ArticleBMC evolutionary biology2020
Reproductive consequences of an extra long-term sperm storage organ.
Article in BMC evolutionary biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mistranslation protects against lifespan reduction due to mating in Drosophila melanogaster females.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Asymmetric development and function of paired sperm-storage organs inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- The Morphogenesis of Sperm Storage Micropockets in the Western Mosquitofish (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSperm storage plays a key role in the reproductive success of many sexually-reproducing organisms, and the capacity of long-term sperm storage varies across species. While there are theoretical explanations for why such variation exists, to date there are no controlled empirical tests of the reproductive consequences of additional long-term sperm storage. While Dipterans ancestrally have three long-term sperm organs, known as the spermathecae, Drosophila contain only two.
resultsWe identified a candidate gene, which we call spermathreecae (sp3), in which a disruption cause the development of three functional spermathecae rather than the usual two in Drosophila. We used this disruption to test the reproductive consequences of having an additional long-term sperm storage organ. Compared to females with two spermathecae, females with three spermathecae store a greater total number of sperm and can produce offspring a greater length of time. However, they did not produce a greater total number of offspring.
conclusionsThus, additional long-term sperm storage in insects may increase female fitness through extending the range of conditions where she produces offspring, or through increasing the quality of offspring via enhanced local sperm competition at fertilization.
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