Paternity analysis of wild-caught females shows that sperm package size and placement influence fertilization success in the bushcricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera
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In: Molecular Ecology, Vol. 26, No. 11, 01.06.2017, p. 3050-3061.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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T1 - Paternity analysis of wild-caught females shows that sperm package size and placement influence fertilization success in the bushcricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera
AU - Parker, Darren James
AU - Zaborowska, Julia
AU - Ritchie, Michael Gordon
AU - Vahed, Karim
N1 - © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2017/6/1
Y1 - 2017/6/1
N2 - In species where females store sperm, males may try to influence paternity by the strategic placement of sperm within the female's sperm storage organ. Sperm may be mixed or layered in storage organs, and this can influence sperm use beyond a 'fair raffle'. In some insects, sperm from different matings is packaged into discrete packets (spermatodoses), which retain their integrity in the female's sperm storage organ (spermatheca), but little is known about how these may influence patterns of sperm use under natural mating conditions in wild populations. We examined the effect of the size and position of spermatodoses within the spermatheca and number of competing ejaculates on sperm use in female dark bushcrickets (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) that had mated under unmanipulated field conditions. Females were collected near the end of the mating season, and seven hypervariable microsatellite loci were used to assign paternity of eggs laid in the laboratory. Females contained a median of three spermatodoses (range 1-6), and only six of the 36 females contained more than one spermatodose of the same genotype. Both the size and relative placement of the spermatodoses within the spermatheca had a significant effect on paternity, with a bias against smaller spermatodoses and those further from the single entrance/exit of the spermatheca. A higher number of competing males reduced the chances of siring offspring for each male. Hence, both spermatodose size and relative placement in the spermatheca influence paternity success.
AB - In species where females store sperm, males may try to influence paternity by the strategic placement of sperm within the female's sperm storage organ. Sperm may be mixed or layered in storage organs, and this can influence sperm use beyond a 'fair raffle'. In some insects, sperm from different matings is packaged into discrete packets (spermatodoses), which retain their integrity in the female's sperm storage organ (spermatheca), but little is known about how these may influence patterns of sperm use under natural mating conditions in wild populations. We examined the effect of the size and position of spermatodoses within the spermatheca and number of competing ejaculates on sperm use in female dark bushcrickets (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) that had mated under unmanipulated field conditions. Females were collected near the end of the mating season, and seven hypervariable microsatellite loci were used to assign paternity of eggs laid in the laboratory. Females contained a median of three spermatodoses (range 1-6), and only six of the 36 females contained more than one spermatodose of the same genotype. Both the size and relative placement of the spermatodoses within the spermatheca had a significant effect on paternity, with a bias against smaller spermatodoses and those further from the single entrance/exit of the spermatheca. A higher number of competing males reduced the chances of siring offspring for each male. Hence, both spermatodose size and relative placement in the spermatheca influence paternity success.
KW - Animals
KW - Female
KW - Fertilization
KW - Male
KW - Microsatellite Repeats
KW - Orthoptera/genetics
KW - Reproduction
KW - Sexual Behavior, Animal
KW - Spermatozoa/physiology
U2 - 10.1111/mec.14089
DO - 10.1111/mec.14089
M3 - Article
C2 - 28387041
VL - 26
SP - 3050
EP - 3061
JO - Molecular Ecology
JF - Molecular Ecology
SN - 0962-1083
IS - 11
ER -