Juvenile hormone involvement in Drosophila melanogaster male reproduction as suggested by the Methoprene-tolerant(27) mutant phenotype.

Juvenile hormone (JH) involvement in male reproduction is poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster adults, JH deficiency has been shown to result in lowered protein synthesis in male accessory glands. To probe additional roles, we have examined males homozygous for a null allele of Methoprene-tolerant (Met). This gene is involved in the action of JH, possibly at the JH receptor level, and Met(27) null mutants reflect a diminution of JH action. Met(27) males were found to have reduced protein accumulation in male accessory glands and to court and mate wild-type females much less avidly than do either Met(+) or Met(27); Met(+) transgenic males. Exposure of Met(27) males to methoprene partially rescued the courtship deficiency. However, sperm transfer as reflected by fertility of Met(27) fathers was found to be similar to that of Met(+). Taken together with previous work examining the JH-deficient mutant apterous, these results corroborate JH involvement in protein synthesis in the male accessory glands and suggest a role for JH in promoting male mating behavior in these flies.