A robust protein extraction method for two dimensional electrophoresis of silkworm proteins

Silkworm (Bombyx mori) is a species of agricultural importance, as well as a model organism for Lepidoptera insects. Proteomic method has been widely used in silkworm research, and a robust mass spectrometry-compatible protein extraction method is urgently needed. In this study, we adapted phenol extraction method to extract silkworm midgut protein, and coupled this method with pH 5 - 8 gel strip for two dimensional electrophoresis. The phenol extraction method significantly increased the resolution, as well as greatly reduced the background of two dimensional electrophoresis gels. In addition, this method was well compatible with mass spectrometry analysis. This is the first report that phenol extraction method is used for silkworm midgut protein extraction, and may be applied in other researches.