ArticleBMC biology2015
Sperm competition risk drives plasticity in seminal fluid composition.
Article in BMC biology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed.
- Female genetic variation controlling timing of mating plug ejection inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Environmental influences on seminal plasma: Molecular and functional insights.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2026Review
- Thirty Years of the Biology of Spermatozoa: The Rise and Future of an Evolutionary Paradigm.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Mating system variation and gene expression in the male reproductive tract of Peromyscus mice.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Reproductive output of old males is limited by seminal fluid, not sperm number.Evolution letters · 2025Article
- The effect of seminal fluid gene expression on paternity.Evolution letters · 2023Article
- Social group composition modulates the role of last male sperm precedence in post-copulatory sexual selection.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2023Article
- Intergenerational response to sperm competition risk in an invasive mammal.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Increased male investment in sperm competition results in reduced maintenance of gametes.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- On the Role of Seminal Fluid Protein and Nucleic Acid Content in Paternal Epigenetic Inheritance.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Age-related changes in microRNAs expression in cruciate ligaments of wild-stock house mice.Physiological reports · 2022Article
- Assessing Anatomical Changes in Male Reproductive Organs in Response to Larval Crowding Using Micro-computed Tomography Imaging.Neotropical entomology · 2022Article
- Transcriptomic analysis of the seminal vesicle response to the reproductive toxicant acrylamide.BMC genomics · 2021Article
- Article
- Seminal fluid and accessory male investment in sperm competition.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Review
- Social status and ejaculate composition in the house mouse.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Article
- Of mice and women: advances in mammalian sperm competition with a focus on the female perspective.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Review
- Increased sperm production linked to competition in the maternal social environment.Royal Society open science · 2020Article
- Males adjust their manipulation of female remating in response to sperm competition risk.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2020Article
- Going beyond conventional parameters to unveil sperm quality in fish: the use of fibre optic technology to assess mitochondrial respiratory performance.Biology open · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEjaculates contain a diverse mixture of sperm and seminal fluid proteins, the combination of which is crucial to male reproductive success under competitive conditions. Males should therefore tailor the production of different ejaculate components according to their social environment, with particular sensitivity to cues of sperm competition risk (i.e. how likely it is that females will mate promiscuously). Here we test this hypothesis using an established vertebrate model system, the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus), combining experimental data with a quantitative proteomics analysis of seminal fluid composition. Our study tests for the first time how both sperm and seminal fluid components of the ejaculate are tailored to the social environment.
resultsOur quantitative proteomics analysis reveals that the relative production of different proteins found in seminal fluid--i.e. seminal fluid proteome composition--differs significantly according to cues of sperm competition risk. Using a conservative analytical approach to identify differential expression of individual seminal fluid components, at least seven of 31 secreted seminal fluid proteins examined showed consistent differences in relative abundance under high versus low sperm competition conditions. Notably three important proteins with potential roles in sperm competition--SVS 6, SVS 5 and CEACAM 10--were more abundant in the high competition treatment groups. Total investment in both sperm and seminal fluid production also increased with cues of heightened sperm competition risk in the social environment. By contrast, relative investment in different ejaculate components was unaffected by cues of mating opportunities.
conclusionsOur study reveals significant plasticity in different ejaculate components, with the production of both sperm and non-sperm fractions of the ejaculate strongly influenced by the social environment. Sperm competition risk is thus shown to be a key factor in male ejaculate production decisions, including driving plasticity in seminal fluid composition.
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