Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc (KBLB)

[GTman1]

Since purebred spidersilk worms are heterozygous with the spider silk gene, theoretically you could be able to breed them to a non spidersilk gene commercial worm known for large cocoons and all the hybrids would still produce spidersilk and probably produce larger cocoons.

I think you meant "homozygous". Also, I think I finally understand your confusion. You are hung up on the word "hybrid" because in your view, you are attributing that distinction to a single gene. The reality is that Kraig Labs has been editing many genes in each line of silkworms.

For instance, you could have a line of silkworms thats been stabilized and breeds true (homozygous) for spider silk protein, and cross breed it with a line that breeds true for large cocoons. After a couple generations of selective breeding, you could have a line of silkworms that breeds true (homozygous) for both genes, yet you could still call it a hybrid since it is combining the 2 genes into one line.

If you only use the term "hybrid" to say that an organism has a heterozygous gene, then every organism on earth could be considered both a heterozygous or homozygous since no doubt every organism has at least one heterozygous or homozygous gene.

You are simplifying the breeding process like in your hefer example. We are not hybridizing a single gene. The situation is much more nuanced and it not only takes a much deeper understanding of genetics, but also creativity. For example, the genes that translate to more robustness and a silkworms ability to survive differing temps and humidity, most likely are a handful of different genes. Just like human skin color is an assemblage of 6 or 7 genes.

In short, we can't accredit or discredit the term "hybrid" without knowing the exact genes that are being described, and the answer is much more complex than a single punnet square. Without knowing the exact genes they are targeting and crossing at any given time, it is impossible to know what it's a hybrid of, and I think it is very wise for them to keep this process undisclosed. Why would they give any future competitors a roadmap to success?

P.s. I ran out of posts yesterday so I couldn't participate in all the fun. But congrats on those trophies. A lot of work there