The sex peptide of
            <i>Drosophila melanogaster:</i>
            Female post-mating responses analyzed by using RNA interference

Chapman, Tracey; Bangham, Jenny; Vinti, Giovanna; Seifried, Beth; Lung, Oliver; Wolfner, Mariana F.; Smith, Hazel K.; Partridge, Linda

doi:10.1073/pnas.1631635100

Cited by 468 publications

(519 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…However, the majority of functional categories were significantly down-rather than upregulated in the Abd, in contrast to the expectation given that receipt of SP significantly elevates egg production [20,21]. A plausible explanation is the loss of maternal mRNAs [69,70] in the significantly increased numbers of eggs laid.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

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Sex peptide of Drosophila melanogaster males is a global regulator of reproductive processes in females

et al. 2012

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Seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) alter female behaviour and physiology and can mediate sexual conflict. In Drosophila melanogaster, a single Sfp, the sex peptide (SP), triggers remarkable post-mating responses in females, including altered fecundity, feeding, immunity and sexual receptivity. These effects can favour the evolutionary interests of males while generating costs in females. We tested the hypothesis that SP is an upstream master-regulator able to induce diverse phenotypes through efficient induction of widespread transcriptional changes in females. We profiled mRNA responses to SP in adult female abdomen (Abd) and headþthorax (HT) tissues using microarrays at 3 and 6 h following mating. SP elicited a rich, subtle signature of temporally and spatially controlled mRNAs. There were significant alterations to genes linked to egg development, early embryogenesis, immunity, nutrient sensing, behaviour and, unexpectedly, phototransduction. There was substantially more variation in the direction of differential expression across time points in the HT versus Abd. The results support the idea that SP is an important regulator of gene expression in females. The expression of many genes in one sex can therefore be under the influence of a regulator expressed in the other. This could influence the extent of sexual conflict both within and between loci.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…We assayed mRNAs regulated by SP at 3 and 6 h after mating, to coincide with phenotypic responses observed at 3 h [20,21,23,[33][34][35] and through 6 h and beyond [14,20]. We conducted fourfold independent biological replication.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex peptide of Drosophila melanogaster males is a global regulator of reproductive processes in females

et al. 2012

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“…SP leads to rejection of courting males and increases egg production and oviposition [4][5][6][7][8], but also leads to other behavioural and physiological changes. These include an increase in feeding, a change in food choice and sleep, and stimulation of the immune system [9][10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple pathways mediate the sex-peptide-regulated switch in female Drosophila reproductive behaviours

et al. 2013

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Male-derived sex-peptide (SP) induces profound changes in the behaviour of Drosophila females, resulting in decreased receptivity to further mating and increased egg laying. SP can mediate the switch in female reproductive behaviours via a G protein-coupled receptor, SPR, in neurons expressing fruitless, doublesex and pickpocket. Whether SPR is the sole receptor and whether SP induces the postmating switch in a single pathway has not, to our knowledge been tested. Here we report that the SP response can be induced in the absence of SPR when SP is ectopically expressed in neurons or when SP, transferred by mating, can access neurons through a leaky blood brain barrier. Membrane-tethered SP can induce oviposition via doublesex, but not fruitless and pickpocket neurons in SPR mutant females. Although pickpocket and doublesex neurons rely on G(o) signalling to reduce receptivity and induce oviposition, G(o) signalling in fruitless neurons is required only to induce oviposition, but not to reduce receptivity. Our results show that SP's action in reducing receptivity and inducing oviposition can be separated in fruitless and doublesex neurons. Hence, the SP-induced postmating switch incorporates shared, but also distinct circuitry of fruitless, doublesex and pickpocket neurons and additional receptors.

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“…In some species, low-condition males may be consistently disfavoured in sperm competition (e.g. when female re-mating rate is elevated after matings with low-condition males, Chapman et al 2003;Pitcher et al 2003; or when females bias sperm storage towards high quality males, Vermeulen et al 2008). Although previous studies have reported increased sperm transfer by high-condition males (referenced above), it is generally not clear whether this represents an increased allocation to sperm relative to non-sperm ejaculate components or an increase in total ejaculate, or even a decreased allocation to sperm if non-sperm components increase more than sperm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Condition-dependent ejaculate size and composition in a ladybird beetle

Perry

Rowe

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Sexually selected male ejaculate traits are expected to depend on the resource state of males. Theory predicts that males in good condition will produce larger ejaculates, but that ejaculate composition will depend on the relative production costs of ejaculate components and the risk of sperm competition experienced by low-and high-condition males. Under some conditions, when low condition leads to poorer performance in sperm competition, males in low condition may produce ejaculates with higher sperm content relative to their total ejaculate and may even transfer more sperm than high-condition males in an absolute sense. Previous studies in insects have shown that males in good condition transfer larger ejaculates or more sperm, but it has not been clear whether increased sperm content represents a shift in allocation or simply a larger ejaculate, and thus the condition dependence of ejaculate composition has been largely untested. We examined condition dependence in ejaculate by manipulating adult male condition in a ladybird beetle (Adalia bipunctata) in which males transfer three distinct ejaculate components during mating: sperm, non-sperm ejaculate retained within the female reproductive tract, and a spermatophore capsule that females eject and ingest following mating. We found that high condition males indeed transferred larger ejaculates, potentially achieved by an increased rate of ejaculate transfer, and allocated less to sperm compared with low-condition males. Low-condition males transferred ejaculates with absolutely and proportionally more sperm. This study provides the first experimental evidence for a condition-dependent shift in ejaculate composition.

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The sex peptide of Drosophila melanogaster: Female post-mating responses analyzed by using RNA interference

Cited by 468 publications

References 46 publications

Sex peptide of Drosophila melanogaster males is a global regulator of reproductive processes in females

Sex peptide of Drosophila melanogaster males is a global regulator of reproductive processes in females

Multiple pathways mediate the sex-peptide-regulated switch in female Drosophila reproductive behaviours

Condition-dependent ejaculate size and composition in a ladybird beetle

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