Female novelty and male status dynamically modulate ejaculate expenditure and seminal fluid proteome over successive matings in red junglefowl.

ABSTRACT: Theory predicts that males will strategically invest in ejaculates according to the value of mating opportunities. While strategic sperm allocation has been studied extensively, little is known about concomitant changes in seminal fluid (SF) and its molecular composition, despite increasing evidence that SF proteins (SFPs) are fundamental in fertility and sperm competition. Here, we show that in male red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, along with changes in sperm numbers and SF investment, SF composition changed dynamically over successive matings with a first female, immediately followed by mating with a second, sexually novel female. The SF proteome exhibited a pattern of both protein depletion and enrichment over successive matings, including progressive increases in immunity and plasma prot

SUBMITTER: Alvarez-Fernandez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6458113 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature