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Liu J, Liu K, Tang Y, Wang W, Xu X, Liang J, Xiao Y, Elgar MA. Females adopt sexual catalepsy to facilitate mating. Curr Zool 2024; 70:174-181. [PMID: 38726244 PMCID: PMC11078043 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that males and females of dioecious species typically engage in an evolutionary sexual conflict over the frequency and choice of mating partner. Female sexual cannibalism, a particularly dramatic illustration of this conflict, is widespread in certain animal taxa including spiders. Nevertheless, females of some funnel weaving spiders that are generally aggressive to conspecifics enter a cataleptic state after male courtship, ensuring the males can mate without risk of attack. In this study, we demonstrated that the physical posture and duration, metabolites, and central neurotransmitters of females of Aterigena aculeata in sexual catalepsy closely resemble females in thanatosis but are distinct from those in anesthesia, indicating that the courted females feign death to eliminate the risk of potentially aggressive responses and thereby allow preferred males to mate. Unlike the taxonomically widespread thanatosis, which generally represents a deceptive visual signal that acts against the interest of the receivers, sexual catalepsy of females in the funnel weaving spiders may deliver a sexual-receptive signal to the courting males and thereby benefit both the signal senders and receivers. Therefore, sexual catalepsy in A. aculeata may not reflect a conflict but rather a confluence of interest between the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihe Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji’an, Jiangxi 343009, China
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Keke Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji’an, Jiangxi 343009, China
| | - Yu Tang
- Pharmaceutical Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Weihua Wang
- Pharmaceutical Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiang Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China
| | - Jianhui Liang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yonghong Xiao
- College of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, Ji’an, Jiangxi 343009, China
| | - Mark A Elgar
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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Stribling D, Chang PL, Dalton JE, Conow CA, Rosenthal M, Hebets E, Graze RM, Arbeitman MN. The brain transcriptome of the wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata. BMC Res Notes 2021; 14:236. [PMID: 34162407 PMCID: PMC8220750 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-021-05648-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Arachnids have fascinating and unique biology, particularly for questions on sex differences and behavior, creating the potential for development of powerful emerging models in this group. Recent advances in genomic techniques have paved the way for a significant increase in the breadth of genomic studies in non-model organisms. One growing area of research is comparative transcriptomics. When phylogenetic relationships to model organisms are known, comparative genomic studies provide context for analysis of homologous genes and pathways. The goal of this study was to lay the groundwork for comparative transcriptomics of sex differences in the brain of wolf spiders, a non-model organism of the pyhlum Euarthropoda, by generating transcriptomes and analyzing gene expression. DATA DESCRIPTION To examine sex-differential gene expression, short read transcript sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly were performed. Messenger RNA was isolated from brain tissue of male and female subadult and mature wolf spiders (Schizocosa ocreata). The raw data consist of sequences for the two different life stages in each sex. Computational analyses on these data include de novo transcriptome assembly and differential expression analyses. Sample-specific and combined transcriptomes, gene annotations, and differential expression results are described in this data note and are available from publicly-available databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Stribling
- Biomedical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA
- Present Address: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 USA
| | - Peter L. Chang
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
| | - Justin E. Dalton
- Biomedical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA
| | - Christopher A. Conow
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA
| | - Malcolm Rosenthal
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA
| | - Eileen Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA
| | - Rita M. Graze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 USA
| | - Michelle N. Arbeitman
- Biomedical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA
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Bunch S, Wilgers DJ. Female mating status affects male mating tactic expression in the wolf spider Rabidosa punctulata. Curr Zool 2021; 68:121-127. [PMID: 35169635 PMCID: PMC8836339 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Males and females have conflicting interests on the frequency and outcomes of mating interactions. Males maximize their fitness by mating with as many females as possible, whereas choosy females often reduce receptivity following copulation. Alternative male mating tactics can be adaptive in their expression to a variety of mating contexts, including interactions with a relatively unreceptive mated female. Male Rabidosa punctulata wolf spiders can adopt distinctive mating tactics when interacting with a female, a complex courtship display, and/or a more coercive direct mount tactic that often involves grappling with females for copulation. In this study, we set up female mating treatments with initial trials and then paired mated and unmated females with males to observe both female remating frequencies and the male mating tactics used during the interactions. Males adopted different mating tactics depending on the mating status of the female they were paired with. Males were more likely to adopt a direct mount tactic with already-mated females and courtship with unmated females. Already-mated females were considerably less receptive to males during experimental trials, although they did remate 34% of the time, the majority of which were with males using a direct mount tactic. Whereas males adjusting to these contextual cues were able to gain more copulations, the observation of multiple mating in female R. punctulata introduces the potential for sperm competition. We discuss this sexual conflict in terms of the fitness consequences of these mating outcomes for both males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Bunch
- Department of Natural Sciences, McPherson College, 1600 E. Euclid, McPherson, KS 67460, USA
| | - Dustin J Wilgers
- Department of Natural Sciences, McPherson College, 1600 E. Euclid, McPherson, KS 67460, USA
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Gilbert R, Uetz GW. Male chemical cues as reliable indicators of infection in the wolf spider
Schizocosa ocreata. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Gilbert
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio
| | - George W. Uetz
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio
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Meyer TB, Uetz GW. Complex male mate choice in the brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz). Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy B Meyer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - George W Uetz
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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Gilbert R, Karp RD, Uetz GW. Effects of juvenile infection on adult immunity and secondary sexual characters in a wolf spider. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Rypstra AL, Walker SE, Persons MH. Cautious versus desperado males: predation risk affects courtship intensity but not female choice in a wolf spider. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Xiao R, Chen B, Wang Y, Lu M, Chen J, Li D, Yun Y, Jiao X. Silk-mediated male courtship effort in the monandrous wolf spider Pardosa astrigera (Araneae: Lycosidae). CHEMOECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00049-015-0196-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Sullivan-Beckers L, Hebets EA. Tactical adjustment of signalling leads to increased mating success and survival. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Pruitt JN, Berning AW, Cusack B, Shearer TA, McGuirk M, Coleman A, Eng RYY, Armagost F, Sweeney K, Singh N. Precopulatory Sexual Cannibalism Causes Increase Egg Case Production, Hatching Success, and Female Attractiveness to Males. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan N. Pruitt
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Aric W. Berning
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Brian Cusack
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Taylor A. Shearer
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Mathew McGuirk
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Anna Coleman
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Robin Y. Y. Eng
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Fawn Armagost
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Kayla Sweeney
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Nishant Singh
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh PA USA
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