Costs and benefits of giant sperm and sperm storage organs in Drosophila melanogaster

Citations Over TimeTop 15% of 2019 papers

Abstract

In Drosophila, long sperm are favoured in sperm competition based on the length of the female's primary sperm storage organ, the seminal receptacle (SR). This sperm-SR interaction, together with a genetic correlation between the traits, suggests that the coevolution of exaggerated sperm and SR lengths may be driven by Fisherian runaway selection. Here, we explore the costs and benefits of long sperm and SR genotypes, both in the sex that carries them and in the sex that does not. We measured male and female fitness in inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster derived from four populations previously selected for long sperm, short sperm, long SRs or short SRs. We specifically asked: What are the costs and benefits of long sperm in males and long SRs in females? Furthermore, do genotypes that generate long sperm in males or long SRs in females impose a fitness cost on the opposite sex? Answers to these questions will address whether long sperm are an honest indicator of male fitness, male post-copulatory success is associated with male precopulatory success, female choice benefits females or is costly, and intragenomic conflict could influence evolution of these traits. We found that both sexes have increased longevity in long sperm and long SR genotypes. Males, but not females, from long SR lines had higher fecundity. Our results suggest that sperm-SR coevolution is facilitated by both increased viability and indirect benefits of long sperm and SRs in both sexes.

Related Papers

• → Sexual conflict(2003)970 cited
• → SEXUAL CONFLICT AND SEXUAL SELECTION: LOST IN THE CHASE(2004)77 cited
• → SEXUAL CONFLICT AND SEXUAL SELECTION: LOST IN THE CHASE(2004)15 cited
• → Sexual conflict and cooperation under naturally occurring male enforced monogamy(2004)50 cited
• → SEXUAL CONFLICT AND SEXUAL SELECTION: MEASURING ANTAGONISTIC COEVOLUTION(2004)3 cited