Journal ArticleDOI
Drosophila melanogaster seminal fluid can protect the sperm of other males
TLDR
It is suggested that residual seminal fluid inside females could benefit the sperm of subsequent mates, affecting the outcome of sperm competition and influencing the evolution of ejaculates and mating systems.Abstract:
Summary
1Many internally-fertilizing animals produce seminal fluid which is transferred along with sperm during mating. Seminal fluid typically contains a diverse range of chemicals that coordinate sperm storage, moderate sperm motility, provide advantages in sexual selection and influence female physiology.
2Seminal fluid is well-studied in Drosophila melanogaster, a species in which it has been suggested to ‘incapacitate’ the sperm of rival males (e.g. by killing them) and thereby provide an advantage in sperm competition. This hypothesis has been tested several times over many years, but different studies have yielded conflicting conclusions. Here, I use fluorescent staining to directly measure the effects of D. melanogaster seminal fluid on the survival of sperm from the same male or from a rival. The results suggest that seminal fluid improves sperm survival, even if the sperm are from a different male. This study therefore provides strong evidence that seminal fluid does not kill rival sperm, and instead can actually protect them. This study also tested whether chemicals in the female reproductive tract harm sperm as in another Drosophila species, but found no evidence of this.
3These findings suggest that residual seminal fluid inside females could benefit the sperm of subsequent mates, affecting the outcome of sperm competition and influencing the evolution of ejaculates and mating systems.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Upregulation of antioxidant genes in the spermathecae of honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) queens after mating
TL;DR: Increased expression of antioxidant genes may assist in maintaining sperm viability inside the spermathecae of mated queens and in drone semen, which was overall low compared to queens.
Journal ArticleDOI
Is sperm viability independent of ejaculate size in the house cricket (Acheta domesticus)
Brian E. Gress,Clint D. Kelly +1 more
TL;DR: This study shows that nonindependence is due to processes other than differential physical damage to the sperm during collection, and it is shown that allowing a spermatophore to evacuate its sperm without rupturing for 10 min maximizes both sperm number and viability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rival seminal fluid induces enhanced sperm motility in a polyandrous ant
TL;DR: The results imply that ant spermatozoa have evolved to adjust their energetic expenditure during insemination depending on the perceived level of sperm competition, and indicates that enhanced motility is costly and may trade-off with sperm viability during sperm storage, consistent with studies in vertebrates.
Journal ArticleDOI
Positive genetic covariance between male sexual ornamentation and fertilizing capacity.
TL;DR: The data support the existence of positive genetic covariance between a male secondary sexual trait and competitive fertilization success, and suggest the possibility that indirect postcopulatory sexual selection may, under certain conditions, magnify net selection on ornamental trait expression.
Journal ArticleDOI
A male's seminal fluid increases later competitors' productivity.
TL;DR: Increased offspring production was not due to a priming effect of greater early female productivity, nor was it through a general and consistent increase in offspring production, indicating that seminal proteins from the first male to mate may enhance second male advantage through a presumably unintended protective effect on subsequent competitor sperm.
References
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TL;DR: This article extensively discusses two dimensionless (and thus standardised) classes of effect size statistics: d statistics (standardised mean difference) and r statistics (correlation coefficient), because these can be calculated from almost all study designs and also because their calculations are essential for meta‐analysis.
Journal ArticleDOI
Cost of mating in Drosophila melanogaster females is mediated by male accessory gland products
TL;DR: It is demonstrated here that seminal fluid products from the main cells of the male accessory gland are responsible for the cost of mating in females, and that increasing exposure to these products increases female death rate.
Journal ArticleDOI
Reactive oxygen species and sperm physiology
TL;DR: The fine balance between ROS production and scavenging, as well as the right timing and site for ROS production are of paramount importance for acquisition of fertilizing ability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sperm in competition: not playing by the numbers.
TL;DR: To understand how postcopulatory sexual selection influences sperm traits, future research should determine sex-specific interactions that influence paternity, identify genetic correlations between ejaculate characters, quantify the relative costs of producing different sperm trait, and test assumptions of models of sperm quality evolution.
Journal ArticleDOI
Tokens of love: functions and regulation of Drosophila male accessory gland products.
TL;DR: These studies provide excellent models to address basic questions in cell biology such as the control of genes in response to sex-specific, mating-regulated and cell type-specific cues and the function and targeting of peptide hormones.