Scientists announced Saturday that they have nearly finished the genome map of the silkworm, a breakthrough which could benefit the silk industry all over the world.

Scientists from the Beijing Genome Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and China's Southwest Agricultural University said that though Japan, France, the United States and Britain were all working on it, China was first to complete the draft genome map of the silkworm.

Since the project was launched in May, experts have measured 10,000 base pairs of silkworms with DNA equipment and reorganized them with a supercomputer.

The completed genome map was expected to be finished next year, said experts.

China has a history of more than 5,000 years for raising silkworms. The silk industry contributes 70 billion yuan (US$8.5 billion) of industrial value each year. More than 70 percent of the world's silk total output and 80 percent of the total export came from China.

The breakthrough in mapping the silkworm genome was a significant progress and would benefit the silkworm raising and silk industry all over the world, said Xiang Zhonghuai, the person in charge of the project who is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2003)