Nutrition Regulation of Male Accessory Gland Growth and Maturation in Tribolium castaneum

Authors

Jingjing Xu, University of Kentucky
Ashlee L. Anciro, University of Kentucky
Subba R. Palli, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

Insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) pathway is known to control growth, development and reproduction. Insulin-like peptide mediated body size plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster has been reported. Here, our studies showed that IIS pathway and nutrition regulate growth and maturation of the male accessory gland (MAG) in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. The size of MAG increased from day 1 to day 5 post-adult emergence (PAE). This increase in the size of MAG is contributed by an increase in cell size, but not cell number. The growth of MAG was impaired after double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated knockdown in the expression of genes coding for ILP3, InR, Chico, PI3k, AKT, and GATA1 involved in IIS pathway. Interestingly, starvation showed similar effects on the growth and maturation of MAG. The phenotypes observed in animals where IIS signaling pathway genes were knocked down are similar to the phenotypes observed after starving beetles for 5 days PAE. These data suggest that nutrition signals working through IIS pathway regulate maturation of MAG by promoting the growth of MAG cells.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2-2015

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Scientific Reports, v. 5, article 10567, p. 1-11.

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep10567

Funding Information

This study is supported by National Science Foundation (IBN-0421856).

Repository Citation

Xu, Jingjing; Anciro, Ashlee L.; and Palli, Subba R., "Nutrition Regulation of Male Accessory Gland Growth and Maturation in Tribolium castaneum" (2015). Entomology Faculty Publications. 77.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/entomology_facpub/77