蚂蚁精子中的团队游动。
Team swimming in ant spermatozoa.
作者信息
Pearcy Morgan, Delescaille Noémie, Lybaert Pascale, Aron Serge
机构信息
Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium
Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels 1050, Belgium.
出版信息
Biol Lett. 2014 Jun;10(6). doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0308.
In species where females mate promiscuously, competition between ejaculates from different males to fertilize the ova is an important selective force shaping many aspects of male reproductive traits, such as sperm number, sperm length and sperm-sperm interactions. In eusocial Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants), males die shortly after mating and their reproductive success is ultimately limited by the amount of sperm stored in the queen's spermatheca. Multiple mating by queens is expected to impose intense selective pressure on males to optimize the transfer of sperm to the storage organ. Here, we report a remarkable case of cooperation between spermatozoa in the desert ant Cataglyphis savignyi. Males ejaculate bundles of 50-100 spermatozoa. Sperm bundles swim on average 51% faster than solitary sperm cells. Team swimming is expected to increase the amount of sperm stored in the queen spermatheca and, ultimately, enhance male posthumous fitness.
在雌性滥交的物种中，不同雄性的射精在使卵子受精方面的竞争是塑造雄性生殖特征诸多方面的重要选择力，比如精子数量、精子长度以及精子间的相互作用。在群居性膜翅目昆虫（蜜蜂、黄蜂和蚂蚁）中，雄性在交配后不久便死亡，它们的繁殖成功率最终受限于储存在蚁后的受精囊中精子的数量。蚁后多次交配预计会给雄性带来巨大的选择压力，促使它们优化精子向储存器官的转移。在此，我们报道了沙漠蚁萨氏举腹蚁精子间合作的一个显著案例。雄性射出50 - 100个精子组成的束。精子束游动的平均速度比单个精子细胞快51%。团队游动预计会增加储存在蚁后受精囊中的精子数量，并最终提高雄性的身后适应性。
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