Identification, estimation, and localization of catecholamines in eggs of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus (L.)

Abstract

DOPA, DOPamine, and N-acetyl DOPamine have been identified as the only polyphenols to occur during embryogenesis of Acheta domesticus. The quantitative variation and histochemical localization of these substances indicate that they are involved in the development of the serosal cuticle. In view of the absence of melanogenesis during normal development and the probability that a tanning reaction is involved in the termination of the first phase of water absorption, it is suggested that N-acetyl DOPamine is the precursor of a tanning quinone. The other phenols are thought to be intermediates in its biogenesis. A relatively large amount of free DOPamine has been found in the extra-embryonic fluid of post-catatrepsis eggs. This is thought to originate from the digestion of the serosa and serosal cuticle, and by de-acetylation of N-acetyl DOPamine through the action of the hatching enzymes.