Male animals have many ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors while courting a potential mate. They have other chances to prove their worthiness.
New research from the UO suggests that sexual selection can have a large impact on evolution.
Just as a male with a flashier tail might be more likely to win a mate, sperm that are more resilient or stronger swimmers could be more likely to successfully fertilize an egg. The process of evolution can be influenced by this selection, as genes that make sperm more competitive are passed on preferentially.
Sexual selection after sperm are released is a bigger driver of evolutionary change than sexual selection before sex. A paper by researchers in the lab of UO's PatrickPhillips was published in February.
Researchers use the C. elegans worm as a model for studying disease and biology in humans.
Thanks to recent advances in gene-editing technology, we were able to develop a genetic tool that gives us temporal control, and we can turn sperm production on and off in worms.
It was possible to compare the contributions of sexual selection before and after insemination.
It is something we have not been able to do before.
They followed worms for 30 generations. The worms go from birth to reproductive age in 3.5 days. They introduced new competition by manipulating when the worms produced sperm.
Adding worms with different genetics to the pool of mates decreased selection and slowed evolutionary change, the team found.
The rate of evolutionary change was increased by more competing sperm. The reproductive success of males increased by seven to five times.
Over the course of the experiment, the team identified about 60 genes that had rapid change. More than half of the genes have not yet been studied in detail.
It suggests we have a lot of work to do.
The Society for the Study of Evolution gave a top prize for early-career scientists in the field of evolution to Kasimatis.
Dramatic differences between the sexes have fascinated biologists for hundreds of years. This study is the culmination of my hopes for what we could accomplish when I began using the worm system for evolutionary studies nearly 30 years ago.
More information: Katja R. Kasimatis et al, Post-insemination selection dominates pre-insemination selection in driving rapid evolution of male competitive ability, PLOS Genetics (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010063 Journal information: PLoS Genetics Citation: Competition among worm sperm speeds up evolution (2022, March 22) retrieved 22 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-03-competition-worm-sperm-evolution.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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