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Perry, Jennifer C. 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8449-2764, Joag, Richa, Hosken, David J., Wedell, Nina, Radwan, Jacek and Wigby, Stuart
(2016)
Experimental evolution under hyper-promiscuity in Drosophila melanogaster.
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 16 (1).
ISSN 1471-2148
Abstract
Background: The number of partners that individuals mate with over their lifetime is a defining feature of mating systems, and variation in mate number is thought to be a major driver of sexual evolution. Although previous research has investigated the evolutionary consequences of reductions in the number of mates, we know little about the costs and benefits of increased numbers of mates. Here, we use a genetic manipulation of mating frequency in Drosophila melanogaster to create a novel, highly promiscuous mating system. We generated D. melanogaster populations in which flies were deficient for the sex peptide receptor (SPR) gene - resulting in SPR- females that mated more frequently - and genetically-matched control populations, and allowed them to evolve for 55 generations. At several time-points during this experimental evolution, we assayed behavioural, morphological and transcriptional reproductive phenotypes expected to evolve in response to increased population mating frequencies. Results: We found that males from the high mating frequency SPR- populations evolved decreased ability to inhibit the receptivity of their mates and decreased copulation duration, in line with predictions of decreased per-mating investment with increased sperm competition. Unexpectedly, SPR- population males also evolved weakly increased sex peptide (SP) gene expression. Males from SPR- populations initially (i.e., before experimental evolution) exhibited more frequent courtship and faster time until mating relative to controls, but over evolutionary time these differences diminished or reversed. Conclusions: In response to experimentally increased mating frequency, SPR- males evolved behavioural responses consistent with decreased male post-copulatory investment at each mating and decreased overall pre-copulatory performance. The trend towards increased SP gene expression might plausibly relate to functional differences in the two domains of the SP protein. Our study highlights the utility of genetic manipulations of animal social and sexual environments coupled with experimental evolution.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Funding Information: RJ and RT-qPCR analyses were funded by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) within the “Environmental Stress, Population Viability and Adaptation” project (MPD/2009-3/5) and by the Institute of Environmental Sciences, JU (DS/MND/WbiNoZ/InoS/15/2013). JCP was supported by fellowships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada) and Jesus College, Oxford. SW was supported by a grant from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, fellowships from Lloyds Tercentenary Research Foundation, NERC (NE/J018937/1) and the BBSRC (BB/K014544/1), and a Welcome Trust VIP award. Publisher Copyright: © 2016 The Author(s). |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | copulation,courtship,drosophila melanogaster,ejaculate,experimental evolution,mating,sex peptide,sexual selection,sperm competition,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Nov 2022 16:31 |
| Last Modified: | 17 May 2023 01:37 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/89495 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12862-016-0699-8 |
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