A ROLE FOR STORAGE PROTEINS IN AUTOGENOUS REPRODUCTION IN AEDES ATROPALPUS

In the autogenous mosquito, Aedes atropalpus, storage proteins accumul ated during the larval stage may serve as an amino arid reserve for oo genesis, in addition to metamorphosis, Hexameric storage proteins accu mulate during larval development and include subunits of three differe nt masses: 62.5, 66, 72.5 kDa, All three types of subunits are found i n the female but only the larger two are in males, In females, storage proteins are only partially depleted by the time of eclosion, The rem aining protein amounts to about 40% of the original store. Males, in c ontrast, exhaust their supply of stored protein during metamorphosis, In the female, the storage proteins disappear over the first days afte r eclosion, and are depleted before vitellogenin/vitellin levels reach their maximum, This suggests that the amino acids held in storage pro teins are transferred to vitellogenesis, enabling autogenous egg devel opment, The fact that these amino acids are not available for egg deve lopment until after eclosion, later than in many other insects, probab ly reflects a relatively recent evolution from blood-feeding ancestors . Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd