Chromosomal sex determination in aphids controlled by juvenile hormone
Parthenogenetically reproducing aphids give birth to males in response to low temperatures and short photoperiods. Since female aphids are XX and males are XO, the apomictic production of male eggs requires the elimination of one of the X chromosomes. Our previous experiments had suggested that male eggs were produced when the concentration of juvenile hormone was low; we now confirm this by showing that the juvenile hormone analogue kinoprene prevents ovulation of male eggs in aphids whose corpus allatum has been destroyed by precocene. Juvenile hormone concentration thus influences the behaviour of the X chromosomes during the maturation division of the eggs, a high titre resulting in the retention of both X chromosomes and a low titre in the elimination of one of them. Key words: sex determination, aphids, juvenile hormone, precocene, parthenogenesis.