First person – Jaya Kumari

ABSTRACT First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Biology Open, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Jaya Kumari is first author on ‘ Developmental expression patterns of toolkit genes in male accessory gland of Drosophila parallels those of mammalian prostate’, published in BiO. Jaya conducted the research described in this article while a graduate student in Pradip Sinha's lab at the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India. Jaya is currently an early-career postdoc in the lab of Pradip Sinha, investigating development and carcinogenesis in Drosophila organs with squamous epithelial cells.

Developmental expression patterns of toolkit genes in male accessory gland of Drosophila parallels those of mammalian prostate

Conservation of genetic toolkits in disparate phyla may help reveal commonalities in organ designs transcending their extreme anatomical disparities. A male accessory sexual organ in mammals, the prostate, for instance, is anatomically disparate from its analogous, phylogenetically distant counterpart—the male accessory gland (MAG)—in insects like Drosophila. It has not been ascertained if the anatomically disparate Drosophila MAG shares developmental parallels with those of the mammalian prostate. Here we show that the development of Drosophila mesoderm-derived MAG entails recruitment of similar genetic toolkits of tubular organs like that seen in endoderm-derived mammalian prostate. For instance, like mammalian prostate, Drosophila MAG morphogenesis is marked by recruitment of fibroblast growth factor receptor, FGFR—a signalling pathway often seen recruited for tubulogenesis—starting early during its adepithelial genesis. A specialisation of the individual domains of the developing MAG tube, on the other hand, is marked by the expression of a posterior Hox gene transcription factor, Abd-B, while Hh-Dpp signalling marks its growth. Drosophila MAG, therefore, reveals the developmental design of a unitary bud-derived tube that appears to have been co-opted for the development of male accessory sexual organs across distant phylogeny and embryonic lineages.

Oviposition after sex: mated Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) females increase oviposition without receiving an ejaculate

Mating and receiving ejaculate can alter female insect physiology and postcopulatory behaviour. During mating, females receive both internal and external stimuli and different components in the ejaculate. In insects, these components consist mostly of sperm and male accessory gland secretions. Some of the most important changes associated with receiving male accessory gland secretions are a reduction in female sexual receptivity and an increase in oviposition. However, a clear function for these molecules has not been found in the Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Here, we tested how the stimulus of mating, receiving a full ejaculate, or only receiving accessory gland secretions can influence ovarian development and oviposition. Our results indicate that the stimulus of mating per se is enough to induce oviposition and increase egg laying in females even if ejaculate is not received, whereas receiving only accessory gland secretions does not increase ovarian development and is not enough to induce oviposition or increase egg production. Further research on the internal and external copulatory courtship of A. ludens will increase our understanding of the role of these secretions in stimulating oviposition independent of ejaculate effects. A biological function for male accessory gland secretions on female behaviour for A. ludens still needs to be found.

DrosophilaMale Accessory Gland Displays Developmental Ground Plan of a Primitive Prostate

Conservation of developmental genetic toolkits of functionally comparable organs from disparate phyla reveals their deep homology, which may help overcome the challenges of their confounding categorization as either homologous or analogous organs. A male accessory sexual organ in mammals, prostate, for instance, is anatomically disparate from its phylogenetically distant counterpart—the male accessory gland (MAG)—in insects likeDrosophila. By examining a select set of toolkit gene expression patterns, here we show thatDrosophilaMAG displays deep homology with the mammalian prostate. Like mammalian prostate, MAG morphogenesis is marked by recruitment of fibroblast growth factor receptor, FGFR, a tubulogenesis toolkit signaling pathway, starting early during its adepithelial genesis. Specialization of the individual domains of the developing MAG tube on the other hand is marked by expression of a posterior Hox gene transcription factor, Abd-B, while Hh-Dpp signaling marks its growth.DrosophilaMAG thus reveals developmental design of unitary bud-derived tube—a ground plan that appears to have been reiteratively co-opted during evolutionary diversification of male accessory sexual organs across distant phylogeny.