Stimulation of genital eversion in the land snail <i>Helix aspersa</i> by extracts of the glands of the dart apparatus

Chung, Daniel J. D.

doi:10.1002/jez.1402380202

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The bioactive substance in the dart gland mucus is likely to be a peptide since peptides are common neural and hormonal messengers in gastropod molluscs (Chase 2002), and peptides are present in the mucus gland secretion (Chung 1986;R. Chase & G. Nagle 2006, unpublished).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The snail's love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity

2006

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Many of the seemingly bizarre animal behaviours can be understood only by acknowledging the power of sex to shape evolution. A case in point is the so-called love-dart that some terrestrial molluscs shoot at their prospective sexual partners. Given that the likelihood of copulation is not different after solid hits than after complete misses, why do these suitors act so violently towards their chosen mates? Previously, it was shown that successful dart shooting enhances paternity. We conducted an experiment to determine whether the dart achieves its effect by a purely mechanical action or by transferring a bioactive substance. We found that injections of mucus from a gland associated with the dart more than doubled paternity relative to injections of saline. These results support the hypothesis that the dart transfers a substance capable of reconfiguring the spermatophore-receiving organs. While dart shooting probably evolved as the result of sperm competition, a role for cryptic female choice cannot be excluded. Our results imply that if cryptic female choice is operating in this system, it is likely to be based on the properties of the mucus and not on properties of the dart itself. Since we also found evidence of early-male sperm precedence, we conclude that snails can optimize their reproductive success by mating with virgins and shooting their darts accurately.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thereafter, to estimate the amount of mucus present in each injection, we extruded mucus under pressure from a sample of 20 glands (10 animals). We determined that each injection contained approximately 5.9 mg of mucus, or 2.9 times the amount of mucus that is normally carried on the dart (Chung 1986).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The snail's love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity

2006

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“…Many stylommatophoran land snails shoot calcareous love-darts into the partner's integument prior to copulation. Secretions coating the dart reduce the current donor's proportion of sperm that is resorbed in the sperm digestion organ (Chung, 1986;Adamo & Chase, 1990;Koene & ter Maat, 2001). In consequence, paternity is higher for successful dart shooters (Chase & Blanchard, 2006).…”

Section: (B) Injection Of Secretions Only: Traumatic Secretion Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

Functions, diversity, and evolution of traumatic mating

et al. 2013

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Copulation can involve the wounding of the mating partner by specialised devices. This type of mating, which we term traumatic mating, has been regarded as exceptional. Its prevalence, however, has not been compared across taxa, nor have its functions and putative evolutionary pathways. A categorisation has been lacking to date. We here show that traumatic mating is a widespread and diverse phenomenon that likely evolved via several pathways. Its putative functions include: (i) anchorage during mating; (ii) stimulation of short-term female reproductive investment; (iii) male paternity advantages; and (iv) enhanced fertilisation efficiency in transitions to internal fertilisation. Both natural and sexual selection have likely contributed to the parallel evolution of traumatic intromittent organs in phylogenetically distant taxa. These organs are sometimes remarkably similar in shape and often, but not always, inject sperm. The target sites of trauma infliction and the nature of secretions delivered alongside sperm are thus far poorly studied, but data on both are needed to elucidate the function of traumatic mating. The few existing studies that explicitly quantify fitness impacts of traumatic mating indicate that this strategy may often be costly to the party being wounded. However, a comprehensive approach to assess overall investments and returns for both sexes is a major target for future work. Finally, for the first time, we corroborate quantitatively the hypothesis that traumatic mating evolved relatively more often among hermaphroditic than among gonochoric taxa.

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“…Le mode d'action de l'accouplement sur les processus de reproduction a fait l'objet d'études expérimentales chez Lymnaea stagnalis, Heli-soma duryi, Helix aspersa. Il implique, d'une part l'injection par le dard (Adamo et Chase, 1988) d'une phéromone de la glande du dard (Chung, 1986), et d'autre part le transfert, entre les 2 partenaires, de sperme qui peut avoir 2 effets opposés selon le stade de développement des animaux (Van Duivenboden, 1983;Van Duivenboden et al, 1986). Accompagnant le sperme, des sécrétions des organes accessoires mâles contenant des prostaglandines (Kunigelis et Saleuddin, 1986) et des substances apparentées aux peptides et neuropeptides des centres gonadotropes femelles peuvent agir comme phéromones endogènes (Van Minnen et Vreugdenhil, 1987).…”

Section: Période De Reproductionunclassified

Asynchronisme du développement du tractus génital de l'escargot Helix aspersa pendant la croissance et la reproduction

Bride¹,

Gomot²

1991

Reprod. Nutr. Dévelop.

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Stimulation of genital eversion in the land snail Helix aspersa by extracts of the glands of the dart apparatus

Cited by 22 publications

References 16 publications

The snail's love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity

The snail's love-dart delivers mucus to increase paternity

Functions, diversity, and evolution of traumatic mating

Asynchronisme du développement du tractus génital de l'escargot Helix aspersa pendant la croissance et la reproduction

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