## 3 Results
### Knockdown of Scg-Tai also Results in an Identical Phenotype  
Earlier research in _Aedes aegypti_, _T. castaneum_ and _L. migratoria_ described the interaction of JH-bound Met with Tai to become a functional JH receptor complex that mediates downstream JH signaling via Kr-h1 [11; 12]. Therefore, we also decided to perform an RNAi mediated knockdown of _Scg-Tai_ in a similar way as described for the _Scg-Met_ knockdown experiment. Animals were treated in a similar way as during the _Scg-Met_ knockdown experiment and were also sacrificed at day 34 after molding to the adult stage. Similarly, as observed upon knockdown of _Scg-Met_, the _dsScg-Tai_ injected males lacked yellow pigmentation in their cuticle and, in line with this, their _Scg-YP_ transcript level was significantly reduced compared to _dsGFP_ injected control animals (\(p\) = 0.037) (Figure 6A). In addition, they also showed a drastically reduced PAN pheromone emission (\(p\) = 0.0018) (Figure 6B). Furthermore, the _dsScg-Tai_ injected animals had a significantly reduced GSI (\(p\) = 0.0001) (Figure 6C). Accordingly, none of the _Scg-Tai_ knockdown males demonstrated  
Figure 5: (**A**) Total body weight in grams of _dsGFP_ and _dsScg-Met_ injected adult male desert locusts 34 days after the adult mol. No significant differences (Student’s T-test) in body weight were observed between both conditions (the statistical p-value obtained for total body weight was 0.2414). For each condition 12 animals were analyzed. (**B**) Gonadosomatic index (GSI) of _dsGFP_ and _dsScg-Met_ injected adult male desert locusts 34 days after the adult mol. The GSI was significantly lower in _dsScg-Met_ locusts compared to control animals. This result indicates the impaired development of the testes upon silencing of _Scg-Met_. Significant differences (Student’s T-test) are indicated with asterisks (**\(p\) < 0.01) (the statistical p-value obtained for GSI was 0.0014). For each condition 8 animals were analyzed. (**C**) Accessory gland somatic index (AGSI) of _dsGFP_ and _dsScg-Met_ injected adult male desert locusts 34 days after the adult mol. The AGSI was significantly lower in _dsScg-Met_ injected locusts compared to _dsGFP_ (control) animals. This result indicates the impaired development of the accessory glands (AG) upon silencing of _Scg-Met_. Significant differences (Student’s T-test) are indicated with asterisks (***\(p\) < 0.0001). For each condition 8 animals were analyzed. (**D**) Normalized protein content of the accessory glands of _dsGFP_ and _dsScg-Met_ injected adult male desert locusts 34 days after the adult mol. The protein content of the AG was determined using the bicinchoninic acid assay (BCA) method and normalized to the respective AG weight. The relative protein content in the AG of _dsScg-Met_ injected animals was significantly reduced compared to that of _dsGFP_ injected (control) locusts. Significant differences (Student’s T-test) are indicated with asterisks (*\(p\) < 0.05) (the statistical p-value obtained for relative protein content in AG was 0.0255). For each condition 6 animals were analyzed. For all graphs, data points are represented in a column graph as a floating bar (min to max value) with a line indicating the median. (Abbreviations: ds = double stranded, _Scg = Schistocerca gregaria_, GFP = Green Fluorescent Protein, Met = Methoprene-tolerant). population behavior, as opposed to all _dsGFP_ injected control males. In both _dsGFP_ as well as _dsScg-Tai_ treatment group, a total of 20 animals was observed. Moreover, similarly as described above for the _dsScg-Met_ condition, we observed a significant increase in the normalized surface areas of the CA after _dsScg-Tai_ treatment in comparison with the controls (\(p<0.0001\)) (Figure 6D). On average, the normalized surface area of the CA in control animals was 26.83 \(\upmu\)m\({}^{2}\)/mg body weight, while the normalized surface area of the CA in _dsScg-Tai_ treated animals was 80.3 \(\upmu\)m\({}^{2}\)/mg body weight.