An integrated physical and linkage map for the silkworm Bombyx mori. Bombyx mori

An integrated linkage map for the silkworm Bombyx mori was constructed by the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences and Hokkaido University in Japan. The map spans 3229 cM spanning the expected 28 linkage groups. It is integrated with 1010 RAPD markers, 523 BAC contigs, 342 known genes, and 85 ESTs. Substantial synteny was observed between the genomes of B. mori and the nymphalid butterfly, Heliconius melpomene, suggesting the B. mori genome may provide a useful reference for comparative genomics in Lepidoptera.