Pronounced Postmating Response in the Drosophila Female Reproductive Tract Fluid Proteome

McDonough-Goldstein, Caitlin E.; Whittington, Emma; McCullough, Erin L.; Buel, Sharleen M.; Erdman, Scott E.; Pitnick, Scott; Dorus, Steve

doi:10.1016/j.mcpro.2021.100156

Cited by 16 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 114 publications

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“…Although previous studies have identified individual proteins that bind to sperm (e.g., refs. 6 , 7 , 14 , 15 , 17 , and 20 ) and secreted proteins that are present or produced in the reproductive tracts of D. melanogaster females ( 34 – 38 ) and males (reviewed in ref. 39 ), there has been no comprehensive determination, in any organism, of the number, nature, and source of proteins that associate with sperm in the FRT.…”

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confidence: 99%

The life history of Drosophila sperm involves molecular continuity between male and female reproductive tracts

McCullough

Whittington

Singh

et al. 2022

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

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Significance In species with internal fertilization, sperm spend an important part of their lives within the female. To examine the life history of the sperm during this time, we used semiquantitative proteomics and sex-specific isotopic labeling in fruit flies to determine the extent of molecular continuity between male and female reproductive tracts and provide a global catalog of sperm-associated proteins. Multiple seminal fluid proteins and female proteins associate with sperm immediately after mating. Few seminal fluid proteins remain after long-term sperm storage, whereas female-derived proteins constitute one-fifth of the postmating sperm proteome by then. Our data reveal a molecular “hand-off” from males to females, which we postulate to be an important component of sperm–female interactions.

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confidence: 99%

The life history of Drosophila sperm involves molecular continuity between male and female reproductive tracts

McCullough

Whittington

Singh

et al. 2022

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

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“…The molecular composition of the female reproductive tract has historically not received the same level of interrogation as the male ejaculate. Our analysis expands on a growing effort to characterise the female reproductive tract proteome (16, 19, 28, 56). Interestingly, the majority (> 90%) of D. melanogaster sperm protein orthologs we identified showed no difference in abundance between mated vs. virgin samples, suggesting expression in the female reproductive tract.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We compared protein abundances in the lower reproductive tracts of unmated females to those that were collected immediately after mating (thus containing ejaculate proteins) using tandem mass tag (TMT) labelled samples. Copulation duration in the virilis group is ~2 minutes and the majority of postmating female responses in Drosophila take place ~3 hours after the start of mating (20, 56), such that the female reproductive tract should remain in a “virgin-like” state.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary quantitative proteomics of reproductive interactions in Drosophila

Garlovsky

Ahmed-Braimah²

2022

Preprint

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Reproductive traits evolve rapidly between species. Understanding the causes and consequences of this rapid divergence requires characterization of male and female reproductive proteins and how their interaction mediates fertilisation success. Species in the Drosophila virilis clade exhibit interspecific postmating prezygotic reproductive isolation, making them ideal for studies on diversification of reproductive proteins and their role in speciation. Here we present a novel method to simultaneously identify and quantify transferred male ejaculate proteins and the female reproductive proteome using multiplexed Tandem-Mass-Tag (TMT) isobaric labelling of the lower female reproductive tract before and immediately after mating in three species of the virilis group. We identified over 200 putative male ejaculate proteins, many of which show differential abundance between species. We also identified over 2000 proteins that provide the first description of the female reproductive tract proteome outside of the D. melanogaster group. The female reproductive tract proteome shows significant divergence between species, especially female-specific serine-type endopeptidases, which showed differential abundance between species and elevated rates of molecular evolution that is similar to that of male seminal fluid proteins. We also found that only ~1/3 of male ejaculate proteins are likely produced in the accessory glands and code for a signal peptide sequence. Finally, we assessed the utility of species-specific compared to single species query databases for protein identification and quantification from multiple species' samples. Our results show that using species-specific query databases dramatically improves protein identification and quantification.

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“…Pavlovian conditioning may alter sperm rejection or it might also affect the composition of the female reproductive tract fluid, leading, in this particular case, to increased chances of successful insemination and lower costs for the male. In this regard, female reproductive tract fluid is much understudied, but there is very recent evidence showing that its composition changes after mating ( McDonough-Goldstein et al, 2021 ). It would thus be interesting to test whether Pavlovian conditioning could also alter the composition of females’ fluid, just as it changes seminal fluid in males.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognition and Its Shaping Effect on Sexual Conflict: Integrating Biology and Psychology

Álvarez

Koene

2022

Front. Integr. Neurosci.

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While genetic variation is of crucial importance for organisms to be able to adapt to their ever-changing environments over generations, cognitive processes can serve the same purpose by acting at shorter time scales. Cognition, and its resulting behaviour, allows animals to display flexible, fast and reversible responses that, without implying a genetic change, are crucial for adaptation and survival. In the research field on sexual conflict, where studies focus on male and female mating strategies that increase the individual’s reproductive fitness while forcing a cost on the partner, the role that cognition may play in how such strategies can be optimised has been widely overlooked. However, a careful analysis of behavioural studies shows that animals can develop and change their responses depending on what they perceive as well as on what they can predict from their experience, which can be of prime importance for optimising their reproductive fitness. As will be reviewed here, largely psychological processes, such as perception, memory, learning and decision-making, can not only modulate sexual conflict, but can also have a big impact on the reproductive success of a given individual. This review highlights the need for a more integrative view of sexual conflict where cognitive processes are also considered as a fundamental part of an animal’s adaptive mating response.

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Pronounced Postmating Response in the Drosophila Female Reproductive Tract Fluid Proteome

Cited by 16 publications

References 114 publications

The life history of Drosophila sperm involves molecular continuity between male and female reproductive tracts

The life history of Drosophila sperm involves molecular continuity between male and female reproductive tracts

Evolutionary quantitative proteomics of reproductive interactions in Drosophila

Cognition and Its Shaping Effect on Sexual Conflict: Integrating Biology and Psychology

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