Vitellogenin levels in allatectomized female crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus de geer (ensifera, gryllidae)

Allatectomy of cricket nymphs up to 24 h after the moult to the last instar resulted in moulting to normal adults which laid a low number of eggs. No juvenile hormone III and no vitellogenin were detected in the haemolymph of allatectomized females by means of GC‐mass spectrometry (MS) and rocket immunoelectrophoresis, respectively, whereas the eggs contained the normal pattern of vitellins as judged by SDS‐PAGE. Ovariectomy of previously allatectomized females led to a moderate accumulation of vitellogenin in the haemolymph. Administration of the juvenile hormone analogues hydroprene, methoprene, and fenoxycarb to allatectomized females restored egg production to a variable extent. Injections of 20‐hydroxyecdysone increased haemolymph vitellogenin titer of allatectomized females, but did not affect the number of produced eggs. Treatment with hydroprene and 20‐hydroxyecdysone showed a synergistic effect. It is suggested that juvenile hormone does not have an all‐embracing control on vitellogenesis, though it does exert a marked quantitative effect on vitellogenin synthesis and the rate of egg production. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.