A novel system for separation and purification of egg pigments from the nondiapause red-egg mutant Re-nd in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Re-nd, which was induced from the wild-type C108 by the chemical mutagen N-methane-N-methylnitrourea, is a nondiapause red-egg mutant of silkworm Bombyx mori. The special significance of the Re-nd mutant is that it is an independent dominant mutant. The aim of this study was to establish the type of pigment responsible for the red coloration in the Re-nd mutant eggs in silkworm. We compared the eggs of Re-nd mutants with those of the other B. mori egg color strains and confirmed that the Re-nd mutant is the only strain with red color and red pigment granules in nondiapause, showing this mutant belongs to the pigmentation in the serosa. We speculated that the red substance, which contributed to the bright red pigmentation for nondiapause eggs of the Re-nd mutant, could potentially be a novel pigment according to its solubility, optimum absorption peak, and oxidation-reduction reaction. Moreover, we have successfully constituted the system for enrichment, extraction, and purification of the red substance responsible for the Re-nd mutant, providing a new method for the separation and purification of other known and unknown pigments or substances.