Probiotic Power: Bacillus subtilis Unlocks New Potential in Sericulture
The silkworm (Bombyx mori) has been a cornerstone of the textile industry for centuries, producing the luxurious silk threads that shaped global trade and culture. As sericulture shifts toward modern farming methods using artificial diets instead of traditional mulberry leaves, one challenge persists: reduced silkworm growth and silk yield due to disrupted gut microbiota balance.
A new study published in Animal Microbiome reveals a groundbreaking solution: supplementing silkworm diets with the probiotic bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Already widely used in livestock and aquaculture, B. subtilis is now shown to dramatically improve silkworm growth, feed efficiency, and cocoon quality.
Key Findings
- Improved Growth Performance: Silkworms fed with B. subtilis grew 9–22% larger during larval stages.
- Better Feed Utilization: Feed efficiency rose by 4–7%, helping silkworms convert diet into body mass more effectively.
- Enhanced Cocoon Quality: Female cocoons showed nearly a 10% increase in shell weight and higher silk shell ratios.
- Gut Microbiota Remodeling: B. subtilis reduced harmful bacteria like Pseudomonas and improved gut enzyme activities (amylase, lipase, trypsin).
- Amino Acid Boost: A 3.1-fold increase in phenylalanine levels was observed, fueling protein synthesis and silk production.
Interestingly, phenylalanine supplementation alone replicated these benefits, highlighting amino acid metabolism as a central mechanism of growth promotion.
Why This Matters for Sericulture
This discovery could revolutionize artificial diet-based silkworm farming by:
- Increasing silk yields while lowering costs.
- Reducing reliance on mulberry leaves, which are land- and labor-intensive.
- Enhancing sustainability by improving feed efficiency and animal health.
- Providing a model for insect–microbe symbiosis research, with applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and even medicine.
Looking Ahead
The study opens exciting opportunities to design probiotic-enriched artificial diets tailored for silkworms. By integrating microbiome science with traditional sericulture, researchers and farmers can co-create a future of more resilient, productive, and eco-friendly silk farming.
As probiotics like Bacillus subtilis step into the world of sericulture, the age-old silk industry may be on the verge of a biotechnological renaissance.
Reference
Ren, C., Meng, Y., Liu, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, H., Liu, Y., Liu, C., Fan, X., & Zhang, S. (2025). Probiotic Bacillus subtilis enhances silkworm (Bombyx mori) growth performance and silk production via modulating gut microbiota and amino acid metabolism. Animal Microbiome, 7(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-025-00473-1
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