Stress-reactivity and juvenile hormone degradation in Drosophila melanogaster strains having stress-related mutations.

Juvenile hormone (JH) degradation was studied under normal and stress conditions in young and matured females of Drosophila melanogaster strains having mutations in different genes involved in responses to stress It was shown that (1) the impairment in heat shock response elicits an alteration in stress-reactivity of the JH system; (2) the impairment JH reception causes a decrease of JH-hydrolysing activity and of stress-reactivity in young females, while in mature ones stress reactivity is completely absent; (3) the absence of octopamine results in higher JH-hydrolysis level under normal conditions and altered JH stress-reactivity; (4) the higher dopamine content elicits a dramatic decrease of JH degradation under normal conditions and of JH stress-reactivity. Thus, the impairments in any component of the Drosophila stress reaction result in changes in the reponse of JH degradation system to stress. The role of JH in the development of the insect stress reaction is discussed.