The involvement of both juvenile hormone acid (JHA) and the sex accessory glands (SAGs) in the reproduction of the male moth Agrotis ipsilon was studied as a function of age and mating status. Total protein content analysis followed by gel electrophoresis of the SAGs, radiochemical assay for JHA biosynthesis and surgical and behavioural experiments were performed. Both the protein content of the SAGs and the biosynthetic activity of the corpora allata (CA) increased with age. Allatectomy and JHA/JH treatments showed that the protein content of the SAGs is linked with the activity of the CA. The protein content of the glands, but not the rate of JHA biosynthesis, decreased just after mating, and both increased sharply 24 h later. Injection of fluvastatin, an inhibitor of JH biosynthesis, in males immediately after mating prevented the increase in JHA synthesis and lowered the total protein content of the SAGs. Moreover, fluvastatin disrupted normal spermatophore transfer during the next mating of the injected males. Our results show that JHA controls the reproduction of A. ipsilon males by its separate actions on the sex accessory glands and on sexual behaviour.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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