fixed, many others are not.
This shows that you do not understand silkworm biology. Many genes can be or are heterozygous, but only with homozygosity can a pure line be established. To have a small amount of spider silk mixed in with the silkworm silk means that the transgene was not inserted into the native site.
Your arguments exposes to your ignorance of silkworm biology, genetics, and standard testing procedures.
are you a scientist or biologist?
yes, yes, and yes
silk from a coccoon.........especially from the silkworm.......and more especially silk that is tested to be stronger.........should not need new or specifically engineered machines.........the machines that have been used for decades should work fine.....I see this as a stall........
quote;
“It allows us to test for that variation before the silkworms spin the cocoons, choose those that are producing the highest quality for breeding, and improve the colony.”
This seems to indicate that they do not have a pure line.
Additionally, if KBLB had achieved homozygosity three years ago......they'd be selling thousands of bolts of spidersilk out of their warehouses by now.......
I disagree. If so, why are there "variability" in the silk's strength and why are they still working on it?
Inputting a genetic marker does not indicate homozygosity, only the presence of [at least one of] the gene[s].
I'm not sure why KBLB has to go abroad to get the job done. Keep it in America!
a pure line means that you have the spidersilk gene in both sites of the homologous pair of chromosomes that codes for the silk.....so if you have both a male and female moth mating, then ALL of the offsring would be homozygous for that gene, and ALL the offspring would produce spider silk.
KBLB's spidersilk strength numbers are not up to where they should be...in fact there seems to be a lot hidden regarding that information.....maybe due to the fact they have been unable to get the gene into the native site.
Can you appreciate why they do not have a pure line yet? Can you explain that from a biomolecular standpoint?
The article says nothing new.....they still may not have a pure line....
Kblb apparently is unable to get a genetically purebred line of silkworms with the spidersilk gene. Otherwise, it would be big big news!