Abstract
The Drosophila male accessory gland has functions similar to those of the mammalian prostate gland and the seminal vesicle, and secretes accessory gland proteins into the seminal fluid. Each of the two lobes of the accessory gland is composed of two types of binucleate cell: about 1,000 main cells and 40 secondary cells. A well-known accessory gland protein, sex peptide, is secreted from the main cells and induces female postmating response to increase progeny production, whereas little is known about physiological significance of the secondary cells. The homeodomain transcriptional repressor Defective proventriculus (Dve) is strongly expressed in adult secondary cells, and its mutation resulted in loss of secondary cells, mononucleation of main cells, and reduced size of the accessory gland. dve mutant males had low fecundity despite the presence of sex peptide, and failed to induce the female postmating responses of increased egg laying and reduced sexual receptivity. RNAi-mediated dve knockdown males also had low fecundity with normally binucleate main cells. We provide the first evidence that secondary cells are crucial for male fecundity, and also that Dve activity is required for survival of the secondary cells. These findings provide new insights into a mechanism of fertility/fecundity.
Highlights
In many higher insects, the reproductive behavior of females drastically changes after mating [1,2]
We have found that Defective proventriculus (Dve) is expressed in the male accessory gland at least from 24 hr after puparium formation (APF) but not in the male primordia of the genital disc in the late third-larval instar (Figure 1A, 1B)
Expression pattern of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) driven by the dve-GAL4[35A] is nearly identical to that of endogenous Dve protein, low-level expression in main cells could be detected in the adult stage (Figure 1E–H)
Summary
The reproductive behavior of females drastically changes after mating [1,2]. A well-known Acp, sex peptide (SP, known as Acp70A), is secreted from the main cells and induces long-term postmating response, such as increased egg laying and reduced sexual receptivity, to increase progeny production [6,7,8,9,10]. These postmating responses are critically regulated through SP binding to the G-protein-coupled SP receptor in the female reproductive tract [11,12,13]. In contrast to the increasing knowledge of Acps secreted from the main cells, little is known about physiological significance of the secondary cells
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