Seminal fluid-mediated fitness effects in the simultaneously hermaphroditic flatworm Macrostomum lignano.

ABSTRACT: As a class, seminal fluid proteins are expected to exert strong effects on mating partners due to the selection pressures of sperm competition and sexual conflict. But because of the complexity of this secretion, linking specific proteins to downstream effects on own fitness-via manipulating the reproductive behavior, physiology, and ultimately the sperm utilization of mating partners-is not straightforward. Here, we adopted a systematic gene knockdown approach to screen for seminal fluid-mediated fitness effects in the simultaneously hermaphroditic flatworm Macrostomum lignano. We focused on 18 transcripts in M. lignano seminal fluid, testing how their RNA interference-induced knockdown impacted on three aspects of donor (male) reproductive success: (a) fertility (offspring production of

SUBMITTER: Weber M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6953679 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature