Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
1,491
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
1,491 results for “sperm”
Data from: Flexible memory controls sperm competition responses to male Drosophila melanogaster
Males of many species use social cues to predict sperm competition and tailor their reproductive strategies, such as ejaculate or behavioural investment, accordingly. Whilst these plastic strategies are widespread, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Plastic behaviour requires individuals to learn and memorise cues associated with environmental change before using this experience to modify behaviour. Drosophila melanogaster respond to an increase in sperm competition threat by extending mating duration after exposure to a rival male. This behaviour shows lag times between environmental change and behavioural response suggestive of acquisition and loss of memory. Considering olfaction is important for a male's ability to assess the sperm competition environment, we hypothesised that an olfactory learning and memory pathway may play a key role in controlling this plastic behaviour. We assessed the role of genes and brain structures known to be involved in learning and memory. We show that sperm competition responses depend on anaesthesia sensitive memory, specifically the genes rut and amn. We also show that the γ lobes of the mushroom bodies are integral to the control of plastic mating behaviour. These results reveal the genetic and neural properties required for reacting to changes in the sperm competition environment.
Data from: Effects of an early-life paraquat exposure on adult resistance to oxidative stress, plumage colour and sperm performance in a wild bird
1. Early-life stressful conditions can shape individual phenotypes and ultimately influence fitness. Oxidative stress is a pervasive threat that affects many fitness-related traits and can modulate life-history trade-offs. Yet, the extent to which exposure to oxidative stress during early life can have long-lasting effects on key fitness-related traits remains to be elucidated, particularly in natural populations of vertebrates. 2. Using a wild population of great tits Parus major, we experimentally dosed 11 day-old birds with paraquat, a pro-oxidant molecule, aiming at increasing oxidative stress. One year later, we recaptured 39 of them as adult recruiting breeders and quantified effects of the paraquat exposure on their resistance to oxidative stress, carotenoid-based plumage colouration and male sperm performance. 3. Despite the absence of a short-term effect of paraquat on oxidative stress measured two days later, the pre-fledging exposure to paraquat induced a reduction in individual oxidative damage measured at adulthood. Paraquat-dosed individuals also had brighter plumage, but no effect was observed on male sperm performance. 4. For the first time in a natural population of vertebrates, we experimentally show that an early-life acute exposure to a pro-oxidant has long-lasting effects on individual resistance to oxidative stress at adulthood. Our results are in line with the environmental matching and the hormesis hypotheses but may also reflect selective disappearance of individuals with lower resistance to oxidative stress.
Data from: The copulatory plug delays ejaculation by rival males and affects sperm competition outcome in house mice
Females of many species mate with multiple males (polyandry), resulting in male–male competition extending to post-copulation (sperm competition). Males adapt to such post-copulatory sexual selection by altering features of their ejaculate that increase its competitiveness and/or by decreasing the risk of sperm competition through female manipulation or interference with rival male behaviour. At ejaculation, males of many species deposit copulatory plugs, which are commonly interpreted as a male adaptation to post-copulatory competition and are thought to reduce or delay female remating. Here, we used a vertebrate model species, the house mouse, to study the consequences of copulatory plugs for post-copulatory competition. We experimentally manipulated plugs after a female's first mating and investigated the consequences for rival male behaviour and paternity outcome. We found that even intact copulatory plugs were ineffective at preventing female remating, but that plugs influenced the rival male copulatory behaviour. Rivals facing intact copulatory plugs performed more but shorter copulations and ejaculated later than when the plug had been fully or partially removed. This suggests that the copulatory plug represents a considerable physical barrier to rival males. The paternity share of first males increased with a longer delay between the first and second males' ejaculations, indicative of fitness consequences of copulatory plugs. However, when males provided little copulatory stimulation, the incidence of pregnancy failure increased, representing a potential benefit of intense and repeated copulation besides plug removal. We discuss the potential mechanisms of how plugs influence sperm competition outcome and consequences for male copulatory behaviour.
Figure S4.1. Dynamic weekly suitability map for sperm whales around São Miguel island, Azores.
<p>Dynamic weekly suitability map for sperm whales around São Miguel island, Azores.</p>
FIG. 8 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna
FIG. 8. — Time-calibrated strict consensus tree of 1584 most parsimonious trees with a length of 184 steps, a consistency index of 0.46, and a homoplasy index of 0.54, resulting from the analysis with equal-weighting, describing the sister-group relationship between Diaphorocetus poucheti (Moreno, 1892) and Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. among stem Physeteroidea. Relationships within Kogiidae are collapsed. Bootstrap values higher than 50 are indicated at nodes. Inset: part of the Adams consensus tree illustrating partly resolved relationships between Cozzuoliphyseter rionegrensis (Gondar, 1975), Diaphorocetus spp., and Placoziphius duboisi Van Beneden, 1869. See the Material and methods section for information on chronostratigraphic ranges.
Figure 7 from: Jiang Z, Liu J, Qin D (2019) Sperm ultrastructure of Pochazia shantungensis (Chou & Lu) and Ricania speculum (Walker) (Hemiptera, Ricaniidae) with phylogenetic implications. ZooKeys 880: 43-59. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.880.32810
Figure 7 Cross-sections of spermatozoa of R. speculum. A Showing acrosome (a) B, C transition region between the acrosome (a) and nucleus (N), showing acrosome (a) on both sides of the nucleus (N), until it locates on just the one side of nucleus (N) D oval nucleus (N) E–I nucleus-flagellum transition region, showing the nucleus (N), mitochondrial derivatives (md), accessory bodies (ab), axoneme (ax), the asterisk indicates the centriolar adjunct (ca) and the arrow indicates the centriole (c). Scale bars: 0.5 µm (A, I); 0.1 µm (B–H).
Data from: Detection of the elusive dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) using environmental DNA at Malpelo island (Eastern Pacific, Colombia)
<ol> <li>Monitoring large marine mammals is challenging due to their low abundances in general, an ability to move over large distances and wide geographical range sizes. </li> <li>The distribution of the pygmy (<i>Kogia breviceps</i>) and dwarf (<i>Kogia sima</i>) sperm whales is informed by relatively rare sightings, which does not permit accurate estimates of their distribution ranges. Hence, their conservation status has long remained Data Deficient (DD) in the Red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which prevent appropriate conservation measures.</li> <li>Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding uses DNA traces left by organisms in their environments to detect the presence of targeted taxon, and is here proved to be useful to increase our knowledge on the distribution of rare but emblematic megafauna.</li> <li>Retrieving eDNA from filtered surface water provides the first detection of the Dwarf sperm whale (<i>Kogia sima</i>) around the remote Malpelo island (Colombia).</li> <li>Environmental DNA collected during oceanic missions can generate better knowledge on rare but emblematic animals even in regions that are generally well sampled for other taxa.</li> </ol>
Data on paternal age and sperm production of the progeny
<p>Parental age has profound consequences for offspring's phenotype. However, whether patrilineal age affects offspring sperm production is unknown, despite the importance of sperm production for male reproductive success in species facing post-copulatory sexual selection. Using a longitudinal dataset on ejaculate attributes of the houbara bustard, we showed that offspring sired by old fathers had different age-dependent trajectories of sperm production compared to offspring sired by young fathers. Specifically, they produced less sperm (-48%) in their first year of life, and 14% less during their lifetime. Paternal age had the strongest effect, with weak evidence for grandpaternal or great grandpaternal age effects. These results show that paternal age can affect offspring reproductive success by reducing sperm production, establishing an intergenerational link between aging and sexual selection.</p>
Data from: Sperm longevity and salinity – the overlooked importance of spawning environment for alternative reproductive tactics
<p><span>Studies on adaptive responses to sperm competition have focused on mating modes and mating roles. The main mating modes studied are external and internal fertilization and spermcasting. The focus of male mating roles assumes one advantageous 'bourgeois' role and another disadvantageous 'parasitic' role regarding the probability of fertilization. However, sperm longevity between teleost fishes spawning in hypoosmotic freshwater and species spawning in hyperosmotic saltwater differs markedly. We argue that this can have major impacts on sperm adaptations in relation to sperm competition, due to physiological constraints and different outcomes of trade-offs. To test this hypothesis, we extracted sperm longevity data from studies on species with alternative reproductive tactics. We show that spawning salinity affects sperm longevity by orders of magnitudes and that this affects the direction in which male tactics differ in sperm longevity: parasitic males' sperm lived shorter than bourgeois males' sperm in freshwater spawners, but longer than bourgeois males' sperm in saltwater spawners. These results highlight a need to take spawning salinity into account in intraspecific as well as interspecies comparisons of adaptations to sperm competition in external fertilizers.</span></p>
Sperm length divergence as a potential pre-zygotic barrier in a passerine hybrid zone
<p>The saltmarsh sparrow Ammospiza caudacuta and the Nelson's sparrow A. nelsoni differ in ecological niche, mating behavior, and plumage, but they hybridize where their breeding distributions overlap. In this advanced hybrid zone, past inter-breeding and current back-crossing result in substantial genomic introgression in both directions, although few hybrids are currently produced in most locations. However, because both species are non-territorial and have only brief male-female interactions, it is difficult to determine to what extent assortative mating explains the low frequency of hybrid offspring. Since females often copulate with multiple males, a role of sperm as a post-copulatory pre-zygotic barrier appears plausible. Here we show that sperm length differs between the two species in the hybrid zone, with low among-male variation consistent with strong post-copulatory sexual selection on sperm cells. We hypothesize that divergence in sperm length may constitute a reproductive barrier between species, as sperm length co-evolves with the size of specialized female sperm storage tubules. Sperm does not appear to act as a post-zygotic barrier, as sperm from hybrids was unexceptional.</p>
Fig. 2 in Sperm characteristics as additional evidence of close relationship between Lebiasina and Piabucina (Characiformes: Lebiasinidae: Lebiasininae)
Fig. 2. Spermatozoon of Lebiasina aff. festae (a, b, c), L. bimaculata (d, e, f) and L. erythrinoides (g, h, i). a, d, g: longitudinal sections. b, c, e, f, h, i: transverse sections from top to posterior region. The nucleus (n) of all species is drop-shaped and slightly elongated towards the flagellar axis. The flagellum (f) lies lateral to the nucleus. The centriolar complex (p, d) and nuclear fossa (arrow) is superolateral. Note the presence of the striated rootlets (r) on opposite sides of the distal centriole (d). The proximal centriole (p) is slightly oblique relative to the distal centriole (d) (a-inset, d-inset, g-inset). The cytoplasmic canal is present (asterisk). The midpiece (pi) is short, asymmetrical, and contains the oblong mitochondria (m) and vesicles (v). a: axoneme, d: distal centriole, f: flagellum, m: mitochondria, n: nucleus, p: proximal centriole, r: striated rootlet, v: vesicle, asterisk: cytoplasmic canal, arrow: nuclear fossa. Bar = 0.5 µm.
FIGURE 4 in Seminal characteristics and sensitivity of Astyanax lacustris (Characiformes: Characidae) sperm to cryoprotective solutions based on dimethylsufoxide and methylglicol
FIGURE 4 | Index of DNA damage generated by the cryopreservation process of Astyanax lacustris semen. Control - fresh semen, T1 - 10% egg yolk + 5% glucose + Me2SO10%, T2 - 10% egg yolk + 5% glucose + Me 2 SO15%, T3 - 10% egg yolk + 5% glucose + MTG010%, T5 - BTS5% + Me2 SO10%, T6 - BTS5% + Me2 SO15%, T7 - 5% Glucose + Me2 SO10% and T8 - 5% Glucose + Me2SO15%. Different letters indicate significant differences (p <0.05) by the Kruskal-Wallis test.
FIGURE 2 in Seminal characteristics and sensitivity of Astyanax lacustris (Characiformes: Characidae) sperm to cryoprotective solutions based on dimethylsufoxide and methylglicol
FIGURE 2 | Comparative analysis of sperm motility of Astyanax lacustris. Total and progressive motility (A), curvilinear velocity (B), straight line velocity (C) and average path velocity (D). Different letters indicate significant differences (p <0.05) by the Scott-Knott test: Upper case relationship between control and treatments; tiny relationship between treatments.
FIGURE 3 in Seminal characteristics and sensitivity of Astyanax lacustris (Characiformes: Characidae) sperm to cryoprotective solutions based on dimethylsufoxide and methylglicol
FIGURE 3 | Linearity (A), Rectilinearity (B), Oscillation (C), Head lateral displacement amplitude (D) and beat cross frequency (E). Different letters indicate significant differences (p <0.05) by the Scott-Knott test: Upper case relationship between control and treatments; tiny relationship between treatments.
Fig. 2 in Sperm evolution in the family Alestidae with comparative data for the genus Chalceus (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)
Fig. 2. Spermatozoon of Bryconalestes longipinnis. a, b, c: longitudinal sections. d, e, f, g, h: transverse sections from top to posterior region. The nucleus (n) is spherical and lies medial to the flagellum (f). The centriolar complex (p, d) and nuclear fossa (arrow) is medial. The proximal centriole (p) is in a right angle relative to the distal centriole (d). The cytoplasmic canal is present (asterisk). The midpiece (pi) is asymmetrical, and contains the spherical mitochondria (m), vesicles (v) and a cytoplasmic sleeve (arrowhead). The flagellum has lateral fins (fi). Legends: cr: concentric membranous rings, d: distal centriole, f: flagellum, fi: lateral fins, m: mitochondria, n: nucleus, p: proximal centriole, v: vesicle, asterisk: cytoplasmic canal, arrow: nuclear fossa, arrowhead: cytoplasmic sleeve.
Fig. 3 in Sperm evolution in the family Alestidae with comparative data for the genus Chalceus (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)
Fig. 3. Spermatozoon of Alestopetersius compressus. a, b, c: longitudinal sections. d, e, f: transverse sections from top to posterior region. The nucleus (n) is spherical and lies eccentric to the flagellum (f). The centriolar complex (p, d) and nuclear fossa (arrow) is eccentric. The proximal centriole (p) is oblique relative to the distal centriole (d). The cytoplasmic canal is present (asterisk). The midpiece (pi) is strongly asymmetrical, and contains the spherical mitochondria (m) and vesicles (v). The flagellar membrane has some vesicles and the flagellum. Legends: d: distal centriole, f: flagellum, m: mitochondria, n: nucleus, p: proximal centriole, v: vesicle, asterisk: cytoplasmic canal, arrow: nuclear fossa.
Fig. 4 in Sperm evolution in the family Alestidae with comparative data for the genus Chalceus (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)
Fig. 4. Spermatozoon of Brachypetersius altus. a, b, c: longitudinal sections. d, e, f, g, h, i: transverse sections from top to posterior region. The nucleus (n) is spherical and lies medial to the flagellum (f). The centriolar complex (p, d) and nuclear fossa (arrow) is medial. The proximal centriole (p) is in a right angle relative to the distal centriole (d). The cytoplasmic canal is present (asterisk). The midpiece (pi) is asymmetrical, and contains the branched or "c" shape mitochondria (m), vesicles (v) and a cytoplasmic sleeve (arrowhead). Legends: a: axoneme, cr: concentric membranous rings, d: distal centriole, f: flagellum, m: mitochondria, n: nucleus, p: proximal centriole, v: vesicle, asterisk: cytoplasmic canal, arrow: nuclear fossa, arrowhead: cytoplasmic sleeve.
Fig. 9 in Sperm evolution in the family Alestidae with comparative data for the genus Chalceus (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)
Fig. 9. Spermatozoon of Chalceus epakros. a, b: longitudinal sections. c, d: transverse sections from top to posterior region. The nucleus (n) is spherical and lies medial to the flagellum (f). The centriolar complex (p, d) and nuclear fossa (arrow) is medial. The proximal centriole (p) is in a right or oblique angle relative to the distal centriole (d). The cytoplasmic canal is present (asterisk). The midpiece (pi) is asymmetrical, and contains only one "c" shape mitochondria (m), vesicles (v) and a cytoplasmic sleeve (arrowhead). The flagellum has lateral fins (fi). Legends: cr: concentric membranous rings, d: distal centriole, e: electron-lucent areas, f: flagellum, fi: flagellar fins, m: mitochondria, n: nucleus, p: proximal centriole, v: vesicle, asterisk: cytoplasmic canal, arrow: nuclear fossa, arrowhead: cytoplasmic sleeve.
Fig. 6 in Sperm evolution in the family Alestidae with comparative data for the genus Chalceus (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)
Fig. 6. Spermatozoon of Brycinus lateralis. a, b, c: longitudinal sections. d, e, f, g, h, i, j: transverse sections from top to posterior region. The nucleus (n) is spherical and lies medial to the flagellum (f). The centriolar complex (p, d) and nuclear fossa (arrow) is medial. The proximal centriole (p) is in a right angle relative to the distal centriole (d). The cytoplasmic canal is present (asterisk). The midpiece (pi) is asymmetrical, and contains the spherical mitochondria (m), vesicles (v) and a cytoplasmic sleeve (arrowhead). Legends: a: axoneme, cr: concentric membranous rings, d: distal centriole, e: electronlucent areas, f: flagellum, m: mitochondria, n: nucleus, p: proximal centriole, v: vesicle, asterisk: cytoplasmic canal, arrow: nuclear fossa, arrowhead: cytoplasmic sleeve.
Fig. 4 in Functional integrity of Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier, 1816) sperm cryopreserved with enriched extender solutions
Fig. 4. Mean and standard deviation of percentage of Membrane Integrity (Memb Int), Mitochondria Functionality (Mit Fun) and DNA Integrity (DNA Int) observed in Colossoma macropomum sperm after cryopreservation. Evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.