Development of the prepupal Verson's gland of the tobacco hornworm,Manduca sexta, and its hormonal control

✍ Scribed by Lane, Sandra ;Riddiford, Lynn M. ;Truman, James W. ;Conitz, Jan

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 973 KB
• Volume: 240
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402400111

✦ Synopsis

The segmentally arranged Verson's glands are epidermal derivatives comprised of three cells: the duct, saccule, and secretory cells. The development of these glands was followed through the 5th instar and Iarvalpupal transition of Manduca sexta. The glands are relatively small during the feeding stage, begin to grow at wandering, and undergo about a 50-fold increase in size during the prepupal period. The increase in size is due mainly to the hypertrophy of the secretory cell which synthesizes a heterogeneous set of proteinaceous secretory products. Three prominent 11 to 12 kiloDalton (kD) polypeptides are made by the pharate fifth larval gland, whereas the pupal gland produces polypeptides ranging from 14 to 75 kD with a major complex at 30 to 34 kD. The secretory product is poured out onto the surface of the new cuticle at the time of ecdysis and contains all of the major proteins detected in