Stress response in a juvenile hormone-deficient Drosophila melanogaster mutant apterous56f

Abstract

The apterous56f (ap56f) mutation leads to increases in juvenile hormone (JH) degradation levels and JH-esterase makes a greater contribution to the increase than JH-epoxide hydrolase. Dopamine levels in ap56f females, but not males, are higher than in wild-type. JH treatment of ap56f and wild-type females decreases their dopamine levels. ap56f females, but not males, produce less progeny. Survival under heat stress is dramatically decreased in ap56f females, but not males. ap56f flies show a stress reaction, as judged by changes in tyrosine decarboxylase and JH-hydrolysing activities, dopamine levels and fertility, but its intensity in the mutant females, but not males, differs significantly from wild-type. Thus, the ap56f mutation causes dramatic changes in female, but not male, metabolism and fitness.