D. Martin et al., PRODUCTION OF VITELLOGENIN IN-VITRO BY THE PERIOVARIC FAT-BODY OF BLATTELLA-GERMANICA (L) (DICTYOPTERA, BLATTELLIDAE), INVERTEBRATE REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, 28(3), 1995, pp. 171-176
The fat body produces vitellogenic proteins, which are released to the
haemolymph and incorporated into developing oocytes. In the cockroach
Blattella germanica, endocrine and other physiological cues regulate
vitellogenesis in a complex homeostatic pattern, which is not fully un
derstood. The in vitro approach may be useful to study this pattern, a
nd the present paper describes an experimental set-up based on the inc
ubation of the periovaric portion of the fat body and the measurement
of vitellogenin production with an EIA method. The results correspond
fairly well with equivalent data obtained in vivo and suggest that the
periovaric fat body is an appropriate anatomical unit to study vitell
ogenin production in vitro.