[Study of the influence of culture duration on the development of implanted male genital disks in larvae ofEphestia kuehniella Z.]

Complete and bisected male genital disks (HO) from full-grown (T9) larvae were transplanted either into larvae and pharate pupae of different age (T4, T7, T9 larvae, A1-A5 pharate pupae) or repeatedly transferred into full-grown larvae before being implanted into a final larval host. After metamorphosis of the hosts, most of the complete transplants and regenerated HO halves showed normal morphological features, but the implanted genitals from old pharate pupae (A4 and A5) were abnormally differentiated. Frequency of Regeneration. After transplanting both halves of the bisected HO into T9 hosts, three groups of results were observed: (1) each of the two halves regenerated into a complete genital organ; (2) only one half regenerated; (3) neither of the two halves regenerated. In the pharate pupae no regeneration of the implanted halves took place. If the lapse of time between the transplantation and, the onset of metamorphosis (=onset of pharate pupae phase) was long enough by transplanting into young larvae (T4) or by repeatedly transferring into old larvae and subsequent transplantation into a final larval host, all the implanted halves were able to regenerate. Size of the Implanted Genital Organs After prolonging the in vivo culture in larval hosts by implanting into young larvae or repeatedly transferring into old larvae, it was found that the regenerated genitalia grew to the same size as the complete transplants, but the size of the complete transplants increased, if at all, only insignificantly. Duration of Development of the Hosts. Regeneration of one HO half implanted into a full-grown larva caused an average delay of further development of about 2 days. An additional delay was recorded when both halves had regenerated. However, no delay was observed when HO halves implanted into young (T4) larvae regenerated, and no delay occurred in the final hosts when the repeatedly transferred halves had reached a certain stage of regeneration.The developmental capacities of the tranplanted disks and the control of metamorphosis by regenerating disks are discussed.