Population-specific DNA fingerprints in a neotropical pseudoscorpion (Cordylochernes scorpioides)

“…A further 32 experimental males were reared to virgin adulthood in the laboratory from nymphs collected in December 1997 from an additional decaying Canal Zone Ficus insipida tree. Field populations of this pseudoscorpion are known from both multilocus (40) and single-locus (41) minisatellite DNA fingerprinting to be outbred and highly genetically variable at the marker loci.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic benefits enhance the reproductive success of polyandrous females

Newcomer

Zeh

1999

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

200

198

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Although it is generally accepted that females can gain material benefits by mating with more than one male, the proposal that polyandry provides genetic benefits remains controversial, largely because direct experimental support is lacking. Here, we report the results of a study testing for genetic benefits to polyandry in the pseudoscorpion Cordylochernes scorpioides. In an experiment that controlled for male mating experience and the number of spermatophores accepted by a female, twice-mated females received either one sperm-packet from each of two different males (the ''DM'' treatment) or two sperm-packets from a single male (the same male or ''SM'' treatment). Over their lifetime, DM females gave birth to 32% more offspring than did SM females, primarily because of a significantly reduced rate of spontaneous abortion. This result could not be attributed to male infertility nor to lack of sexual receptivity in males paired with previous mates. Spermatophore and sperm numbers did not differ between males presented with a previous mate and males paired with a new female. Because SM and DM females received the same quantity of ejaculate, it was possible to eliminate material benefits as a contributor to the enhanced reproductive success of DM females. The reduction in embryo failure rate achieved by DM females is most consistent with the genetic incompatibility avoidance hypothesis, i.e., that polyandry enables females to exploit postcopulatory mechanisms for reducing the risk and͞or cost of fertilization by genetically incompatible sperm. This study, which rigorously controlled for material benefits and excluded inbreeding effects, demonstrates that polyandry provides genetic benefits that significantly enhance female lifetime reproductive success.The revolution in molecular genetic techniques that has taken place over the past decade has revealed one of nature's best-kept secrets, namely, that across a wide array of species, females frequently mate with more than one male (1, 2). As DNA evidence of multiple paternity accumulates for organisms as ecologically and phylogenetically divergent as fruit flies (3) and humpback whales (4), it is becoming clear that polyandry is a common female mating strategy, although it is often covert and difficult to detect at the behavioral level. Polyandry as a pervasive feature of natural populations challenges the long-held view of females as the choosy, monogamous sex (5-7) and raises the question of why, considering the potentially high risks and costs involved, females would mate with multiple males (8-9).As evolutionary biologists increasingly recognize the importance of considering reproduction from the female perspective (10), a variety of hypotheses have been proposed to explain why selection should favor the evolution of polyandry. With

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“…PCR assay for the presence of Wolbachia Initial PCR screening of total genomic DNA, extracted from adult FB-line individuals using a 2 Â CTAB protocol (Zeh et al, 1992), was carried out with the Wolbachia-specific ftsZ and wsp primer pairs described in Jeyaprakash and Hoy (2000, p 403). The ftsZ primers yielded weak and inconsistent amplification products.…”

Section: Tetracycline Treatment Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wolbachia, sex ratio bias and apparent male killing in the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion

Zeh

Bonilla

2005

Heredity

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Population-specific DNA fingerprints in a neotropical pseudoscorpion (Cordylochernes scorpioides)

Cited by 31 publications

References 17 publications

Phylogeography of the harlequin beetle‐riding pseudoscorpion and the rise of the Isthmus of Panamá

Phylogeography of the harlequin beetle‐riding pseudoscorpion and the rise of the Isthmus of Panamá

Genetic benefits enhance the reproductive success of polyandrous females

Wolbachia, sex ratio bias and apparent male killing in the harlequin beetle riding pseudoscorpion

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