Navigation Links
A bug's (sex) life: Diving beetles offer unexpected clues about sexual selection
Date:2/6/2012

>Although copulation and fertilization occur within hours or days of each other in mammals and other groups, it is more common for the female to store the sperm she received from one or several males, sometimes for years, and exert control over when and how her eggs are fertilized.

For this study, Higginson compared features of female reproductive tracts and sperm from 42 species of diving beetles. Close to 4,000 species of diving beetles occur worldwide.

"Diving beetles can be found in just about every puddle of water," she said. "Here in the Arizona desert, most cattle tanks or natural pools will have numerous species of them. They're everywhere, except salt water, which they can't tolerate."

All are voracious predators, such as the Great Diving Beetle, which is common in Europe. Both larva and adult stalk small fish or tadpoles underwater, until they pounce and subdue them with pointy mandibles shaped like curved daggers.

In an attempt to better understand sperm evolution, Higginson and Pitnick came across descriptions of paired sperm in diving beetles dating back more than a hundred years. Female reproductive tracts in these animals were not systematically investigated until ten years ago.

Previous studies on the interaction between sperm and female reproductive organs established simple relationships between the two such as duct length and sperm length, but did not look much farther than that, Higginson said.

She remembered squashing a spermatheca, which is the part of the female tract that stores the sperm, on a microscope slide, and out came a single, enormous mass of sperm, all connected to each other and swirling and wiggling around. Previous studies had reported diving beetle species whose sperm cells join up in pairs, but seeing lots of individual sperm cells aggregating into one single conjugate was something unexpected and new.

"I could see the tails beating and moving the whole conjug
'/>"/>

Contact: Daniel Stolte
stolte@email.arizona.edu
520-626-4402
University of Arizona
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. Latest on malaria, dengue, radiation threats, bedbugs, cholera in Haiti at ASTMH Annual Meeting
2. Tuning natural antimicrobials to improve their effectiveness at battling superbugs
3. Hummingbirds catch flying bugs with the help of fast-closing beaks
4. Scientists develop a fatty kryptonite to defeat multidrug-resistant Super bugs
5. Scorpion venom -- bad for bugs, good for pesticides
6. UGA studies explain spread of invasive ladybugs
7. Can engineered bugs help generate biofuels? Study holds promise
8. Predatory bugs can save cornfields
9. Apathetic aphids with attitude become easier prey for ladybugs
10. Bees help to beat MRSA bugs
11. First preliminary profile of proteins in bed bugs saliva
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
A bug's (sex) life: Diving beetles offer unexpected clues about sexual selection
(Date:5/21/2013)... in shape is an uphill battle? Try staying fit ... weightlessness withers muscle and bone. , That,s the challenge ... with a new three-year, $1.2 million grant from NASA. ... during multiyear exploratory missions. , "You could give astronauts ... can,t get them to stick to it, it isn,t ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... Where? Copenhagen, Denmark: Bella Center Congress Centre ... , Why? An annual meeting focusing ... manufacturing and installation, drawing on leading experiences from all ... from a record of more than 900 abstracts received ... and oral presentations, more than 460 visual presentation, 55 ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... way genes function without changing the underlying DNA ... of pregnant women during any trimester, potentially providing ... weeks after giving birth, and an opportunity to ... of the small study involving 52 pregnant women ... Psychiatry . , "Postpartum depression can be harmful ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Fueling fitness on the final frontier 221st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition 221st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition 321st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition 4Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered by Hopkins researchers 2Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered by Hopkins researchers 3
... Fish become feisty but fearful when facing themselves in ... like something they don,t understand," said Julie Desjardins, a post-doctoral ... be published in Biology Letters describing the study. ... is just so far outside their realm of experience that ...
... of life" has been constructed by researchers at ... for the gamma-proteobacteria, a large group of medically ... Salmonella typhimurium, and other disease-causing organisms.* By building ... identify similarities and differences between the make-up of ...
... A research collaboration lead by a professor from ... work to develop methods to protect agriculturally important crops ... with the support of a $1.45 million award from ... sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the ...
Cached Biology News:Fish facing reflections become feisty but fearful 2Fish facing reflections become feisty but fearful 3New 'Tree of Life' established for one of the largest groups of bacteria 2New 'Tree of Life' established for one of the largest groups of bacteria 3Plant protection research targets cacao in developing countries 2
(Date:5/21/2013)... 21, 2013 Revolutionary Science, the manufacturer ... counter, announced today that they have expanded their colony ... the IncuCount, IntelliCount, InCount and ImpressCount. These affordable ... especially useful in food microbiology and pharmaceutical manufacturing. , ... look. A bright white enclosure with jet black ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... Glendale, CA (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 ... researchers at the University of California, San Diego for ... of load bearing Gravitic™ MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) with ... is renowned for its continued pursuit of improved healthcare ... , Spinal MRI is an extremely valuable tool for ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 PathoGenetix, Inc., ... bacterial strain typing, announced today that it has successfully ... E. coli strains obtained from the Centers for Disease ... Scanning™ (GSS™) technology. The findings are detailed in a ... the American Society for Microbiology in Denver on Monday. ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... May 20, 2013 , ... Research Service (ARS) in treatment of mastitis ... , Trials to begin in the second half ... technology company Phosphagenics Limited (ASX: POH, OTCQX: ... (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to develop and trial ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Revolutionary Science Announces New Automatic and Manual Colony Counting Products 2Vital Imaging Makes Greater Commitment into MRI Research 2Vital Imaging Makes Greater Commitment into MRI Research 3New Genotyping System Identifies Pathogenic E. coli Outbreak Strains 2New Genotyping System Identifies Pathogenic E. coli Outbreak Strains 3Phosphagenics Signs Research Agreement with the Agricultural Research Service 2
... Aug. 23 Monogram,Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGRM ) ... scheduled to present a corporate overview at the Thomas,Weisel ... 3:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) at the Four Seasons Hotel ... or the subsequent archived,recording, log on to http://www.monogrambio.com ...
... Conn., Aug. 22 Biodel, Inc. (Nasdaq:,BIOD) ... M.D., to its,Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). ... President of Research,and Development at Kos Pharmaceuticals, ... until Kos was acquired by Abbott Laboratories. ...
... ZymoGenetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:,ZGEN) announced that the company ... update on the regulatory review of recombinant thrombin,(rThrombin). ... on August 22 at 5:00,p.m. Eastern Time by ... the call approximately 10 minutes prior to,the scheduled ...
Cached Biology Technology:Monogram Biosciences to Present at the Thomas Weisel Partners Healthcare Conference 2007 2Ralf Rosskamp, M.D. Joins Biodel's Scientific Advisory Board 2Ralf Rosskamp, M.D. Joins Biodel's Scientific Advisory Board 3ZymoGenetics Will Hold Conference Call Today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to Provide Update on rThrombin 2
Can be used for the quantitative recovery of small amounts of nucleic acids within dilute solutions. 5mg/ml...
EDTA, 0.5 M solution, 100 ml. Ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid.Sterile, nuclease-free. Category: Nucleotides & Enzymes & Biochemicals, Ultrapure Biochemicals ....
Recombinant Mouse TGF-beta RII/(human) Fc Chimera, CF...
Recombinant Mouse Noggin...
Biology Products: