Characterization of Egg Maturation Substance from Spodoptera litura F. Males

In Spodoptera litura, we have demonstrated the influence of male accessory gland (MAG) and ejaculatory duplex (ED) secretions on egg maturation by injecting crude extracts of these tissues and seminal vesicle with testes (SVT) into 2-day old virgin females. Proteinaceous components of MAG and ED were subjected to fractionation using weak cation exchanger and RP-UFLC. The peak fraction P-5 at 53.64min of F-3 fraction recorded highest number of matured eggs compared to other peaks. Molecular mass of this peak, analysed on MALDI-TOF, was found to be 10247.1Da.