TY - JOUR
T1 - Seminal fluid mediates ejaculate competition in social insects
AU - Den Boer, Susanne Petronella A
AU - Baer, Boris
AU - Boomsma, Jacobus Jan
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Queens of ants and bees normally obtain a lifetime supply of sperm on a single day of sexual activity, and sperm competition is expected to occur in lineages where queens receive sperm from multiple males. We compared singly mated (monandrous) and multiply mated (polyandrous) sister groups of ants and bees and show that seminal fluid of polyandrous species has a more positive effect on the survival of a male's own sperm than on other males' sperm. This difference was not observed in the monandrous species, suggesting that incapacitation of competing sperm may have independently evolved in both bees and ants. In Atta leafcutter ants, the negative effect of the seminal fluid of other males was negated by secretion from the queen sperm-storage organ, suggesting that queens may control ejaculate competition after sperm storage.
AB - Queens of ants and bees normally obtain a lifetime supply of sperm on a single day of sexual activity, and sperm competition is expected to occur in lineages where queens receive sperm from multiple males. We compared singly mated (monandrous) and multiply mated (polyandrous) sister groups of ants and bees and show that seminal fluid of polyandrous species has a more positive effect on the survival of a male's own sperm than on other males' sperm. This difference was not observed in the monandrous species, suggesting that incapacitation of competing sperm may have independently evolved in both bees and ants. In Atta leafcutter ants, the negative effect of the seminal fluid of other males was negated by secretion from the queen sperm-storage organ, suggesting that queens may control ejaculate competition after sperm storage.
U2 - 10.1126/science.1184709
DO - 10.1126/science.1184709
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 20299595
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 327
SP - 1506
EP - 1509
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 5972
ER -