Vitellogenin levels in allatectomized female crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus de geer (ensifera, gryllidae)

Allatectomy of cricket nymphs up to 24 h after the moult to the last instar resulted in moulting to normal adults which laid a low number of eggs. No juvenile hormone III and no vitellogenin were detected in the haemolymph of allatectomized females by means of GC-mass spectrometry (MS) and rocket immunoelectrophoresis, respectively, whereas the eggs contained the normal pattern of vitellins as judged by SDS-PAGE. Ovariectomy of previously allatectomized females led to a moderate accumulation of vitellogenin in the haemolymph. Administration of the juvenile hormone analogues hydroprene, methoprene, and fenoxycarb to allatectomized females restored egg production to a variable extent. Injections of 20-hydroxyecdysone increased haemolymph vitellogenin titer of allatectomized females, but did not affect the number of produced eggs. Treatment with hydroprene and 20-hydroxyecdysone showed a synergistic effect. It is suggested that juvenile hormone does not have an all-embracing control on vitellogenesis, though it does exert a marked quantitative effect on vitellogenin synthesis and the rate of egg production. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.