Artificial light at night (ALAN) negatively affects expression of transcripts involved in biosynthesis of molting and juvenile hormones in Bombyx mori

📖 Top 30% JournalJan 19, 2026Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology

Artificial light at night lowers gene activity for molting and growth hormones in silkworms

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Abstract

Exposure to artificial light at night (0.0276 W/m) is associated with changes in the growth and development of Bombyx mori.

Cocoon quality parameters, such as cocoon weight and fertilization ratio, were affected by artificial light exposure.
Daily expression of the clock gene Tim was downregulated in moths exposed to artificial light.
Rhythmic expression of the clock genes Cry1 and Per was lost in the treated group.
Downregulation of hormone-related transcripts was observed in the group exposed to artificial light.
These findings indicate that artificial light at night may compromise silk moth development.

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Survival of organisms depends on their ability to adapt to their environment. Urbanization is increasing rapidly, resulting in elevated levels of artificial night illumination. A wide range of organisms may be affected by this global change in the urban environment. This study examined the effect of exposure to artificial light (0.0276 W/m) at night (ALAN) on growth, development, and transcript expression of Bombyx mori, a common but economically important moth. The newly hatched B. mori larvae were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups were exposed to a daily light-dark cycle of 12L:12D (12 h light and 12 h dark), while group 1 served as the control. In group 2, the dark phase was illuminated with dim light at 0.0276 W/m. Cocoon quality parameters, including cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, cocoon shell ratio, pupal weight, and fertilization ratio, were studied. Daily expression of clock genes (Per, Cry1, and Tim), transcripts involved in hormone synthesis (Nvd, Dib, Phm, Spo, Jhamt, and Ptth), and 20E-inducible transcripts (Hr3, Hr4, E75A, and Bftz) were measured. Results suggest that exposure to ALAN affects cocoon parameters, downregulates the daily rhythmic expression of Tim, and leads to a loss of rhythmicity in the expression of clock gene transcripts Cry1 and Per. Further, downregulation of hormone transcripts (Nvd, Dib, Phm, Spo, Hr3, E75A, Jhamt, and Ptth) was also observed in the treated group. These results are important, as they suggest that exposure to ALAN compromises silk moth development under laboratory conditions and may affect overall silk production/quality. 2 2

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