Bombyx mori to produce proteins, including pharmacological drugs, in the place of silk proteins. "Bombyx mori" females are also one of the few organisms with homologous chromosomes held together only by the synaptonemal complex (and not crossovers) during meiosis. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has used research from the Universities of Wyoming and Notre Dame in a collaborative effort to create a silkworm that is genetically altered to produce spider silk. In September 2010, the effort was announced as successful. Researchers at Tufts developed scaffolds made of spongy silk that feel and look similar to human tissue. They are implanted during reconstructive surgery to
Bombyx mandarina directions in a domesticated environment. Consequently, the two silkmoths have been united as subspecies of a single species; in this case the name "Bombyx mori" which was published first applies for both. However, today it is usually recognized that the domesticated silkmoth is entirely dependent on human care for its survival and thus has a level of reproductive isolation from its wild relatives. Bombyx mandarina Bombyx mandarina, the wild silkmoth, is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of "Bombyx mori" the domesticated silkmoth or "silkworm" (properly, this refers to the caterpillars only). Unlike the