Some Aspects of the Reproductive Biology of Drosophila: Sperm Transfer, Sperm Storage, and Sperm Utilization

Fowler, Graham

doi:10.1016/s0065-2660(08)60173-x

Cited by 166 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…As the ovaries of these females contained eggs when dis sected, it is assumed they refrained from using the stored sperm for egg fertilization. It has been argued that a sperm storage organ and delayed fertilization enables fe males to accept or reject sperm following insemination and deprives males of direct influence on whether their sperm fertilizes eggs (Fowler, 1973;Gromko et al, 1984;Eberhard, 1996Eberhard, , 1997Alexander et al, 1997;Drown et al, 1997;Dickinson, 1997). Remarkably, 22 out of the 86 couples copulated for several hours longer than the 6 h needed for successful fertilization (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insemination and fertilization in the seed bug Lygaeus simulans (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

Micholitsch¹,

Krugel²,

Pass³

2000

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Abstract. In the laboratory, not all females of the seed bug Lygaeus simulans Decked, 1985, produced fertilized eggs after copula tion: 26.7% of the females were not inseminated and 5% were inseminated but did not lay fertilized eggs; only in 40% of the couples did copulation result in fertile eggs. The remaining 28.3% of couples refrained from mating. Duration of copulation was associated with insemination and fertilization: (i) fertile eggs were produced by only one couple that copulated for less than 60 min and all those that copulated for more than 360 min, (ii) probability of fertilization increased steadily with duration of copulation between 60 and 360 min, and (iii) duration of copulation was significantly different for couples that showed different insemination status.A possible morphological explanation for this time dependency was revealed by examining the genitalia of 69 couples freezefixed in copula after different periods in copulation. Because of the intricate structure of the genitalia in L. simulans, a male takes a long time to manoeuver its intromittent organ into the narrow insemination duct of the female. Only if completely inserted is the tip of the intromittent organ close enough for successful ejaculation of sperm into the spermatheca. The freeze-fixing experiment re vealed that it usually took the male more than 30 min to locate the entrance to the insemination duct and another 30 min for full penetration. This explains why copulations that lasted less than 60 min failed, since insemination began only after intromission was complete.The experiments, therefore, indicated that there is a relationship between the complex morphology of the genitalia and the low rates of insemination and fertilization in L. simulans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insemination and fertilization in the seed bug Lygaeus simulans (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

Micholitsch¹,

Krugel²,

Pass³

2000

Eur. J. Entomol.

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“…Because storage capacity is limited, females normally store only ~20-25% of the transferred sperm in two types of sperm storage organs: the spermathecae and the seminal receptacle (Lefevre and Jonsson, 1962;Fowler, 1973;Gilbert, 1981b). Immediately after mating, ~80% of the stored sperm are found in the seminal receptacle, a coiled tube-like organ (Lefevre and Jonsson, 1962;Fowler et al, 1968).…”

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confidence: 99%

Glucose dehydrogenase is required for normal sperm storage and utilization in femaleDrosophila melanogaster

Iida

Cavener

2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Female sperm storage is a key factor for reproductive success in a variety of organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster. The spermathecae, one of the Drosophila sperm storage organs, has been suggested as a long-term storage organ because its secreted substances may enhance the quality of sperm storage. Glucose dehydrogenase (GLD) is widely expressed and secreted in the spermathecal ducts among species of the genus Drosophila. This highly conserved expression pattern suggests that this enzyme might have an important role in female fertility. Here, we examine the function of GLD in sperm storage and utilization using Gld-null mutant females. The absence of GLD reduced the amount of sperm stored in the spermathecae and led to a highly asymmetrical sperm distribution in the two spermathecal capsules of the mutant females. The storage defect was especially severe when the mutant females were crossed to a Gld-mutant male that had previously mated a few hours before the experimental cross. Under this mating condition, the mutant females stored in the spermathecae only one-third of the sperm amount of the wild-type control females. In addition, the mutant females used stored sperm at a slower rate over a longer period compared with wild-type females. Thus, our results indicate that GLD facilitates both sperm uptake and release through the spermathecal ducts.

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“…The intensity of GFP fluorescence (IGF) in the area of sperm storage organs was calculated as [(Vs-Vo) × Np]. Next, we directly counted the number of sperm stored in the sperm storage organs of mated females using a staining method essentially the same as that described in Fowler (1973). The genital tracts of mated females were dissected in 0.7% NaCl at 1, 5, 24 and 120 hr after the end of copulation, fixed and stained with 2% aceto-lacto orcein.…”

Section: Sperm Storage Of Mated Femalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The females have two types of organs specialized for sperm storage, a long coiled tubule called the seminal (ventral) receptacle and a pair of mushroom-shaped organs called the spermathecae (Miller, 1950). It has been reported that mated females receive thousands of sperm through a single copulation and store 500-1,000 sperm in their sperm storage organs (Fowler, 1973;Gilbert, 1981;Tram and Wolfner, 1999). Females release sperm from storage organs to fertilize ovulated eggs as the eggs enter the uterus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm of the wasted mutant are wasted when females utilize the stored sperm in Drosophila melanogaster

Ohsako

Yamamoto

2011

Genes Genet. Syst.

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Females of many animal species store sperm after copulation for use in fertilization, but the mechanisms controlling sperm storage and utilization are largely unknown. Here we describe a novel male sterile mutation of Drosophila melanogaster, wasted (wst), which shows defects in various processes of sperm utilization. The sperm of wst mutant males are stored like those of wild-type males in the female sperm storage organs, the spermathecae and seminal receptacles, after copulation and are released at each ovulation. However, an average of thirteen times more wst sperm than wild type sperm are released at each ovulation, resulting in rapid loss of sperm stored in seminal receptacles within a few days after copulation. wst sperm can enter eggs efficiently at 5 hr after copulation, but the efficiency of sperm entry decreases significantly by 24 hr after copulation, suggesting that wst sperm lose their ability to enter eggs during storage. Furthermore, wst sperm fail to undergo nuclear decondensation, which prevents the process of fertilization even when sperm enter eggs. Our results indicate that the wst gene is essential for independent processes in the utilization of stored sperm; namely, regulation of sperm release from female storage organs, maintenance of sperm efficiency for entry into eggs, and formation of the male pronucleus in the egg at fertilization.

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Some Aspects of the Reproductive Biology of Drosophila: Sperm Transfer, Sperm Storage, and Sperm Utilization

Cited by 166 publications

References 102 publications

Insemination and fertilization in the seed bug Lygaeus simulans (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

Insemination and fertilization in the seed bug Lygaeus simulans (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

Glucose dehydrogenase is required for normal sperm storage and utilization in femaleDrosophila melanogaster

Sperm of the wasted mutant are wasted when females utilize the stored sperm in Drosophila melanogaster

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