Functional nonequivalence of sperm in Drosophila pseudoobscura.

Snook, Rhonda R.; Markow, Therese A.; Karr, Timothy L.

doi:10.1073/pnas.91.23.11222

Cited by 97 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Additionally, in species where males produce two distinct types of sperm (e.g., Fig. 1 B, E, and F), both sperm morphs are transferred to females, but on the basis of findings in other insect species (23,26,42), only the long morph is expected to participate in fertilization. We found that neither the presence of dimorphism, nor the length of the short sperm morph was correlated with any aspect of female morphology (P > 0.05).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female reproductive tract form drives the evolution of complex sperm morphology

Higginson

Miller

Segraves

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

111

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The coevolution of female mate preferences and exaggerated male traits is a fundamental prediction of many sexual selection models, but has largely defied testing due to the challenges of quantifying the sensory and cognitive bases of female preferences. We overcome this difficulty by focusing on postcopulatory sexual selection, where readily quantifiable female reproductive tract structures are capable of biasing paternity in favor of preferred sperm morphologies and thus represent a proximate mechanism of female mate choice when ejaculates from multiple males overlap within the tract. Here, we use phylogenetically controlled generalized least squares and logistic regression to test whether the evolution of female reproductive tract design might have driven the evolution of complex, multivariate sperm form in a family of aquatic beetles. The results indicate that female reproductive tracts have undergone extensive diversification in diving beetles, with remodeling of size and shape of several organs and structures being significantly associated with changes in sperm size, head shape, gains/losses of conjugation and conjugate size. Further, results of Bayesian analyses suggest that the loss of sperm conjugation is driven by elongation of the female reproductive tract. Behavioral and ultrastructural examination of sperm conjugates stored in the female tract indicates that conjugates anchor in optimal positions for fertilization. The results underscore the importance of postcopulatory sexual selection as an agent of diversification.ornaments | sperm competition | heteromorphism | genitalia | spermatheca D arwin attributed the evolution of many elaborate male traits to selection exerted by female mate discrimination (1). Female choosiness remains a foundation of sexual selection theory, with most models predicting a pattern of coevolution between female preference and exaggerated male traits (2). The role of cognition, however, renders preferences notoriously difficult to quantify, with constraints on the timing of reproduction, risks associated with mate evaluation, and environmental influences on female perception of mate quality further complicating matters (3). Consequently, few studies have attempted to test macroevolutionary patterns of codiversification of female preference and male traits, and those that do have very limited taxon sampling (4, 5).As with male traits important for mate choice, some sperm attributes exhibit high levels of morphological variation within species (6, 7) and dramatic divergence among species (7). This variation has been widely attributed to postcopulatory sexual selection (8-11), occurring whenever females mate with multiple males within a breeding cycle (12). Experimental and comparative evidence indicates that female reproductive tract architecture can influence competitive male fertilization success and generate selection on sperm form (2, 13-16), thus representing the proximate basis of female sperm choice (17). Reproductive tract dimensions are easily quantifiable and, becau...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female reproductive tract form drives the evolution of complex sperm morphology

Higginson

Miller

Segraves

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In contrast, D. melanogaster females store 700-1000 sperm (reviewed in Bloch Qazi et al 2003) per insemination and approximately 400 are used to fertilize eggs (Pitnick 1991). Male D. pseudoobscura pass as many as 25,000 sperm in a single ejaculate (Snook et al 1994). Multiple mating by female C. whitei may be an adaptation to ensure that adequate numbers of sperm are available for fertilization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm Survival in Female Stalk-Eyed Flies Depends on Seminal Fluid and Meiotic Drive

Fry¹,

Wilkinson²

2004

Evolution

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Abstract. Sperm competition is common in many insect species; however, the mechanisms underlying differences in sperm precedence are not well understood. In the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei (Diptera, Diopsidae), sperm precedence is influenced by the presence of sex chromosome meiotic drive. When drive-carrying males compete with non-driving males for fertilizations within a female, the number of progeny sired by drive males is significantly fewer than predicted by sperm mixing alone. Thus, drive males apparently suffer not only a reduction in the number of viable sperm produced, but also a reduction in sperm competitive ability. In this study, we manipulated the amount and source of seminal fluid and sperm received by females by interrupting copulations before sperm, but after seminal fluid, was transferred. We find that seminal fluid from another male influences the number of progeny sired by a drivecarrying male when both males mate with the same female. Sperm viability staining reveals that sperm from drive males are incapacitated by seminal fluid from other males within the female reproductive tract. These results suggest that multiple mating by females enables seminal fluid products to interact differentially with sperm and may reduce the transmission advantage of the drive chromosome.

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“…Mate preferences affected the fitness of female choosers, as Darwin (29) (32)(33)(34), male choice is not predicted to exist in D. pseudoobscura because of the dramatic size asymmetry of gametes, with vastly larger eggs than sperm (35,36), and also because there is no postzygotic parental care in this species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental constraints on mate preferences inDrosophila pseudoobscuradecrease offspring viability and fitness of mated pairs

Anderson¹,

Kim²,

Gowaty

2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Using Drosophila pseudoobscura, we tested the hypothesis that social constraints on the free expression of mate preferences, by both females and males, decrease offspring viability and reproductive success of mating pairs. Mate preference arenas eliminated intrasexual combat and intersexual coercion. The time female and male choosers spent in arena tests near either of two opposite-sex individuals measured the preferences of choosers. We placed choosers in breeding trials with their preferred or nonpreferred discriminatee when they met the minimum criteria for showing the same preference in two consecutive tests. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of female and male choosers meeting minimal preference criteria. There was a significant difference between female and male choosers for offspring viability, with female choice having the greater effect, but there was not a significant difference in the overall reproductive success of male and female choosers. There were significant differences in fitness between matings to preferred and nonpreferred partners. Female and male choosers paired with their nonpreferred discriminatees had offspring of significantly lower viability, as predicted by the constraints hypothesis. Reproductive success, our measure of overall fitness, was greater when males or females mated with the partner they preferred rather than the one they did not prefer.constraints hypothesis S ocial constraints on the free expression of mate preferences may affect offspring viability and reproductive success of choosers as suggested by commentators (1) on Partridge's (2) classic study, which was the first to associate offspring viability with mate choice. That mate preferences affect offspring viability also is an important prediction of hypotheses about the cues mediating mate preference (3), particularly those focused on mate compatibility at loci affecting immune function in offspring (4-6). Many studies have demonstrated that females prefer males with more elaborate secondary sexual characteristics (7), and other studies have shown that males with the most exaggerated secondary sexual traits are healthier than other males (8-12). However, relatively few studies (13-15) have shown benefits in offspring viability for females reproducing with males having traits preferred by most females. In contrast, recent studies on the benefits of mate preferences for choosers, without reference to traits of discriminatees that may mediate preferences, showed that mate preferences of females and males affect offspring viability (16-21), productivity of mating pairs (22), and chooser longevity (23). We tested the constraints hypothesis (24-26) that says social or ecological constraints on reproductive decisions, those that prevent individuals from reproducing with their preferred partner(s), result in lower offspring viability and lower overall reproductive success.To test predictions of the constraints hypothesis, we used the same methodology with Drosophila pseudoobscura as Drickamer ...

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Functional nonequivalence of sperm in Drosophila pseudoobscura.

Cited by 97 publications

References 19 publications

Female reproductive tract form drives the evolution of complex sperm morphology

Female reproductive tract form drives the evolution of complex sperm morphology

Sperm Survival in Female Stalk-Eyed Flies Depends on Seminal Fluid and Meiotic Drive

Experimental constraints on mate preferences inDrosophila pseudoobscuradecrease offspring viability and fitness of mated pairs

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