Seminal fluid enhances sperm viability in the leafcutter ant Atta colombica |
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Authors: | Susanne P A den Boer Jacobus J Boomsma Boris Baer |
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Institution: | (1) Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark;(2) ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, MCS Building M316, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, Australia;(3) Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, Australia |
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Abstract: | The seminal fluid that accompanies sperm in ejaculates has been shown or suggested to affect sperm competition and paternity
success of insects by preventing female remating, inducing oviposition, and forming mating plugs. In Atta leafcutter ants, queens have multiple mates but never remate later in life, although they may live and produce fertilized
eggs for several decades. The mating biology and life history of these ants therefore suggests that the major function of
seminal fluid is to maximize sperm viability during copulation, sperm transfer, and initial sperm storage. We tested this
hypothesis by comparing the viability of testis sperm and ejaculated sperm (mixed with seminal fluid) and found a significant
positive effect of seminal fluid on sperm viability. We further quantified this positive effect by adding accessory gland
secretion (a major component of seminal fluid) in a dilution series, to show that minute quantities of accessory gland secretion
achieve significant increases in sperm viability. Sperm stored by queens for 1 year benefited in a similar way from being
exposed to accessory gland compounds after dissection in control saline solution. Our results provide the first empirical
evidence that seminal fluid is important for the production of viable ejaculates and that the accessory glands of Atta males—despite their small size—are functional and produce a very potent secretion. |
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Keywords: | Social insects Mating Sperm storage Sperm transfer Spermatheca Accessory glands |
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