AbstractThe accessory gland of the male cricket,Acheta domesticus, is a polytubular structure which produces a complex mixture of proteins used in the formation of the spermatophore. The synthetic capacity of individual accessory gland tubules has been analysed by micro‐scale SDS‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. For the large and intermediate size tubules (approximately 300 in number), between 29 and 32 distinct protein synthetic patterns have been detected for individual tubules, with most of such patterns assignable to tubules at specific locations in the gland.Analysis of labelled nascent peptide distribution on polysomes confirms regional heterogeneity in protein synthetic capacity and also demonstrates a corresponding regionality in the distribution of active messenger RNAs. Other experiments indicate that tubules with identical products can have different extents of protein labelling, suggesting that a capacity to regulate either precursor uptake or protein synthetic rate exists at the level of the individual tub