National Museum of Natural Science

In normal silkworms, the epidermis contains large amounts of white urate crystals, making it opaque. However, in those with oily skin, the skin is translucent because the dermal cells lack the proteins to absorb urate, and their skin has very low levels of urate. Silkworms with oily skin are a very unique subject in the genetic research of the domestic silkworm, with around 40 genes responsible for the oily skin phenotype.

Silkworms with oily skin