To verify the progenitor of B. mori, we sequenced 14 B. mori strains preserved in Korea and one B. mandarina collected in Korea and conducted phylogenetic analysis of Bombycidae using maximum-likelihood method and concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and 2 rRNA genes. All B. mori strains, regardless of their origin, formed a strong monophyletic group, with the highest nodal support. This B. mori group was placed as the sister to the two B. mandarina collected each from Korea and Shandong, China with the highest nodal support. Finally, the remaining two B. mandarina, which were collected in Japan were independently placed as the most basal lineage of B. mori and B. mandarina group. These results appear to indicate that an immediate ancestor for the domestic silkworm strains may have been originated from China and Korea.

• Min Jee Kim(Department of Applied Biology, Chonnam National University)
• Jeong Sun Park(Institute of Environmentally-friendly Agriculture, Chonnam National University)
• Seong-Ryul Kim(Department of Agricultural Biology, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, RDA)
• Seong-Wan Kim(Department of Agricultural Biology, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, RDA)
• Iksoo Kim(Department of Applied Biology, Chonnam National University)