How to translate text using browser tools
1 July 2004 SPERM SURVIVAL IN FEMALE STALK-EYED FLIES DEPENDS ON SEMINAL FLUID AND MEIOTIC DRIVE
Catherine L. Fry, Gerald S. Wilkinson
Author Affiliations +
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 drive-carrying 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.

Catherine L. Fry and Gerald S. Wilkinson "SPERM SURVIVAL IN FEMALE STALK-EYED FLIES DEPENDS ON SEMINAL FLUID AND MEIOTIC DRIVE," Evolution 58(7), 1622-1626, (1 July 2004). https://doi.org/10.1554/03-748
Received: 18 December 2003; Accepted: 18 March 2004; Published: 1 July 2004
JOURNAL ARTICLE
5 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Accessory gland proteins
Cyrtodiopsis whitei
seminal fluid
sperm incapacitation
sperm precedence
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top