Exploring the mechanisms underlying the last male precedence in the North African houbara bustard.

ABSTRACT: The last male precedence (LMP) effect refers to the competitive advantage of the last male in the mating sequence. We conducted in vitro and in vivo experiments to explore the mechanisms underlying LMP in the North African houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata). Ejaculates were stained with two nuclear fluorescent stains [Hoechst 33342 (HBlue) and NUCLEAR-ID® Red DNA (NRed)] and a mitochondrial stain [MitoTracker™ Red FM (MRed)], and motility and velocity of stained and unstained sperm were compared. Given that NRed impaired sperm motility and velocity, HBlue and MRed were retained for in vivo experiments. In a first in vivo experiment, females were inseminated with HBlue-stained sperm and the sperm stored in tubules were counted at 24, 48 and 72 h post-insemination. The number of sperm co

SUBMITTER: Meunier L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12752492 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature