Puffs and salivary gland function: The fine structure of the larval and prepupal salivary glands ofDrosophila melanogaster

Summary The salivary glands ofDrosophila melanogaster have been examined by electron microscopy for fine structural alterations occurring during larval and prepupal stages. The changes observed in the glands have been correlated with the puffing patterns of the polytene chromosomes at corresponding stages. In early third instar larvae, the lumen of the salivary gland appears empty, and no signs of secretory activity are visible in the glandular cytoplasm. From puff stages 1 to 6 the endoplasmic reticulum becomes reorganized and increases in volume. Electron dense material appears within its cisternae and subsequently within the Golgi saccules. Dense secretory granules then appear to be elaborated from the Golgi by terminal budding; these granules represent the glue for adhering the pupa to its substrate, and gradually increase in size and complexity. By puff stage 6 their contents have been liberated into the glandular lumen. Following puparium formation, those granules which are not extruded coalesce to form larger granules. Other dense bodies and autophagic vacuoles, considered to be lysosomes, appear, and the surplus secretory granules begin to display myelination at their peripheries; ultimately they are reduced to dense residual bodies. At puparium formation, the lumen is depleted of the glue and contains flocculent material. Histolysis commences after puff stage 11, and the cytoplasm becomes vacuolated and opaque; the nucleus becomes reduced in volume and crenated in outline. Nuclear blebbing occurs after puff stage 12, and material seemingly moves from the nucleus into the cytoplasm; the glandular lumen now becomes empty. An attempt has been made to ascertain how the chromosomal puffing activity relates to these cytoplasmic developments.