MATING AND HORMONAL TRIGGERS REGULATE ACCESSORY-GLAND GENE-EXPRESSIONIN MALE DROSOPHILA

Drosophila melanogaster males transfer accessory gland proteins, as pa rt of their seminal fluid, to females during each mating. Since access ory gland proteins are important for male reproductive success, it is important that the male replenish the proteins he transferred during m ating. Previous studies had shown that mating induces the resynthesis of accessory gland proteins, but since mating includes a set of stereo typed behavior patterns as well as the act of copulation, it was not k nown which aspect of the mating process induces accessory gland protei n synthesis. By exposing males to females whose ovipositors had been s ealed shut, we have shown that resynthesis of accessory gland proteins occurs only when seminal fluid is transferred to females. By applying juvenile hormone or 20-hydroxyecdysone topically to the cuticle of ma le flies, we showed that these hormones can act in vivo to stimulate t he synthesis of accessory gland proteins to levels similar to those ob served after mating. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserve d.