Insights into female sperm storage from the spermathecal fluid proteome of the honeybee Apis mellifera.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Female animals are often able to store sperm inside their body--in some species even for several decades. The molecular basis of how females keep non-own cells alive is largely unknown, but since sperm cells are reported to be transcriptionally silenced and, therefore, limited in their ability to maintain their own function, it is likely that females actively participate in sperm maintenance. Because female contributions are likely to be of central importance for sperm survival, molecular insights into the process offer opportunities to observe mechanisms through which females manipulate sperm.

Results

We used the honeybee, Apis mellifera, in which queens are highly polyandrous and able to maintain sperm viable for several years. We identified over a hundred prote

SUBMITTER: Baer B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2718501 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature