THE CONGLOBATE GLAND OF BLATTELLA-GERMANICA (L) (DICTYOPTERA, BLATTELLIDAE) - MATURATION, JUVENILE-HORMONE DEPENDENCY AND CHANGES DURING SPERMATOPHORE FORMATION
L. Vilaplana et al., THE CONGLOBATE GLAND OF BLATTELLA-GERMANICA (L) (DICTYOPTERA, BLATTELLIDAE) - MATURATION, JUVENILE-HORMONE DEPENDENCY AND CHANGES DURING SPERMATOPHORE FORMATION, INVERTEBRATE REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, 29(2), 1996, pp. 167-172
The conglobate gland of male cockroaches is a reproductive organ anato
mically close to the accessory glands. From a functional point of view
it has been postulated that the conglobate gland is involved in the f
ormation of the spermatophore, although no clear demonstration of this
role has been published so far. In addition, previous endocrinologica
l studies have suggested that juvenile hormone might influence conglob
ate gland maturation. In the present work, taking the conglobate gland
of the cockroach Blattella germanica as a model, we have studied the
protein pattern during maturation, the effects of allatectomy, and the
depletion of gland proteins during the formation of the spermatophore
. Taken together, the results suggest that juvenile hormone stimulates
the accumulation of proteins in the conglobate gland and that these p
roteins contribute to the formation of the spermatophore.