Male spiders control offspring sex ratio through greater production of female-determining sperm

Vanthournout, Bram; Busck, Mette Marie; Bechsgaard, Jesper; Hendrickx, Frederik; Schramm, Andreas; Bilde, Trine

doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.2887

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These bacteria, Wolbachia, Rickettsia, Cardinium, and Spiroplasma, were largely absent in social Stegodyphus ( Supplementary Table S5). These symbionts probably do not play a role in the skewed sex ratio in social Stegodyphus, which has been explained by a biased production of X chromosome-carrying sperm cells (that give rise to females) in S. dumicola and S. mimosarum (Vanthournout et al, 2018).…”

Section: Social Spider Microbiomes Resemble Those Of Social Insects Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiomes and Specific Symbionts of Social Spiders: Compositional Patterns in Host Species, Populations, and Nests

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social spiders have remarkably low species-wide genetic diversities, potentially increasing the relative importance of microbial symbionts for host fitness. Here we explore the bacterial microbiomes of three species of social Stegodyphus (S. dumicola, S. mimosarum, and S. sarasinorum), within and between populations, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The microbiomes of the three spider species were distinct but shared similarities in membership and structure. This included low overall diversity (Shannon index 0.5-1.7), strong dominance of single symbionts in individual spiders (McNaughton's dominance index 0.68-0.93), and a core microbiome (>50% prevalence) consisting of 5-7 specific symbionts. The most abundant and prevalent symbionts were classified as Chlamydiales, Borrelia, and Mycoplasma, all representing novel, presumably Stegodyphus-specific lineages. Borrelia-and Mycoplasma-like symbionts were localized by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the spider midgut. The microbiomes of individual spiders were highly similar within nests but often very different between nests from the same population, with only the microbiome of S. sarasinorum consistently reflecting host population structure. The weak population pattern in microbiome composition renders microbiome-facilitated local adaptation unlikely. However, the retention of specific symbionts across populations and species may indicate a recurrent acquisition from environmental vectors or an essential symbiotic contribution to spider phenotype.

show abstract

Section: Social Spider Microbiomes Resemble Those Of Social Insects Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbiomes and Specific Symbionts of Social Spiders: Compositional Patterns in Host Species, Populations, and Nests

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Individual and population‐level sperm SR biases are not as rare as previously thought (e.g., Beckett, Martin, & Hoar, ; Edwards & Cameron, ; Edwards et al, ; Saragusty et al, ; Vanthournout et al, ). Here, we show a population average of 50.05%, which may seem biologically insignificant at first glance; however, when considering sperm counts per ejaculate in this species (Paris et al, ), this small deviation results in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, more Y‐CBS than X‐CBS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…In mammals, research has focused almost entirely on mothers, partly due to the assumption that the male contribution is under meiotic control and partly due to the differential cost of reproduction with mothers investing more in their offspring than fathers. However, studies investigating the possibility of paternal adaptive sex allocation are increasing and may explain some of the reported inconsistencies in offspring SR (e.g., Edwards & Cameron, ; Malo et al, ; Vanthournout et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Changes in sperm sex ratios (sperm SR) are likely to influence offspring SR but seminal fluids likely also play a vital role through cryptic male choice (Edwards & Cameron, ). Technological advances allow for a fast, cheap, and accurate analysis of sperm SR, which have now been recorded across a several taxa (e.g., Edwards & Cameron, ; Malo et al, ; Vanthournout et al, ). The mechanistic drivers of sperm SR biases remain understudied, but coital rate, environmental contaminants, and age are predicted to play a large role (Edwards & Cameron, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sexual conflict in action: An antagonistic relationship between maternal and paternal sex allocation in the tammar wallaby, Notamacropus eugenii

Edwards

Cameron

Deakin

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sex ratio biases are often inconsistent, both among and within species and populations. While some of these inconsistencies may be due to experimental design, much of the variation remains inexplicable. Recent research suggests that an exclusive focus on mothers may account for some of the inconsistency, with an increasing number of studies showing variation in sperm sex ratios and seminal fluids. Using fluorescent in‐situ hybridization, we show a significant population‐level Y‐chromosome bias in the spermatozoa of wild tammar wallabies, but with significant intraindividual variation between males. We also show a population‐level birth sex ratio trend in the same direction toward male offspring, but a weaning sex ratio that is significantly female‐biased, indicating that males are disproportionately lost during lactation. We hypothesize that sexual conflict between parents may cause mothers to adjust offspring sex ratios after birth, through abandonment of male pouch young and reactivation of diapaused embryos. Further research is required in a captive, controlled setting to understand what is driving and mechanistically controlling sperm sex ratio and offspring sex ratio biases and to understand the sexually antagonistic relationship between mothers and fathers over offspring sex. These results extend beyond sex allocation, as they question studies of population processes that assume equal input of sex chromosomes from fathers, and will also assist with future reproduction studies for management and conservation of marsupials.

show abstract

“…These findings are consistent with X chromosome meiotic drive. Furthermore, the authors provide data suggesting that endosymbionts do not cause the drive (Vanthournout et al 2018).…”

Section: Evolution Of Sex Ratiosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in spiders: from phenotype to genomics

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual reproduction is pervasive in animals and has led to the evolution of sexual dimorphism. In most animals, males and females show marked differences in primary and secondary sexual traits. The formation of sex-specific organs and eventually sex-specific behaviors is defined during the development of an organism. Sex determination processes have been extensively studied in a few well-established model organisms. While some key molecular regulators are conserved across animals, the initiation of sex determination is highly diverse. To reveal the mechanisms underlying the development of sexual dimorphism and to identify the evolutionary forces driving the evolution of different sexes, sex determination mechanisms must thus be studied in detail in many different animal species beyond the typical model systems. In this perspective article, we argue that spiders represent an excellent group of animals in which to study sex determination mechanisms. We show that spiders are sexually dimorphic in various morphological, behavioral, and life history traits. The availability of an increasing number of genomic and transcriptomic resources and functional tools provides a great starting point to scrutinize the extensive sexual dimorphism present in spiders on a mechanistic level. We provide an overview of the current knowledge of sex determination in spiders and propose approaches to reveal the molecular and genetic underpinnings of sexual dimorphism in these exciting animals.

show abstract

Male spiders control offspring sex ratio through greater production of female-determining sperm

Cited by 17 publications

References 63 publications

Microbiomes and Specific Symbionts of Social Spiders: Compositional Patterns in Host Species, Populations, and Nests

Microbiomes and Specific Symbionts of Social Spiders: Compositional Patterns in Host Species, Populations, and Nests

Sexual conflict in action: An antagonistic relationship between maternal and paternal sex allocation in the tammar wallaby, Notamacropus eugenii

Sex differences in spiders: from phenotype to genomics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About