Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird
Sperm aging is known to be detrimental to reproductive performance. However, this apparently general phenomenon has seldom been studied in an evolutionary context. The negative impact of sperm aging on parental fitness should constitute a strong selective pressure for adaptations to avoid its effect...
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Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544559 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779581 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 |
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:2544559 2023-05-15T18:07:11+02:00 Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird White, Joël Wagner, Richard H. Helfenstein, Fabrice Hatch, Scott A. Mulard, Hervé Naves, Liliana C. Danchin, Etienne 2008-09-16 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544559 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779581 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 en eng National Academy of Sciences http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544559 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779581 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 © 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA Biological Sciences Text 2008 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 2013-09-02T05:47:53Z Sperm aging is known to be detrimental to reproductive performance. However, this apparently general phenomenon has seldom been studied in an evolutionary context. The negative impact of sperm aging on parental fitness should constitute a strong selective pressure for adaptations to avoid its effects. We studied the impact of sperm aging on black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a monogamous seabird. Kittiwakes comprise a model system because (i) of evidence that females eject their mates' sperm to prevent fertilization by sperm that would be old and degraded by the time of fertilization and result in reduced reproductive performance and (ii) the lack of extra-pair fertilization in this species makes cryptic female choice an unlikely explanation of postcopulatory sperm ejection by females. We experimentally manipulated the age of the sperm fertilizing kittiwake eggs by fitting males with anti-insemination rings for variable periods of time preceding egg-laying. We found evidence that sperm aging negatively affected four sequential stages of reproduction: fertilization potential, rate of embryonic development, embryonic mortality, and chick condition at hatching. These results may be produced by a continuum of a single process of sperm aging that differentially affects various aspects of development, depending on the degree of damage incurred to the spermatozoa. The marked impact of sperm age on female fitness may thus drive postcopulatory sperm ejection by females. These results provide experimental evidence of deleterious effects of sperm aging on a nondomestic vertebrate, underlining its taxonomic generality and its potential to select for a wide array of adaptations. Text rissa tridactyla PubMed Central (PMC) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 37 13947 13952 |
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English |
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Biological Sciences |
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Biological Sciences White, Joël Wagner, Richard H. Helfenstein, Fabrice Hatch, Scott A. Mulard, Hervé Naves, Liliana C. Danchin, Etienne Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences |
description |
Sperm aging is known to be detrimental to reproductive performance. However, this apparently general phenomenon has seldom been studied in an evolutionary context. The negative impact of sperm aging on parental fitness should constitute a strong selective pressure for adaptations to avoid its effects. We studied the impact of sperm aging on black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), a monogamous seabird. Kittiwakes comprise a model system because (i) of evidence that females eject their mates' sperm to prevent fertilization by sperm that would be old and degraded by the time of fertilization and result in reduced reproductive performance and (ii) the lack of extra-pair fertilization in this species makes cryptic female choice an unlikely explanation of postcopulatory sperm ejection by females. We experimentally manipulated the age of the sperm fertilizing kittiwake eggs by fitting males with anti-insemination rings for variable periods of time preceding egg-laying. We found evidence that sperm aging negatively affected four sequential stages of reproduction: fertilization potential, rate of embryonic development, embryonic mortality, and chick condition at hatching. These results may be produced by a continuum of a single process of sperm aging that differentially affects various aspects of development, depending on the degree of damage incurred to the spermatozoa. The marked impact of sperm age on female fitness may thus drive postcopulatory sperm ejection by females. These results provide experimental evidence of deleterious effects of sperm aging on a nondomestic vertebrate, underlining its taxonomic generality and its potential to select for a wide array of adaptations. |
format |
Text |
author |
White, Joël Wagner, Richard H. Helfenstein, Fabrice Hatch, Scott A. Mulard, Hervé Naves, Liliana C. Danchin, Etienne |
author_facet |
White, Joël Wagner, Richard H. Helfenstein, Fabrice Hatch, Scott A. Mulard, Hervé Naves, Liliana C. Danchin, Etienne |
author_sort |
White, Joël |
title |
Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
title_short |
Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
title_full |
Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
title_fullStr |
Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
title_full_unstemmed |
Multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
title_sort |
multiple deleterious effects of experimentally aged sperm in a monogamous bird |
publisher |
National Academy of Sciences |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544559 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779581 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 |
genre |
rissa tridactyla |
genre_facet |
rissa tridactyla |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544559 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779581 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 |
op_rights |
© 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803067105 |
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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105 |
container_issue |
37 |
container_start_page |
13947 |
op_container_end_page |
13952 |
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1766179151023177728 |