By epigenetic analysis of genomes of silkworm-related insects, the group of Wen WANG at the CAS Institute of Zoology has generated evidence that disparate features of silk—coloration, retention, strength—are likely not only due to silk proteins, but also to the environment of silk assembly, and more specifically, that stable silk coloration exhibited by some Saturniidae silkmoths may be attributable to active catalytic progress in pigmentation.
CAS news release, May 22, 2015
CAS Kunming Institute of Zoology Institute studies non-mulberry silkworms in view of silk improvement