Dynamic changes in ejaculatory bulb size during Drosophila melanogaster aging and mating.

The ejaculatory bulb of Drosophila melanogaster males produces proteins and pheromones that play important roles in reproduction. This tissue is also the final mixing site for the ejaculate before transfer to the female. The ejaculatory bulb's dynamics remain largely unstudied. By microscopy of the ejaculatory bulb in maturing adult males, we observed that the ejaculatory bulb expands in size as males age. Moreover, we document that when males mate, their ejaculatory bulb expands further as ejaculate transfer begins, and then contracts halfway through the course of mating as ejaculate transfer finishes. Although there is some male-to-male variation in the timing of these changes, ultimately the tissue changes in a predictable pattern that gives insight into the active mating process in Drosophila.