[Selection for sex behavior changes the metabolism of juvenile hormone in Drosophila melanogaster].

The metabolism of juvenile hormone (JH) was studied in two lines of Drosophila melanogaster selected for differences in mating behavior. The lines were tested under normal conditions and after short-term heat shock. Females of the HA line (selected for high male mating activity) were shown to exhibit a high level of JH hydrolyzing activity under normal conditions. By contrast, females of the LA line (selected for low male mating activity) and males of both lines had a low level of JH hydrolysis. Stress exposure resulted in a decrease of JH hydrolysis in females of the HA line; this effect was absent in females of the LA line and males of both lines.