Nagalakshmi V K, Applebaum S W, Azrielli A, Rafaeli A
Department of Entomology, The Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel.
Arch Insect Biochem Physiol. 2007 Mar;64(3):142-55. doi: 10.1002/arch.20167.
Insect males produce accessory gland (MAG) factors that are transferred in the seminal fluid to females during copulation, and elicit changes in the mated female's behavior and physiology. Our previous studies showed that the injection of synthetic Drosophila melanogaster sex-peptide (DrmSP) into virgin females of the moth Helicoverpa armigera causes a significant inhibition of pheromone production. In this and other moth species, pheromone production, correlated with female receptivity, is under neuroendocrine control due to the circadian release of the neuropeptide PBAN. In this study, we show that PBAN, present in the hemolymph during the scotophase in females, is drastically reduced after mating. We also identify 4 DrmSP-like HPLC peaks (Peaks A, S1, S2, and B) in MAGs, with increasing levels of DrmSP immunoreactivity during the scotophase, when compared to their levels observed during the photophase. In H. armigera MAGs, a significant reduction in the pheromonostatic peak (Peak B) was already evident after 15 min of copulation, and depletion of an additional peak (Peak S2) was evident after complete mating. Peak A is also detected in female brains, increasing significantly 1 h after mating, at which time inhibition of pheromone biosynthesis also occurs. However, changes corresponding to the other MAG peaks were not detected in mated female tissues.
昆虫雄性产生附腺（MAG）因子，在交配过程中这些因子会通过精液传递给雌性，并引发交配后雌性的行为和生理变化。我们之前的研究表明，向棉铃虫处女雌虫注射合成的黑腹果蝇性肽（DrmSP）会显著抑制性信息素的产生。在这种以及其他蛾类物种中，与雌虫接受性相关的性信息素产生受神经内分泌控制，这是由于神经肽PBAN的昼夜释放所致。在本研究中，我们发现雌性在暗期血淋巴中存在的PBAN在交配后会大幅减少。我们还在附腺中鉴定出4个类似DrmSP的高效液相色谱峰（峰A、S1、S2和峰B），与光期相比，暗期DrmSP免疫反应性水平升高。在棉铃虫附腺中，交配15分钟后，性信息素抑制峰（峰B）就已显著降低，完全交配后另一个峰（峰S2）消失。在雌虫大脑中也检测到峰A，交配1小时后显著增加，此时性信息素生物合成也受到抑制。然而，在交配后的雌虫组织中未检测到与其他附腺峰相对应的变化。
