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

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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.