Max Planck Tandem Group in Mosquito Reproductive Biology, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia 050010, Colombia.
Max Planck Tandem Group in Mosquito Reproductive Biology, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia 050010, Colombia.
J Insect Physiol. 2020 Feb-Mar;121:104019. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104019. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of several arboviruses that impact human health including the dengue, Zika, and yellow fever viruses. The potential of Ae. aegypti females to transmit viruses is enhanced by mating-induced behavioral and physiological changes that increase female host-seeking behaviors, blood-feeding frequency and longevity. The mating-induced changes are due to female receipt of male seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) during copulation. SFPs also inhibit female re-mating-re-mating incidence is significantly reduced in the initial hours after mating and nearly absent after 24 h. Males, however, are not limited in the number of females they can inseminate and are able to mate with multiple females in succession. As successive mating depletes SFPs, we examined parameters of fertility and re-mating incidence in females after mating with recently mated males. Males of two Ae. aegypti strains (Colombian and Thai) were mated five consecutive times and fecundity, resulting larvae and hatch percentage in each female of the mating sequence was assessed. In both strains, we found that males can mate three times in succession without impacting fertility in their mates. However, significant declines in fecundity, resulting larvae, and hatch percentage were observed after a third mating. Male size influenced female fecundity and fertility as mates of small males showed further reductions compared to mates of big males after mating consecutively. Seven days after the consecutive mating assays, the re-mating rate of females mated fifth in succession was significantly increased (Colombian strain: 33%; Thai strain: 48%) compared to females mated first (0% in both strains). Re-mating incidence was further increased in small, Thai strain males where 82% of fifth mated females re-mated compared to 0% of first mated females. Finally, we show that regardless of male size, mates of experimental males were similarly fertile to mates of control males when mated for a sixth time 48 h after the consecutive mating assays, showing that males recover fertility after 2 d. Our results show that male sexual history influences fertility and re-mating incidence of Ae. aegypti females.
埃及伊蚊是几种虫媒病毒的主要传播媒介，这些病毒会对人类健康造成影响，包括登革热、寨卡和黄热病病毒。雌蚊在交配后会发生行为和生理上的变化，从而增强其传播病毒的能力，这些变化包括增加雌蚊寻找宿主的行为、吸血频率和寿命。交配诱导的这些变化是由于雌蚊在交配过程中接收了雄蚊的精液蛋白（SFPs）。SFPs 还可以抑制雌蚊再次交配，初次交配后雌蚊的再次交配发生率在最初几小时内显著降低，24 小时后几乎不存在。然而，雄蚊没有交配次数的限制，可以连续与多个雌蚊交配。由于连续交配会消耗 SFPs，我们研究了与最近交配过的雄蚊交配后雌蚊的生育能力和再次交配发生率。用两种埃及伊蚊品系（哥伦比亚品系和泰国品系）的雄蚊连续交配五次，评估每个交配序列中雌蚊的繁殖力、幼虫和孵化率。在这两个品系中，我们发现雄蚊可以连续交配三次而不会影响其配偶的生育能力。然而，第三次交配后，雌蚊的繁殖力、幼虫和孵化率显著下降。雄蚊的大小影响雌蚊的繁殖力和生育能力，与大雄蚊交配的雌蚊比与小雄蚊交配的雌蚊表现出进一步的减少。连续交配试验 7 天后，连续交配五次的雌蚊的再交配率显著增加（哥伦比亚品系：33%；泰国品系：48%），而第一次交配的雌蚊的再交配率为 0%（两个品系均为 0%）。在小的、泰国品系的雄蚊中，再交配发生率进一步增加，82%的第五次交配的雌蚊再次交配，而 0%的第一次交配的雌蚊再次交配。最后，我们发现，无论雄蚊的大小如何，与对照雄蚊交配六次的实验雄蚊的配偶与对照组雄蚊的配偶一样具有生育能力，在连续交配试验后 48 小时，雄蚊的生育能力恢复，2 天后恢复。我们的研究结果表明，雄蚊的性史会影响埃及伊蚊雌蚊的生育能力和再次交配的发生率。
