The structure of the Drosophila melanogaster sex peptide: Identification of hydroxylated isoleucine and a strain variation in the pattern of amino acid hydroxylation

Sturm, Sebastian; Dowle, Adam; Audsley, Neil; Isaac, R. Elwyn

doi:10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103414

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…However, qualitative variation in SP is possible in the form of post‐translation modification (i.e. hydroxylation) of hydroxyproline and an isoleucine residue (Chen et al ., 1988; Sturm et al ., 2020). In fact, D. melanogaster populations vary in SP hydroxylation (Sturm et al ., 2020), although the functional consequences are unclear.…”

Section: The Evolution Of Sp Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…hydroxylation) of hydroxyproline and an isoleucine residue (Chen et al ., 1988; Sturm et al ., 2020). In fact, D. melanogaster populations vary in SP hydroxylation (Sturm et al ., 2020), although the functional consequences are unclear. Post‐translational modification is one mechanism by which SP's structure might reflect male condition (Sturm et al ., 2020), and hence it is conceivable that females could gain information about male quality from SP's structure.…”

Section: The Evolution Of Sp Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, D. melanogaster populations vary in SP hydroxylation (Sturm et al ., 2020), although the functional consequences are unclear. Post‐translational modification is one mechanism by which SP's structure might reflect male condition (Sturm et al ., 2020), and hence it is conceivable that females could gain information about male quality from SP's structure. This interesting possibility deserves future tests, particularly because female response to variation in SP quality is a unique prediction of the male quality signalling hypothesis.…”

Section: The Evolution Of Sp Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of sex peptide: sexual conflict, cooperation, and coevolution

Hopkins

Perry

2022

Biological Reviews

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A central paradigm in evolutionary biology is that the fundamental divergence in the fitness interests of the sexes ('sexual conflict') can lead to both the evolution of sex-specific traits that reduce fitness for individuals of the opposite sex, and sexually antagonistic coevolution between the sexes. However, clear examples of traits that evolved in this waywhere a single trait in one sex demonstrably depresses the fitness of members of the opposite sex, resulting in antagonistic coevolutionare rare. The Drosophila seminal protein 'sex peptide' (SP) is perhaps the most widely cited example of a trait that appears to harm females while benefitting males. Transferred in the ejaculate by males during mating, SP triggers profound and wide-ranging changes in female behaviour and physiology. Early studies reported that the transfer of SP enhances male fitness while depressing female fitness, providing the foundations for the widespread view that SP has evolved to manipulate females for male benefit. Here, we argue that this view is (i) a simplification of a wider body of contradictory empirical research, (ii) narrow with respect to theory describing the origin and maintenance of sexually selected traits, and (iii) hard to reconcile with what we know of the evolutionary history of SP's effects on females. We begin by charting the history of thought regarding SP, both at proximate (its production, function, and mechanism of action) and ultimate (its fitness consequences and evolutionary history) levels, reviewing how studies of SP were central to the development of the field of sexual conflict. We describe a prevailing paradigm for SP's evolution: that SP originated and continues to evolve to manipulate females for male benefit. In contrast to this view, we argue on three grounds that the weight of evidence does not support the view that receipt of SP decreases female fitness: (i) results from studies of SP's impact on female fitness are mixed and more often neutral or positive, with fitness costs emerging only under nutritional extremes; (ii) whether costs from SP are appreciable in wild-living populations remains untested; and (iii) recently described confounds in genetic manipulations of SP raise the possibility that measures of the costs and benefits of SP have been distorted. Beyond SP's fitness effects, comparative and genetic data are also difficult to square with the idea that females suffer fitness costs from SP. Instead, these datafrom functional and evolutionary genetics and the neural circuitry of female responses to SPsuggest an evolutionary history involving the evolution of a dedicated SP-sensing apparatus in the female reproductive tract that is likely to have evolved because it benefits females, rather than harms them. We end by exploring theory and evidence that SP benefits females by functioning as a signal of male quality or of sperm receipt and storage (or both). The expanded view of the evolution of SP that we outline recognises the context-dependent and fluctuating roles played by both cooperativ...

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Section: The Evolution Of Sp Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Evolution Of Sp Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Evolution Of Sp Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolution of sex peptide: sexual conflict, cooperation, and coevolution

Hopkins

Perry

2022

Biological Reviews

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“…Samples were mixed with 0.5 µl 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB, 10 mg/ml in 20% acetonitrile, 1% FA) on the MALDI sample plate and dried using a gentle stream of hot air. External calibration was conducted using calibration mixtures containing bradykinin [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] , angiotensin I, angiotensin II, substance P, bombesin, ACTH clip [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] , ACTH clip , somatostatin 28, insulin and ubiquitin I (Bruker Daltonics).…”

Section: Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper we report the application of peptidomics, a widely used method for the analysis of regulatory peptides in insect nervous and endocrine tissues, to investigate the structure of SF peptides originating from the ED of male D. melanogaster. This approach preferentially extracts peptides in their native form, whilst inhibiting endogenous protease activity during the extraction procedure and uses trypsin only selectively after peptide identification [14][15][16]. We have structurally characterised four major ED peptides with a molecular mass of < 4 kDa that are destined for the SF.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass spectrometric characterisation of the major peptides of the male ejaculatory duct, including a glycopeptide with an unusual zwitterionic glycosylation

Sturm

Dowle

Audsley

et al. 2021

Journal of Proteomics

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Bacterial-mediated RNAi and functional analysis of Natalisin in a moth

Wang

Chen

Wang

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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The neuropeptide natalisin (NTL) has been determined to play essential roles in reproduction in two Diptera and one Coleoptera species. Whether NTL has similar or even different functions in Lepidoptera remains to be determined. Here, we cloned the NTL transcript in the common cutworm moth Spodoptera litura. This transcript encodes a 438-amino acid protein. Twelve putative Sl-NTL neuropeptides were defined by cleavage sites. These NTL peptides share a DDPFWxxRamide C-terminal motif. The expressions of Sl-NTL is low during the egg and larval stages, which increased to a higher level during the pupal stage, and then reached the maximum during the adult stage. Moreover, the expression pattern during the pupal stage is similar between sexes while during the adult stage, it is dimorphic. To explore the function of Sl-NTL and assess its potential as a target for pest control, we knocked down the expression of Sl-NTL in both sexes by using bacteria-mediated RNAi. This technique significantly down regulated (reduced up to 83%) the expression of Sl-NTL in both sexes. Knocking down Sl-NTL expression did not significantly affect its development, survival and morphology but significantly reduced adults’ reproductive behavior (including female calling, male courtship, mating and remating patterns and rates) and reproductive output (offspring gain reduced more than 70%).

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The structure of the Drosophila melanogaster sex peptide: Identification of hydroxylated isoleucine and a strain variation in the pattern of amino acid hydroxylation

Abstract: This is a repository copy of The structure of the Drosophila melanogaster sex peptide: Identification of hydroxylated isoleucine and a strain variation in the pattern of amino acid hydroxylation.

Cited by 3 publications

References 59 publications

The evolution of sex peptide: sexual conflict, cooperation, and coevolution

The evolution of sex peptide: sexual conflict, cooperation, and coevolution

Mass spectrometric characterisation of the major peptides of the male ejaculatory duct, including a glycopeptide with an unusual zwitterionic glycosylation

Bacterial-mediated RNAi and functional analysis of Natalisin in a moth

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