Difference in protein synthesis of ovaries indicates predetermined sex inChrysomya rufifacies (Diptera, Calliphoridae).

Sex in the monogenic blowflyChrysomya rufifacies is under the control of a germ-line autonomous maternal effect sex realizer. In order to identify the ovarian poly(A)+RNA that might be related to sex predetermination, we analysed the patterns of cell-free translation products of total poly(A)+RNA from female and male predetermined ovaries and oocytes. During vitellogenesis we observed one transient sex-linked difference in a stable pattern composed of more than 800 in vitro translated proteins. This difference, however, was no longer detectable in mature oocytes.