Effect of Azadirachtin on vitellogenesis of Labidura riparia (Insect Dermaptera)

This study investigates the effects of the insect growth regulator Azadirachtin (AZA) on the ultrastructure of ovaries and fat body of the earwig Labidura riparia. Ovarian development is severely reduced in AZA-injected females in a dose-dependent manner. Follicles exhibit degenerative changes, separation of follicle cells from the oocyte, and lack of pinocytotic vesicles as of yolk spheres in cortical ooplasm. Adipocytes show fragmented rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), numerous autophagic vacuoles, multivesicular bodies, osmiophilic lipid droplets, and many large glycogen areas. Gel electrophoresis reveals that vitellogenin is absent from both fat body and hemolymph, and that vitellin is not deposited in the ovary. These pathological effects are not linked to an absence of feeding. The effect of AZA on vitellogenesis is rescuable by Juvenile hormone (JH) treatment. The inhibition of vitellogenesis by AZA is discussed on the basis of its direct cytotoxic effect as well as its interference with the neuroendocrine system.