Drosophila Males Contribute to Oogenesis in a Multiple Mating Species

Abstract

Two species of Drosophila that differ in their ecology and mating systems have been compared with respect to male contribution to the somatic tissues and developing oocytes of females. In the species Drosophila mojavensis females remate daily, exhibit a copulatory plug, and have been shown to obtain a contribution from the male ejaculate. In contrast, Drosophila melanogaster males do not contribute to females. Female Drosophila melanogaster do not remate as frequently as Drosophila mojavensis females nor is a copulatory plug formed.

Within- and between-generation effects of temperature on early fecundity of Drosophila melanogaster

“…In any case, the presence of an apparent paternal effect implies that one or more components of a sire's ejaculate (or the sire's behaviour) somehow influence the fecundity of his offspring. Male Drosophila influence the fecundity of their mates (Markow & Ankney, 1984;Markow, 1988;Partridge et a!., 1986;Pitnick, 1991; see also Hoffmann & Harshman, 1985), and the developmental temperature of a male influences the longevity of its mate (Cohet & David, 1976). However, to our knowledge, any potential cross-generational effect of a male on the fecundity of his offspring (rather than of his mate) has not previously been documented.…”

“…A given female's fecundity can be influenced by her genetics (Robertson, 1957), body size (Robertson, 1957), age (David, 1988) and also by her mate or by male effects (Markow & Ankney, 1984;Hoffmann & Harshman, 1985;Partridge et a!., 1986;Pitnick, 1991). Fecundity is also strongly influenced by environmental factors such as crowding and temperature (Robertson & Sang, 1944;David et al, 1983).…”

The evolutionary history of Drosophila buzzatii. XIV. Larger flies mate more often in nature

“…Nevertheless, Markow (1982) points out that the putative role of male choice in cactophilic Drosophila species deserves some consideration. A striking characteristic of the mating systems of these species is the frequent female remating, which assures a ready supply of sperm and, perhaps most important, that females gain nutrients from males (Markow and Ankney, 1984;Starmer eta!., in press). If male choice exists in D. buzzatii, we would predict that males should prefer larger females over smaller ones.…”

Female fitness is increased by frequent mating in grasshoppers

“…Some species, such as tettigoniids, have an external spermatophore which contains, in addition to sperm, a considerable quantity of nutrients that are eaten by the female after mating (Gwynne, 1990). Insects with an internal spermatophore, such as grasshoppers (Friedel & Gilot, 1977), butterflies (Boggs & Gilbert, 1979), cockroaches (Mullins & Keil, 1980) and Drosophila (Markow & Ankney, 1984), also provide nutrients with the ejaculate that are absorbed in the female genital tract and may be incorporated into eggs. This contribution might be a kind of male parental investment because it enhances egg production by recipient females (Boggs & Gilbert, 1979;Gwynne, 1981;Steele, 1986;Butlin et a!., 1987) and represents a cost for males (Gwynne, 1990), but only in species with high paternity confidence for males (Gwynne, 1984).…”