Chancellor Kent Syverud | Syracuse University
Chancellor Kent Syverud | Syracuse University
Syracuse University researchers have published a study in the journal Nature, exploring the evolution of giant sperm in male fruit flies and female reproductive tracts. The study, titled "Genomics of a sexually selected sperm ornament and female preference in Drosophila," delves into why long sperm tails have developed as a result of sexual selection. Researchers from Syracuse's Center for Reproductive Evolution have focused on this area for decades.
"Sperm are the most diverse and rapidly evolving cell type," according to the team at Syracuse University’s Center for Reproductive Evolution (CRE). Their investigations have shown that longer sperm are favored due to their advantage in fertilizing eggs, with female reproductive tracts also favoring longer sperm.
The research involved collaboration with scientists from Stanford University, Cornell University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Zurich. They measured sperm length and the length of the female seminal receptacle across 149 species of fruit flies. After sequencing genomes of these species, they mapped traits onto the fruit fly tree of life to understand coevolution over 65 million years.
In their study, they conducted a "genome-wide association study" to identify genes related to variation in sperm and seminal receptacle length in Drosophila melanogaster. Surprisingly, only about 19% of genes affecting sperm length were expressed in testes, with many linked to nervous system development. Genetic variation was also associated with traits like female fecundity and starvation resistance.
This comprehensive approach suggests that sexual selection provides females a way to select for advantageous genetic traits. Using complex algorithms and extensive computing resources on Syracuse University's OrangeGrid network, researchers identified genes where sequence evolution correlates with changes in sperm and seminal receptacle length.
The findings offer insights into evolutionary genetics beyond just understanding sperm evolution but also fundamental aspects of biodiversity.
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