The function of the follicular epithelium in vitellogenic Oncopeltus follicles.

Autoradiographic and electrophoretic methods that have detected an endogenously synthesized protein yolk component in Hyalophora cecropia follicles failed to reveal such a protein in Oncopeltus fasciatus. Similarly, neither sulfate nor glucosamine was incorporated into the intercellular matrix of vitellogenic follicles, though both label these regions intensely in Hyalophora. While both insects produce yolk from hemolymph vitellogenin, their follicles thus appear to support the process by very different synthetic means.