Monogenic reproduction allows comparison of protein patterns of female and male predetermined ovaries and embryos in Chrysomya rufifacies (Diptera, Calliphoridae)

Abstract 1. 1. Females of the monogenic blowfly Chrysomya rufifacies produce either female or male progeny depending on their genetic constitution, i.e. the presence or absence of a germ-line autonomous maternal effect sex realizer. 2. 2. This type of sex determination allows a comparison of female and male predetermined ovaries and embryos on the molecular level. 3. 3. The patterns of steady-state and newly synthesized proteins were analyzed as well as of cell-free translation products of poly(A) + RNA from ovaries and eggs of opposite future sex. 4. 4. The results show that a small transient or quantitative difference in protein synthesis can be taken as a molecular indicator for female vs male development.