The Female Post-Mating Response Requires Genes Expressed in the Secondary Cells of the Male Accessory Gland in Drosophila melanogaster

The triacylglycerol lipases present in adult Drosophila melanogaster have been investigated. Different lipase activities are present in various tissues in the fly. In particular, an abundant lipase activity is present in the male accessory gland. An esterase null mutant was used to confirm that the enzyme activity was due to a distinct lipase and not non-specific activity from esterase 6 which is also abundant in accessory glands. The properties of the accessory-gland lipase were investigated, and pH optima and substrate utilization suggest that it has some similarities to vertebrate bile-salt-stimulated lipase. Lipase activity is significantly reduced in males and increased in females shortly after mating. This finding suggests that lipase activity is transferred to the female and may be important in mating and reproduction in Drosophila.

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Structure, cell-specific expression, and mating-induced regulation of a Drosophila melanogaster male accessory gland gene

Developmental Biology ◽

10.1016/0012-1606(90)90284-p ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 139 (1) ◽

pp. 134-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Angela J. DiBenedetto ◽

Heidi A. Harada ◽

Mariana F. Wolfner

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Accessory Gland ◽

Male Accessory Gland ◽

Specific Expression

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A Novel Function for the Hox Gene Abd-B in the Male Accessory Gland Regulates the Long-Term Female Post-Mating Response in Drosophila

PLoS Genetics ◽

10.1371/journal.pgen.1003395 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. e1003395 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Dragan Gligorov ◽

Jessica L. Sitnik ◽

Robert K. Maeda ◽

Mariana F. Wolfner ◽

François Karch

Keyword(s):

Accessory Gland ◽

Male Accessory Gland ◽

Hox Gene ◽

Mating Response

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Cell type-specific gene expression in the Drosophila melanogaster male accessory gland

Mechanisms of Development ◽

10.1016/0925-4773(92)90036-j ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 33-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Michael J. Bertram ◽

Geetanjali A. Akerkar ◽

Robert L. Ard ◽

Cayetano Gonzalez ◽

Mariana F. Wolfner

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Accessory Gland ◽

Specific Gene ◽

Cell Type ◽

Male Accessory Gland ◽

Specific Gene Expression ◽

Cell Type Specific

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Different Forces Drive the Evolution of the Acp26Aa and Acp26Ab Accessory Gland Genes in the Drosophila melanogaster Species Complex

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/150.3.1079 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 150 (3) ◽

pp. 1079-1089 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Montserrat Aguadé

Keyword(s):

North Carolina ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Species Complex ◽

Amino Acid Replacement ◽

Accessory Gland ◽

Male Accessory Gland ◽

Accessory Gland Proteins ◽

Length Polymorphisms ◽

African Populations ◽

Nonsynonymous Variation

Abstract The Acp26Aa and Acp26Ab genes that code for male accessory gland proteins are tandemly arranged in the species of the Drosophila melanogaster complex. An ∼1.6-kb region encompassing both genes has been sequenced in 10, 24, and 18 lines from Spain, Ivory Coast, and Malawi, respectively; the previously studied 10 lines from North Carolina have also been included in the analyses. A total of 110 nucleotide and 4 length polymorphisms were detected. Silent variation for the whole Acp26A region was slightly higher in African than in non-African populations, while for both genes nonsynonymous variation was similar in all populations studied. Based on Fst estimates no major genetic differentiation was detected between East and West Africa, while in general non-African populations were strongly differentiated from both African populations. Comparison of polymorphism and divergence at synonymous and nonsynonymous sites revealed that directional selection acting on amino acid replacement changes has driven the evolution of the Acp26Aa protein in the last 2.5 myr.

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