Biochemical aspects of juvenile hormone action in the adult Locusta migratoria
1967
Minks, A.K.
The present study deals with the actions of juvenile hormone in the adult African migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Juvenile hormone (JH) was known to be essential for a completely normal yolk development in the oocytes of most female insects. No egg production was possible if the corpora allata (small spherical organs near the cerebral complex, which excrete JH) were extirpated. The general metabolism of such 'allatectomized' insects was strongly modified.To find whether JH directly influenced respiratory metabolism, experiments in vitro with mitochondria isolated from flight muscles and fat body were used. No relation existed between JH action and oxygen consumption in vitro. However, a positive effect of JH on oxidative phosphorylation was evident.Several aspects of the reproductive metabolism of normal and allatectomized adult Locusta were then compared. Production of yolk protein in the fat body was dependent on JH. It dit not regulate whether these proteins could be produced at all, but which proteins could be formed at a certain moment.This fundamental study was published at a time when practical application of insect hormones for pest control might become a reality. An increase in knowledge of the biochemical and physiological action of these hormones within the insect was essential.
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