Ovarian fluid proteome variation associates with sperm swimming speed in an externally fertilizing fish.

ABSTRACT: Sperm velocity is a key trait that predicts the outcome of sperm competition. By promoting or impeding sperm velocity, females can control fertilization via postcopulatory cryptic female choice. In Chinook salmon, ovarian fluid (OF), which surrounds the ova, mediates sperm velocity according to male and female identity, biasing the outcome of sperm competition towards males with faster sperm. Past investigations have revealed proteome variation in OF, but the specific components of OF that differentially mediate sperm velocity have yet to be characterized. Here we use quantitative proteomics to investigate whether OF protein composition explains variation in sperm velocity and fertilization success. We found that OF proteomes from six females robustly clustered into two groups and that the

SUBMITTER: Johnson SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7719593 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature