dorsal appendage FBbt_00000046

dorsal appendage

ID: FBbt_00000046

Paired appendage of the eggshell, located on the anterior-dorsal side of the egg, just posterior to the operculum. Functions as a respiratory structure. The dorsal appendages are formed during the final stages of oogenesis, when dorsal appendage forming follicle cells form paired tubular structures and secrete chorion proteins into the tube lumens to create the dorsal appendages. During eggshell maturation the dorsal appendage forming cells slough off, revealing the chorionic dorsal appendages inside. (Spradling, 1993, Dorman et al., 2004)

Note that dorsal appendage structure varies considerably between Drosophilid species.