ArticleMolecular ecology2019
Nonfertilizing sperm in Lepidoptera show little evidence for recurrent positive selection.
Article in Molecular ecology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Proteomic analysis of dimorphic sperm in the cabbage white butterfly,Frontiers in insect science · 2026Article
- Contrasting Evolutionary Trajectories Under Paternal Genome Elimination in Male and Female Citrus Mealybugs.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Faster adaptation but slower divergence of X chromosomes under paternal genome elimination.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Review
- β2-tubulin regulates the development and migration of eupyrene sperm in Spodoptera frugiperda.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- Differential gene expression underpinning the production of distinct sperm morphs in the wax mothOpen biology · 2024Article
- The hologenome of Daphnia magna reveals possible DNA methylation and microbiome-mediated evolution of the host genome.Nucleic acids research · 2023Article
- Article
- Juvenile socio-sexual experience determines lifetime sperm expenditure and adult survival in a polygamous moth, Ephestia kuehniella.Insect science · 2023Review
- Dichotomous sperm in Lepidopteran insects: a biorational target for pest management.Frontiers in insect science · 2023Review
- Population differentiation and structural variation in the Manduca sexta genome across the United States.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Article
- Support for faster and more adaptive Z chromosome evolution in two divergent lepidopteran lineagesEvolution; international journal of organic evolution · 2022Article
- Dysfunction of dimorphic sperm impairs male fertility in the silkworm.Cell discovery · 2020Article
- Nonfertilizing sperm in Lepidoptera show little evidence for recurrent positive selection.Molecular ecology · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Sperm are among the most variable cells in nature. Some of this variation results from nonadaptive errors in spermatogenesis, but many species consistently produce multiple sperm morphs, the adaptive significance of which remains unknown. Here, we investigate the evolution of dimorphic sperm in Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Males of this order produce both fertilizing sperm and a secondary, nonfertilizing type that lacks DNA. Previous organismal studies suggested a role for nonfertilizing sperm in sperm competition, but this hypothesis has never been evaluated from a molecular framework. We combined published data sets with new sequencing in two species, the monandrous Carolina sphinx moth and the highly polyandrous monarch butterfly. Based on population genetic analyses, we see evidence for increased adaptive evolution in fertilizing sperm, but only in the polyandrous species. This signal comes primarily from a decrease in nonsynonymous polymorphism in sperm proteins compared to the rest of the genome, suggesting stronger purifying selection, consistent with selection via sperm competition. Nonfertilizing sperm proteins, in contrast, do not show an effect of mating system and do not appear to evolve differently from the background genome in either species, arguing against the involvement of nonfertilizing sperm in direct sperm competition. Based on our results and previous work, we suggest that nonfertilizing sperm may be used to delay female remating in these insects and decrease the risk of sperm competition rather than directly affect its outcome.
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