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30 results for “sperm phenotype”
Female reproductive fluids 'rescue' sperm from phenotypic ageing in an external fertilizer
<p class="MsoNormal">Female reproductive fluids (FRF) serve key reproductive functions in sexually reproducing animals, including modifying the way sperm swim and detect eggs, and influencing sperm lifespan. Despite the central role of FRF during fertilisation, we know surprisingly little about sperm-FRF interactions under different environmental conditions. Theory suggests that, in external fertilisers, FRF may 'rescue' sperm from ageing effects as they search to fertilise eggs. Here, we test the interaction between these two fundamental properties of the fertilisation environment, ejaculate age (i.e., time since ejaculation) and FRF, on a range of functional sperm phenotypes in a broadcast spawning mussel, <em>Mytilus galloprovincialis</em>. We found that the effects of ejaculate age on multivariate sperm motility traits and total sperm motility were altered by FRF, and that longer-lived sperm exhibit stronger, likely more advantageous, responses to FRF after periods of ageing. We also detected significant among-male variation in the relationship between sperm motility traits and ejaculate age; notably, these patterns were only revealed when sperm encountered FRF. Collectively these findings underscore the importance of considering female reproductive physiology when interpreting ageing-related declines in sperm motility, as doing so may expose important sources of variation in sperm phenotypic plasticity among males and environments.</p>
Female reproductive fluids ‘rescue’ sperm from phenotypic ageing in an external fertilizer
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Egg-induced changes to sperm phenotypes shape patterns of multivariate selection on ejaculates
<p class="MsoPlainText">Ejaculates exhibit extraordinary phenotypic diversity and rapid rates of evolution, yet the adaptive value of most sperm traits remains equivocal. Recent findings suggest that to understand how selection targets ejaculates we must recognize that female-imposed physiological conditions often alter ejaculate phenotypes. These phenotypic changes to ejaculates may influence the relationships among sperm traits and their association with fitness. Here, we show that chemical substances released by eggs (known to modify sperm physiology and behavior) alter patterns of selection on a suite of sperm traits in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. We use multivariate selection analyses to characterize linear and nonlinear selection acting on sperm traits in (a) seawater alone, and (b) seawater containing egg-derived chemicals (egg water). Our analyses revealed that nonlinear selection on canonical axes of multiple traits (notably sperm velocity, sperm linearity and percentage of motile sperm) was the most important form of selection overall, but importantly these patterns were only evident when sperm phenotypes were measured in egg water. These findings reveal the subtle way that females can alter patterns of selection, with the implication that overlooking environmentally-moderated changes to ejaculate phenotypes may result in erroneous interpretations of how selection targets phenotypic (co)variation in ejaculate traits.</p>
Offspring phenotype is shaped by the non-sperm fraction of semen
<p>In a large majority of animal species, the only contribution of males to the next generation has been assumed to be their genes (sperm). However, along with sperm, seminal plasma contains a wide array of extracellular factors that have many important functions in reproduction. Yet, the potential intergenerational effects of these factors are virtually unknown. We investigated these effects in European whitefish (<i>Coregonus lavaretus</i>) by experimentally manipulating the presence and identity of seminal plasma and by fertilizing the eggs of multiple females with the manipulated and unmanipulated semen of several males in a full-factorial breeding design. Presence of both own and foreign seminal plasma inhibited sperm motility and removal of own seminal plasma decreased embryo survival. Embryos hatched significantly earlier after both semen manipulations than in control fertilizations; foreign seminal plasma also increased offspring aerobic swimming performance. Given that our experimental design allowed us to control potentially confounding sperm-mediated (sire) effects and maternal effects, our results indicate that seminal plasma may have direct intergenerational consequences for offspring phenotype and performance. This novel source of offspring phenotypic variance may provide new insights into the evolution of polyandry and mechanisms that maintain heritable variation in fitness and associated female mating preferences.</p>
Offspring phenotype is shaped by the non-sperm fraction of semen
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Data from: No evidence for phenotypic condition-dependent ejaculate allocation in response to sperm competition in a seed beetle
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Egg-induced changes to sperm phenotypes shape patterns of multivariate selection on ejaculates
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Data from: Sperm as a speciation phenotype in promiscuous songbirds
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Data from: Salinity-induced phenotypic plasticity in threespine stickleback sperm activation
Phenotypic expression may be and often is influenced by an organism's developmental environment, referred to as phenotypic plasticity. The sperm cells of teleosts have been found to be inactive in the seminal plasma and are activated by osmotic shock for most fish species, through release in either hypertonic (for marine fish) or hypotonic (for freshwater fish) water. If this is the case, the regulatory system of sperm mobility should be reversed in salt and freshwater fish. We tested this hypothesis by first activating sperm of saltwater and freshwater populations of threespine stickleback in salt- and fresh water. The sperm from saltwater stickleback could be activated in either salinity, which matches the freshwater colonization history of the species, whereas the sperm from the freshwater population acted as predicted by the osmotic shock theory and was activated in freshwater only. As the freshwater population used here was calculated to be thousands of years old, we went on to test whether the trait(s) were plastic and sperm from freshwater males still could be activated in saltwater after individuals were exposed to saltwater. After raising freshwater stickleback in saltwater we found the mature males to have active sperm in both salt and freshwater. Further, we also found the sperm of wild-caught freshwater stickleback to be active in saltwater after exposing those mature males to saltwater for only two days. This illustrates that the ability for stickleback sperm to be activated in a range of water qualities is an environmentally induced plastic trait.
Data from: Physical and physiological impacts of ocean warming alter phenotypic selection on sperm morphology
<ol> <li>Global warming may threaten fertility, which is a key component of individual fitness and vital for population persistence. For males, fertility relies on the ability of sperm to collide and fuse with eggs; consequently, sperm morphology is predicted to be a prime target of selection owing to its effects on male function.</li> <li>In aquatic environments, warming will expose gametes of external fertilisers to the physiological effects of higher temperature and the physical effects of lower viscosity. However, the consequences of either effect for fertility, and for selection acting on sperm traits to maintain fertility, are poorly understood.</li> <li>Here, we test how independent changes in water temperature and viscosity alter male fertility and selection on sperm morphology in an externally-fertilising marine tubeworm. To create five fertilisation environments, we manipulate temperature to reflect current-day conditions (16.5°C), projected near-term warming (21°C), and projected long-term warming (25°C), then adjust two more environments at 21°C and 25°C to the viscosity of environments at 16.5°C and 21°C, respectively. We then use a split-ejaculate design to measure the fertility of focal males, and selection on their sperm, in each environment.</li> <li>Projected changes in temperature and viscosity act independently to reduce male fertility, but act jointly to alter selection on sperm morphology. Specifically, environments resulting from projected warming alter selection on the sperm midpiece in ways that suggest shifts in the energetic challenges of functioning under stressful conditions. Selection also targets sperm head dimensions and tail length, irrespective of environment.</li> <li>We provide the first evidence that projected changes in ocean temperature and viscosity will not only impact the fertility of marine external fertilisers, but expose their gametes to novel selection pressures that may drive them to adapt in response if gamete phenotypes are sufficiently heritable.</li> </ol> <p> </p>
Data from: Sperm pre-fertilization thermal environment shapes offspring phenotype and performance
Sperm pre-fertilization environment has recently been suggested to mediate remarkable transgenerational consequences for offspring phenotype (transgenerational plasticity, TGB), but the adaptive significance of the process has remained unclear. Here, we studied the transgenerational effects of sperm pre-fertilization thermal environment in a cold-adapted salmonid, the European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.). We used a full-factorial breeding design where the eggs of five females were fertilized with the milt of 10 males that had been pre-incubated at two different temperatures (3.5°C and 6.5°C) for 15 hours prior to fertilization. Thermal manipulation did not affect sperm motility, cell size, fertilization success or embryo mortality. However, offspring that were fertilized with warm-treated milt were smaller and had poorer swimming performance than their full-siblings that had been fertilized with cold-treated milt. Furthermore, the effect of milt treatment on embryo mortality varied among different females (treatment×female interaction) and male-female combinations (treatment×female×male interaction). Together these results indicate that sperm pre-fertilization thermal environment shapes offspring phenotype and post-hatching performance and modify both the magnitude of female (dam) effects and the compatibility of the gametes. Generally, our results suggest that short-term changes in sperm thermal conditions may have negative impact for offspring fitness. Thus, sperm thermal environment may have an important role in determining the adaptation potential of organisms to climate change. Detailed mechanism(s) behind our findings require further attention.
Data from: Phenotypic plasticity in genitalia: baculum shape responds to sperm competition risk in house mice
Males are known to adjust their expenditure on testes growth and sperm production in response to sperm competition risk. Genital morphology can also contribute to competitive fertilisation success but whether male genital morphology can respond plastically to the sperm competition environment has received little attention. Here, we exposed male house mice to two different sperm competition environments during their sexual development and quantified phenotypic plasticity in baculum morphology. The sperm competition environment generated plasticity in body growth. Males maturing under sperm competition risk were larger and heavier than males maturing under no sperm competition risk. We used a landmark-based geometric morphometric approach to measure baculum size and shape. Independent of variation in body size, males maintained under risk of sperm competition had a relatively thicker and more distally extended baculum bulb compared with males maintained under no sperm competition risk. Plasticity in baculum shape paralleled evolutionary responses to selection from sperm competition reported in previous studies of house mice. Our findings provide experimental evidence of socially mediated phenotypic plasticity in male genitalia.
Six genome assemblies of Drosophila species for: Identification and genetic analysis of a pervasive "needle-eye" sperm phenotype in Drosophila sterile hybrid males
<p>Interspecies hybrid sterility has been extensively studied, especially in the genus <em>Drosophila</em>. Hybrid sterility is more often found in the heterogametic (XX or ZW) sex, a trend called Haldane's rule. Although this phenomenon is pervasive, identification of a common genetic mechanism remains elusive, with modest support found for a range of potential theories. Here, we identify a single precise morphological phenotype, which we call "needle-eye sperm," that is associated with hybrid sterility in three separate species pairs that span the <em>Drosophila</em> genus. The nature of the phenotype indicates a common point of meiotic failure in sterile hybrid males. We used ten generations of backcross selection paired with whole-genome pooled sequencing to genetically map the regions underlying the needle-eye sperm phenotype. Surprisingly, the sterility phenotype was present in ~50% of males even after ten generations of backcrossing, yet the genetic map showed multiple regions associated with sterility, indicating multiple regions may have the capacity to be sufficient to induce sterility in the F1. Due to the common phenotype among sterile male hybrids and the strong effect of individual loci, further exploration of the genes uncovered here may identify a universal mechanism for the evolution of hybrid sterility. </p>
Data from: Sperm pre-fertilization thermal environment shapes offspring phenotype and performance
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Data from: Phenotypic plasticity in genitalia: baculum shape responds to sperm competition risk in house mice
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Data from: Salinity-induced phenotypic plasticity in threespine stickleback sperm activation
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Data from: Physical and physiological impacts of ocean warming alter phenotypic selection on sperm morphology
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Six genome assemblies of Drosophila species for: Identification and genetic analysis of a pervasive “needle-eye” sperm phenotype in Drosophila sterile hybrid males
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Data from: Male phenotypes in a female framework: evidence for degeneration in sperm produced by male snails from asexual lineages
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Data from: The effects of male social environment on sperm phenotype and genome integrity
Sperm function and quality are primary determinants of male reproductive performance and hence fitness. The presence of rival males has been shown to affect ejaculate and sperm traits in a wide range of taxa. However, male physiological conditions may not only affect sperm phenotypic traits but also their genetic and epigenetic signatures, affecting the fitness of the resulting offspring. We investigated the effects of male-male competition on sperm quality using TUNEL assays and geometric morphometrics in the zebrafish, Danio rerio. We found that the sperm produced by males exposed to high male-male competition had smaller heads but larger midpiece and flagellum than sperm produced by males under low competition. Head and flagella also appeared less sensitive to the osmotic stress induced by activation with water. In addition, more sperm showed signals of DNA damage in ejaculates of males under high competition. These findings suggest that the presence of a rival male may have positive effects on phenotypic traits but negative effects on DNA integrity. Overall, males facing the presence of rival males may produce faster swimming and more competitive sperm but this may come at a cost for the next generation.
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