Male insect accessory glands: Functions and control of secretory activity

Abstract

Paralleling the diversity of the class Insecta, the male accessory glands (MAG) exhibit a wide range of form, and their secretion serves a variety of functions, including spermatophore and mating plug formation, sperm activation, provision of nutrients to females, and, through production of fecundity-enhancing and/or receptivity-inhibiting substances, modification of female reproductive behavior. In most insects, juvenile hormone (JH) is important in the regulation of MAG secretory activity; specifically, JH controls the production of particular proteins in the secretion. However, the production of some proteins appears not to be influenced by JH; rather, their synthesis is regulated by ecdysteroids. During sexual maturation, JH and ecdysteroids seem to interact to bring about a specified temporal sequence of protein synthesis in the MAG.