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Sperm competition between Drosophila males involves both displacement and incapacitation

Nature volume 400, pages 449–452 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Females in almost all animal groups copulate with multiple males1,2. This behaviour allows different males to compete for fertilization3 and gives females the opportunity to mediate this competition4. In many animals and most insects, the second male to copulate with a female typically sires most of her offspring1,5,6. In Drosophila melanogaster, this second-male sperm precedence has long been studied7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 but, as in most species, its mechanism has remained unknown. Here we show, using labelled sperm in doubly mated females, that males can both physically displace andincapacitate stored sperm from earlier-mating males. Displacement occurs only if the second male transfers sperm to the female, and in only one of her three sperm-storage organs. Incapacitation can be caused by either fertile or spermless second males, but requires extended intervals between matings. Sperm from different males are not ‘stratified’ in the storage organs but mix freely. Many animal species may have multiple mechanisms of sperm competition like those observed here, and revealing these mechanisms is necessary to understand the genetic and evolutionary basis of second-male sperm precedence in animals.

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Figure 1: The mechanism of sperm competition depends on mating interval.
Figure 2: Differentially labelled sperm.
Figure 3: Physical displacement of first-male sperm.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. DeAngelis, C. Gronlund, C. Kim, C. Mercader, J. Posluszny and A.Travelli for technical assistance; A. Santel for the dj GFP II/Cyo flies; A. James and R. Snook for miscellaneous help; B. Robbins for supplies; and A. Civetta, T. Prout and C.-I. Wu for comments. This work was supported by an NSF predoctoral fellowship, NIH genetics training grant and NSF doctoral dissertation improvement grant to C.S.C.P. and by an NIH grant to J.A.C.

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  1. Kelly A. Dyer

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 14627, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Catherine S. C. Price & Jerry A. Coyne

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  1. Catherine S. C. Price
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  2. Kelly A. Dyer
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  3. Jerry A. Coyne
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Correspondence to Jerry A. Coyne.

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Price, C., Dyer, K. & Coyne, J. Sperm competition between Drosophila males involves both displacement and incapacitation. Nature 400, 449–452 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/22755

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