scholarly journals Copulation, genital damage and early death in Callosobruchus maculatus

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1607) ◽  
pp. 247-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E Eady ◽  
Leticia Hamilton ◽  
Ruth E Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Mating Frequency ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Female Longevity ◽  
Fluid Transfer

Antagonistic sexual coevolution stems from the notion that male and female interests over reproduction are in conflict. Such conflicts appear to be particularly obvious when male genital armature inflicts damage to the female reproductive tract resulting in reduced female longevity. However, studies of mating frequency, genital damage and female longevity are difficult to interpret because females not only sustain more genital damage, but also receive more seminal fluid when they engage in multiple copulations. Here, we attempt to disentangle the effects of genital damage and seminal fluid transfer on female longevity in the beetle Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Males copulating for the sixth time in succession inflicted greater levels of genital damage, but transferred smaller ejaculates in comparison with virgin males. The number of copulations performed by males was negatively related to female fecundity and positively related to female longevity, suggesting a trade-off between fecundity and longevity. However, inclusion of fecundity as a covariate revealed sperm and/or seminal fluid transfer to have a negative impact on female longevity above that caused by the fecundity–longevity trade-off. The consequences of multiple copulations on female longevity were examined. Females that mated twice laid more eggs and died sooner than those that mated once. However, incorporation of fecundity as a covariate into our statistical model removed the effect of female mating frequency on female longevity, indicating that double-mated females suffer greater mortality owing to the trade-off between fecundity and longevity. Males of this species are known to transfer very large ejaculates (up to 8% of their body weight), which may represent a significant nutritional benefit to females. However, the receipt of large ejaculates appears to carry costs. Thus, the interpretation of multiple mating experiments on female longevity and associated functional explanations of polyandry in this species are likely to be complex.

Post-Copulatory Sexual Selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L.R. Brennan ◽  
Dara N. Orbach
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Fertilization Success ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Cryptic Female Choice ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Morphological Criteria

The field of post-copulatory sexual selection investigates how female and male adaptations have evolved to influence the fertilization of eggs while optimizing fitness during and after copulation, when females mate with multiple males. When females are polyandrous (one female mates with multiple males), they may optimize their mating rate and control the outcome of mating interactions to acquire direct and indirect benefits. Polyandry may also favor the evolution of male traits that offer an advantage in post-copulatory male-male sperm competition. Sperm competition occurs when the sperm, seminal fluid, and/or genitalia of one male directly impacts the outcome of fertilization success of a rival male. When a female mates with multiple males, she may use information from a number of traits to choose who will sire her offspring. This cryptic female choice (CFC) to bias paternity can be based on behavioral, physiological, and morphological criteria (e.g., copulatory courtship, volume and/or composition of seminal fluid, shape of grasping appendages). Because male fitness interests are rarely perfectly aligned with female fitness interests, sexual conflict over mating and fertilization commonly occur during copulatory and post-copulatory interactions. Post-copulatory interactions inherently involve close associations between female and male reproductive characteristics, which in many species potentially include sperm storage and sperm movement inside the female reproductive tract, and highlight the intricate coevolution between the sexes. This coevolution is also common in genital morphology. The great diversity of genitalia among species is attributed to sexual selection. The evolution of genital attributes that allow females to maintain reproductive autonomy over paternity via cryptic female choice or that prevent male manipulation and sexual control via sexually antagonistic coevolution have been well documented. Additionally, cases where genitalia evolve through intrasexual competition are well known. Another important area of study in post-copulatory sexual selection is the examination of trade-offs between investments in pre-copulatory and post-copulatory traits, since organisms have limited energetic resources to allocate to reproduction, and securing both mating and fertilization is essential for reproductive success.

scholarly journals Differences in Postmating Transcriptional Responses between Conspecific and Heterospecific Matings in Drosophila

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasir H Ahmed-Braimah ◽  
Mariana F Wolfner ◽  
Andrew G Clark
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Additional Stress ◽  
Reproductive Proteins ◽  
Transcriptional Responses ◽  
Seminal Fluid Proteins ◽  
Reproductive Genes ◽  
Imd Pathway

Abstract In many animal species, females undergo physiological and behavioral changes after mating. Some of these changes are driven by male-derived seminal fluid proteins and are critical for fertilization success. Unfortunately, our understanding of the molecular interplay between female and male reproductive proteins remains inadequate. Here, we analyze the postmating response in a Drosophila species that has evolved strong gametic incompatibility with its sister species; Drosophila novamexicana females produce only ∼1% fertilized eggs in crosses with Drosophila americana males, compared to ∼98% produced in within-species crosses. This incompatibility is likely caused by mismatched male and female reproductive molecules. In this study, we use short-read RNA sequencing to examine the evolutionary dynamics of female reproductive genes and the postmating transcriptome response in crosses within and between species. First, we found that most female reproductive tract genes are slow-evolving compared to the genome average. Second, postmating responses in con- and heterospecific matings are largely congruent, but heterospecific matings induce expression of additional stress-response genes. Some of those are immunity genes that are activated by the Imd pathway. We also identify several genes in the JAK/STAT signaling pathway that are induced in heterospecific, but not conspecific mating. While this immune response was most pronounced in the female reproductive tract, we also detect it in the female head and ovaries. These results show that the female’s postmating transcriptome-level response is determined in part by the genotype of the male, and that divergence in male reproductive genes and/or traits can have immunogenic effects on females.

scholarly journals Inhibition of reverse transcriptases by seminalplasmin

1983 ◽  
Vol 209 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
E S P Reddy ◽  
M R Das ◽  
E P Reddy ◽  
P M Bhargava
Keyword(s):  
Dna Polymerase ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Potent Inhibitor ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Dna Polymerase I ◽  
Avian Myeloblastosis Virus ◽  
Antibacterial Protein ◽  
Reverse Transcriptases ◽  
Polymerase I

Seminalplasmin, an antibacterial protein present in bovine seminal plasma, is shown to be a potent inhibitor of reverse transcriptases (RNA-dependent DNA nucleotidyltransferases). Seminalplasmin inhibits RNA-directed, hybrid-directed, and DNA-directed DNA-polymerizing activities of purified reverse transcriptase from avian myeloblastosis virus and from crude viral lysates of several retroviruses by binding to the enzyme, at least in the case of avian myeloblastosis virus. Seminalplasmin does not inhibit significantly DNA synthesis either by Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I, or a mammalian alpha-DNA polymerase. The presence of seminalplasmin in the seminal fluid could provide protection to the male and/or the female reproductive tract against retroviruses.

scholarly journals In vivo exposure to 17β-estradiol triggers premature sperm capacitation in cauda epididymis

Reproduction ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Ded ◽  
Natasa Sebkova ◽  
Martina Cerna ◽  
Fatima Elzeinova ◽  
Pavla Dostalova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Sperm Capacitation ◽  
Epididymal Sperm ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
17Β Estradiol

Estrogens play a crucial role in spermatogenesis and estrogen receptor α knock-out male mice are infertile. It has been demonstrated that estrogens significantly increase the speed of capacitation in vitro; however this may lead to the reduction of reproductive potential due to the decreased ability of these sperm to undergo the acrosome reaction. To date the in vivo effect of estrogens on the ability of sperm to capacitate has not been investigated. Therefore, in this study, we exposed mice (n=24) to 17β-estradiol (E2) at the concentration of 20 ng/ml either during puberty from the fourth to seventh week of age (n=8), or continuously from birth for a period of 12 weeks (n=8) at which age the animals from both groups were killed. The capacitation status of epididymal and testicular sperm was analysed by tyrosine phosphorylation (TyrP) antibody (immunofluorescence and western blot) and chlortetracycline (CTC) assay. According to our results, in vivo exposure to increased E2 concentrations caused premature sperm capacitation in the epididymis. The effect of E2, however, seems reversible because after the termination of the exposure premature epididymal sperm capacitation is decreased in animals treated during puberty. Furthermore the changes in epididymal sperm capacitation status detected by TyrP and CTC positively correlate with plasma levels of E2 and the expression of the estrogen-dependent trefoil factor 1 (Tff1) gene in testicular tissue. Therefore, our data implicate that in vivo exposure to E2 under specific conditions leads to the premature capacitation of mouse sperm in epididymis with a potential negative impact on the sperm reproductive fitness in the female reproductive tract.

scholarly journals Differences in post-mating transcriptional responses between conspecific and heterospecific matings in Drosophila

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasir H. Ahmed-Braimah ◽  
Mariana F. Wolfner ◽  
Andrew G. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Additional Stress ◽  
Reproductive Proteins ◽  
Transcriptional Responses ◽  
Seminal Fluid Proteins ◽  
Reproductive Genes ◽  
Imd Pathway

AbstractIn many animal species, females undergo physiological and behavioral changes after mating. Some of these changes are driven by male-derived seminal fluid proteins, and are critical for fertilization success. Unfortunately, our understanding of the molecular interplay between female and male reproductive proteins remains superficial. Here we analyze the post-mating response in a Drosophila species that has evolved strong gametic incompatibility with its sister species; D. novamexicana females produce only 1% fertilized eggs in crosses with D. americana males, compared to ~98% produced in within-species crosses. This incompatibility is likely caused by mismatched male and female reproductive molecules. In this study we use short-read RNA sequencing to examine the evolutionary dynamics of female reproductive genes and the post-mating transcriptome response in crosses within and between species. First, we found that most female reproductive tract genes are slow-evolving compared to the genome average. Second, post-mating responses in con- and heterospecific matings are largely congruent, but heterospecific mating induces expression of additional stress-response genes. Some of those are immunity genes that are activated by the Imd pathway. We also identify several genes in the JAK/STAT signaling pathway that are induced in heterospecific, but not conspecific mating. While this immune response was most pronounced in the female reproductive tract, we also detect it in the female head and ovaries. Our results show that the female’s post-mating transcriptome-level response is determined in part by the genotype of the male, and that divergence in male reproductive genes and/or traits can have immunogenic effects on females.

scholarly journals Male density and rapid evolution of genital morphology in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Soper ◽  
W. L. Macy
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Spine Length ◽  
Seed Beetle ◽  
Male Density ◽  
Testes Size ◽  
Seven Generations ◽  
Male Genital

SummaryMale reproductive structures are known to be extremely diverse, particularly in insect taxa. Male genital structures are thought to be some of the fastest evolving traits, but the processes responsible for this pattern remain unclear. In the present study we manipulated the mating regimes of Callosobruchus maculatus, a seed beetle, to determine if male genital structures would be altered under forced monogamy and polyandry. Males in this species have an intromittent organ that contains spines that are known to puncture the female reproductive tract. We measured both testes size and genital spine length in monogamous and polyandrous treatments over seven generations. We found that testes size was not significantly different between treatments, but that genital spine length was significantly longer in the polyandrous treatment within seven generations. These results highlight the fact that evolution can occur rapidly when under strong sexual selection, a process that has been implicated in leading to morphological differences in male genitalia.

scholarly journals Steps in the investigation and management of low semen volume in the infertile man

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Roberts ◽  
Keith Jarvi
Keyword(s):  
Male Infertility ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Semen Analysis ◽  
Fluid Volume ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Semen Volume ◽  
Low Volume

An adequate semen volume of ejaculate fluid is required to transportsperm into the female reproductive tract and allow for fertilizationof the oocyte. Thus, seminal fluid volume is an importantpart of the semen analysis done to investigate male infertility. Inthis article, we review the anatomy and physiology of ejaculation,the various etiologies of low-volume ejaculation (artifactual,structural, functional). We then present a comprehensive algorithmfor the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of the infertileman presenting with low semen volume.Un volume suffisant de liquide séminal dans l’éjaculat est nécessairepour transporter les spermatozoïdes dans les voies reproductricesde la femme et permettre la fécondation de l’ovule.Ainsi, le volume de liquide séminal est une partie importante del’analyse du sperme effectuée afin d’évaluer la fertilité mâle. Dansnotre article, nous passons en revue l’anatomie et la physiologiede l’éjaculation et les diverses causes (artéfactuelles, structuraleset fonctionnelles) d’un faible volume d’éjaculat. Nous présentonsensuite un algorithme complet pour l’évaluation, le diagnostic etle traitement de l’infertilité dans les cas de faible volume de li -quide séminal.

Transforming growth factor-? (TGF?) in porcine seminal plasma

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean O'Leary ◽  
David T. Armstrong ◽  
Sarah A. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Seminal Plasma ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Interferon Γ ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Active Constituent ◽  
Sperm Density

Bioactive factors in seminal plasma induce cellular and molecular changes in the female reproductive tract after coitus. An active constituent of seminal plasma in mice and humans is the potent immune-modulating cytokine transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ). To investigate whether TGFβ is present in boar seminal plasma, TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 were measured by immunoassay. High levels of TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 were detected in 100% of seminal fluid samples from 73 boars. Both were predominantly in the active, not latent form. Interferon-γ (IFNγ) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), agents that interact with TGFβ signalling, were detectable in 5% and 100% of samples, respectively. TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 concentrations varied widely between boars, but correlated with each other and with sperm density, and remained relatively constant within individual boars over a 6-month period. Frequent semen collection substantially diminished the concentration of both TGFβ isoforms. Using retrospective breeding data for 44 boars, no correlation between TGFβ content and boar reproductive performance by artificial insemination (AI) with diluted semen was found. It is concluded that TGFβ is abundant in boar seminal plasma, leading to the speculation that, in pigs, TGFβ may be a male–female signalling agent involved in immune changes in the female reproductive tract elicited by seminal fluid.

scholarly journals BMP-regulated exosomes from Drosophila male reproductive glands reprogram female behavior

2014 ◽  
Vol 206 (5) ◽  
pp. 671-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Corrigan ◽  
Siamak Redhai ◽  
Aaron Leiblich ◽  
Shih-Jung Fan ◽  
Sumeth M.W. Perera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Bmp Signaling ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Female Behavior ◽  
Accessory Glands ◽  
Morphogenetic Protein ◽  
Downstream Effectors ◽  
Membrane Bound

Male reproductive glands secrete signals into seminal fluid to facilitate reproductive success. In Drosophila melanogaster, these signals are generated by a variety of seminal peptides, many produced by the accessory glands (AGs). One epithelial cell type in the adult male AGs, the secondary cell (SC), grows selectively in response to bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. This signaling is involved in blocking the rapid remating of mated females, which contributes to the reproductive advantage of the first male to mate. In this paper, we show that SCs secrete exosomes, membrane-bound vesicles generated inside late endosomal multivesicular bodies (MVBs). After mating, exosomes fuse with sperm (as also seen in vitro for human prostate-derived exosomes and sperm) and interact with female reproductive tract epithelia. Exosome release was required to inhibit female remating behavior, suggesting that exosomes are downstream effectors of BMP signaling. Indeed, when BMP signaling was reduced in SCs, vesicles were still formed in MVBs but not secreted as exosomes. These results demonstrate a new function for the MVB–exosome pathway in the reproductive tract that appears to be conserved across evolution.

scholarly journals Conspecific sperm precedence in Callosobruchus subinnotatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae): mechanisms and consequences

2007 ◽  
Vol 274 (1612) ◽  
pp. 983-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F Rugman-Jones ◽  
Paul E Eady
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Sperm Precedence ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Mating Order ◽  
Callosobruchus Subinnotatus

Conspecific sperm precedence (CSP) has been identified as an important post-copulatory, pre-zygotic mechanism that can act to reduce gene flow between populations. The evolution of CSP is thought to have arisen as a by-product of male and female coevolution in response to intraspecific post-copulatory sexual selection. However, little is known about the mechanisms that generate CSP. When Callosobruchus subinnotatus females copulate with both C. subinnotatus and Callosobruchus maculatus males, regardless of mating order, the majority of eggs are fertilized by conspecific sperm. The low number of heterospecific fertilizations does not result from general differences in the viability of sperm in the female reproductive tract, as heterospecific sperm fertilized equivalent numbers of eggs as conspecific sperm in the absence of sperm competition. Instead, CSP results from disadvantages to heterospecific sperm that are manifest only when in competition with conspecific sperm. CSP in C. subinnotatus appears to result from two, not mutually exclusive, mechanisms. First, conspecific sperm are better able to displace heterospecific sperm from female storage. Second, conspecific sperm achieve disproportionately higher numbers of fertilizations relative to their proportional representation in the fertilization set. Thus, we provide evidence of differential sperm use from the female spermatheca.

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