MORUS SPP. Material Conservation and Characterization and its Importance for Romanian Sericulture and GCEARS-PSP Development- A Review

Morus spp. is a perennial and woody plant, belonging to Moraceae family, genus Morus and is essential for sericulture. One of the main aims of Global Centre of Excellence for Advance Research in Sericulture and Promotion of Silk Production (GCEARS-PSP) is to create a reserve of Morus spp., to multiply the vegetal material and to provide it to farmers and also to create an important biotechnological support for further scientifically works. As in Romania the intensive plantations are almost non-existent, one of the main objective of the centre is to create a real base for sericulture revival (the existence of nutritional base for silkworms) and to develop the biotechnological scientific component of the centre.The aims of this review are to create a clear overview of moriculture for sericulture and to reveal the biotechnological potential and pharmacological uses of different mulberry parts. In this review the major findings regarding description of Kokuso 21 variety, mulberry micropropagation and bioactive compounds of different vegetal parts from Mulberry spp. are presented, and represent only the first stage of the GCEARS-PSP activity.