Sperm length is not influenced by haploid gene expression in the flies
            <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>
            and
            <i>Scathophaga stercoraria</i>

Pitnick, Scott; Dobler, Ralph; Hosken, David J.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.1208

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…In diploid organisms, despite evidence of postmeiotic gene expression in spermatozoa (e.g., Wang et al 2001; Namekawa et al 2006), sperm phenotypes appear to be determined largely by testicular, and therefore diploid, gene expression (Eddy 2002). Indeed, a recent study demonstrated that haploid gene expression does not influence sperm length variation in Drosophila melanogaster and Scathophaga stercoraria (Pitnick et al 2009b). In contrast, in the haplodiploid species studied here, the lack of a diploid phase in the male's life cycle means that selection can act exclusively on haploid genes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative, not mutually exclusive, hypothesis is that variation in ejaculate traits result from genomic conflicts when the evolutionary optima for sperm traits differ between the diploid soma and its haploid sperm (Parker 1993; Parker and Begon 1993). Such haploid–diploid conflict may generate variance in sperm traits if haploid gene expression influences sperm morphology (Joseph and Kirkpatrick 2004; Immler 2008; Pizzari and Foster 2008; but see Pitnick et al 2009b). However, the extent to which ejaculate traits are shaped by haploid gene expression remains unclear (Joseph and Kirkpatrick 2004).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Polyandry Reduces Sperm Length Variation in Social Insects

Fitzpatrick

Baer

2011

Evolution

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Postcopulatory sexual selection, either in the form of sperm competition or cryptic female choice, is an important selective force that is thought to have generated the enormous variation in sperm morphology observed interspecifically. However, the evolutionary significance of intraspecific variation in sperm morphology, and the role that postcopulatory sexual selection plays in influencing this variation, remains poorly investigated in invertebrates. Here, we tested the hypothesis that postcopulatory sexual selection reduces variation in sperm morphology, both between and within males, in 27 species of eusocial ants and bees. These eusocial species offer an unusual opportunity to assess how selection acts on variance in sperm morphology, as haploid males produce clonal, haploid sperm that does not experience haploid-diploid conflict. We provide solid evidence that males of polyandrous ant and bee species indeed produce less-variable sperm, indicating that sperm competition selected for sperm of superior quality. Our results offer a mechanistic explanation for the evolution of high-quality sperm and provide comprehensive evidence that sperm morphology of social insects is influenced by sexual selection. K E Y W O R D S :Cryptic female choice, postcopulatory sexual selection, sperm competition, sperm length, sperm morphology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Polyandry Reduces Sperm Length Variation in Social Insects

Fitzpatrick

Baer

2011

Evolution

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“…This would make the effects of purifying selection associated with increased sperm competition even more powerful, especially for recessive or partially recessive variation in expression level. However, in metazoans, the scope for haploid selection appears to be relatively limited [63][64][65]. This is because DNA compaction during spermatogenesis means very few genes are expressed solely by the haploid sperm cell.…”

Section: Short-term Gene Expression Dynamics In Response To Courtshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyandry and sex-specific gene expression

Mank

Wedell

Hosken

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Polyandry is widespread in nature, and has important evolutionary consequences for the evolution of sexual dimorphism and sexual conflict. Although many of the phenotypic consequences of polyandry have been elucidated, our understanding of the impacts of polyandry and mating systems on the genome is in its infancy. Polyandry can intensify selection on sexual characters and generate more intense sexual conflict. This has consequences for sequence evolution, but also for sex-biased gene expression, which acts as a link between mating systems, sex-specific selection and the evolution of sexual dimorphism. We discuss this and the remarkable confluence of sexual-conflict theory and patterns of gene expression, while also making predictions about transcription patterns, mating systems and sexual conflict. Gene expression is a key link in the genotype–phenotype chain, and although in its early stages, understanding the sexual selection–transcription relationship will provide significant insights into this critical association.

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“…The key reason for this lack of knowledge is the current assumption that performance of sperm produced by a male is under diploid control (4-6), a notion that is further supported by the apparent lack of association between the phenotypic variation among sib sperm and their genetic content (7,8). Nevertheless, some empirical evidence shows that genes may be expressed at the haploid stages of spermatogenesis and that the transcripts of these genes are not always perfectly shared through cytoplasmic bridges among haploid spermatids (9,10).…”

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confidence: 99%

Haploid selection within a single ejaculate increases offspring fitness

Alavioon

Hotzy

Nakhro

et al. 2017

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

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An inescapable consequence of sex in eukaryotes is the evolution of a biphasic life cycle with alternating diploid and haploid phases. The occurrence of selection during the haploid phase can have farreaching consequences for fundamental evolutionary processes including the rate of adaptation, the extent of inbreeding depression, and the load of deleterious mutations, as well as for applied research into fertilization technology. Although haploid selection is well established in plants, current dogma assumes that in animals, intact fertile sperm within a single ejaculate are equivalent at siring viable offspring. Using the zebrafish Danio rerio, we show that selection on phenotypic variation among intact fertile sperm within an ejaculate affects offspring fitness. Longer-lived sperm sired embryos with increased survival and a reduced number of apoptotic cells, and adult male offspring exhibited higher fitness. The effect on embryo viability was carried over into the second generation without further selection and was equally strong in both sexes. Sperm pools selected by motile phenotypes differed genetically at numerous sites throughout the genome. Our findings clearly link within-ejaculate variation in sperm phenotype to offspring fitness and sperm genotype in a vertebrate and have major implications for adaptive evolution.

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Sperm length is not influenced by haploid gene expression in the flies Drosophila melanogaster and Scathophaga stercoraria

Cited by 13 publications

References 46 publications

Polyandry Reduces Sperm Length Variation in Social Insects

Polyandry Reduces Sperm Length Variation in Social Insects

Polyandry and sex-specific gene expression

Haploid selection within a single ejaculate increases offspring fitness

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