Developmental and Organ-Specific Expression of Transferrin in<i>Drosophila Melanogaster</i>

Abstract

Polyclonal antibodies raised against recombinant D. melanogaster transferrin were used to study both developmental and organ-specific expression of D. melanogaster transferrin. It was shown that transferrin is present at all developmental stages except late embryos and early larvae. The organ distribution of transferrin reveals that it is abundant in the hemolymph and from all organs examined was detected only in the ovaries. The maternal origin of the transferrin in early embryos, the activation of its synthesis and its accumulation in the oocytes are discussed.