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Leyden MR, Michalik P, Baruffaldi L, Mahmood S, Kalani L, Hunt DF, Eirin-Lopez JM, Andrade MC, Shabanowitz J, Ausió J. The protamines of the noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis provide an example of liquid-liquid phase separation chromatin transitions during spermiogenesis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.04.597381. [PMID: 38895387 PMCID: PMC11185589 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.04.597381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
While there is extensive information about sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBP) in vertebrates, there is very little information about Arthropoda by comparison. This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap by analyzing these proteins in the sperm of the noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis (Order Araneae, Family Theridiidae). To this end, we have developed a protein extraction method that allows the extraction of cysteine-containing protamines suitable for the preparation and analysis of SNBPs from samples where the amount of starting tissue material is limited. We carried out top-down mass spectrometry sequencing and molecular phylogenetic analyses to characterize the protamines of S. nobilis and other spiders. We also used electron microscopy to analyze the chromatin organization of the sperm, and we found it to exhibit liquid-liquid phase spinodal decomposition during the late stages of spermiogenesis. These studies further our knowledge of the distribution of SNBPs within the animal kingdom and provide additional support for a proposed evolutionary origin of many protamines from a histone H1 (H5) replication-independent precursor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa R. Leyden
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Peter Michalik
- Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Luciana Baruffaldi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Susheen Mahmood
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Ladan Kalani
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Donald F. Hunt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Jose Maria Eirin-Lopez
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Maydianne C.B. Andrade
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Shabanowitz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Juan Ausió
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
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Bollatti F, Dederichs TM, Peretti AV, Laborda Á, Postiglioni R, Aisenberg A, Michalik P. Reproductive diapause influences spermatogenesis and testes' size in the diplochronous wolf spider Allocosa senex (Lycosidae, Araneae) - A case study using a non-experimental approach. ZOOLOGY 2023; 159:126103. [PMID: 37422954 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2023.126103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Seasonality considerably impacts on the life of organisms and leads to numerous evolutionary adaptations. Some species face seasonal changes by entering a diapause during different life stages. During adulthood, a diapause in the non-reproductive period can affect male gametogenesis as, for example, it occurs in insects. Spiders are distributed worldwide and show a variety of life cycles. However, data on spiders' life cycles and seasonal adaptations are limited. Here, we explored the effect of reproductive diapause in a seasonal spider for the first time. We used the South American sand-dwelling spider Allocosa senex as a model as this species is diplochronous, meaning that individuals live two reproductive seasons, with juveniles and adults overwintering in burrows. It has been observed that individuals of this species reduce their metabolism during the non-reproductive season, diminishing prey consumption and locomotion to a minimum. This species is also well-known for exhibiting wandering and courting females and sedentary males. We analyzed spermatogenesis throughout the male's life cycle and described the male's reproductive system and spermiogenesis using light and transmission electron microscopy. We found that spermatogenesis in A. senex is asynchronous and continuous. However, when males face the non-reproductive season, the late spermatogenic stages and spermatozoa decline, causing an interruption but not a total arrest of this process. This seasonality is also reflected in smaller testes' size in males from the non-reproductive season than in other periods. The mechanisms and constraints are unknown, but they could be related to the metabolic depression during this life cycle period. Since sex-role reversal apparently sets a low-intensity sperm competition scenario compared with other wolf spiders, surviving two reproductive seasons may balance mating opportunities by distributing them between both periods. Thus, the partial interruption of spermatogenesis during diapause could allow new mating encounters during the second reproductive season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fedra Bollatti
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Técnicas (CONICET), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina.
| | - Tim M Dederichs
- Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alfredo V Peretti
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Técnicas (CONICET), Laboratorio de Biología Reproductiva y Evolución, Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Álvaro Laborda
- Sección Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Rodrigo Postiglioni
- Departamento de Ecología y Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Anita Aisenberg
- Departamento de Ecología y Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Peter Michalik
- Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Greifswald, Germany
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Quiñones-Lebrón SG, Kuntner M, Kralj-Fišer S. The effect of genetics, diet, and social environment on adult male size in a sexually dimorphic spider. Evol Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-020-10097-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Kuntner M, Coddington JA. Sexual Size Dimorphism: Evolution and Perils of Extreme Phenotypes in Spiders. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 65:57-80. [PMID: 31573828 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-025032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism is one of the most striking animal traits, and among terrestrial animals, it is most extreme in certain spider lineages. The most extreme sexual size dimorphism (eSSD) is female biased. eSSD itself is probably an epiphenomenon of gendered evolutionary drivers whose strengths and directions are diverse. We demonstrate that eSSD spider clades are aberrant by sampling randomly across all spiders to establish overall averages for female (6.9 mm) and male (5.6 mm) size. At least 16 spider eSSD clades exist. We explore why the literature does not converge on an overall explanation for eSSD and propose an equilibrium model featuring clade- and context-specific drivers of gender size variation. eSSD affects other traits such as sexual cannibalism, genital damage, emasculation, and monogyny with terminal investment. Coevolution with these extreme sexual phenotypes is termed eSSD mating syndrome. Finally, as costs of female gigantism increase with size, eSSD may represent an evolutionary dead end.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matjaž Kuntner
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0105, USA;
- Evolutionary Zoology Laboratory, Institute of Biology ZRC SAZU, SI-1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jonathan A Coddington
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0105, USA;
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Abregú DA, Peretti AV, González M. Male performance and associated costs in successive sexual encounters in a polygynous web wolf spider. Acta Ethol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-019-00323-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Andrade MC. Sexual selection and social context: Web-building spiders as emerging models for adaptive plasticity. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.asb.2019.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Biaggio MD, Sandomirsky I, Lubin Y, Harari AR, Andrade MCB. Copulation with immature females increases male fitness in cannibalistic widow spiders. Biol Lett 2017; 12:rsbl.2016.0516. [PMID: 27651535 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Copulatory cannibalism of male 'widow' spiders (genus Latrodectus) is a model example of the extreme effects of sexual selection, particularly in L. hasselti and L. geometricus where males typically facilitate cannibalism by females and mate only once. We show that these males can increase their reproductive success by copulating with final-instar, immature females after piercing the female's exoskeleton to access her newly developed sperm storage organs. Females retain sperm through their final moult and have similar fecundity to adult-mated females. This is an adaptive male tactic because immature mating increases insemination success relative to adult mating (which predicts higher paternity) and moreover, rarely ends in cannibalism, so males can mate again. Although successful only during a brief period before the female's final moult, males may employ this tactic when they associate with final-instar females in nature. Consistent with this, one-third of L. hasselti females collected as immatures in nature were already mated. Immature mating alters sexual selection on these otherwise monogynous males, and may explain male traits allowing facultative polygyny in Latrodectus Since male cohabitation with immature females is common among invertebrates, immature mating may be a widespread, previously unrecognized mating tactic, particularly when unmated females are of high reproductive value.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Daniela Biaggio
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada M1C1A4 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada M1C1A4
| | - Iara Sandomirsky
- Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Beersheba 8499000, Israel
| | - Yael Lubin
- Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Beersheba 8499000, Israel
| | - Ally R Harari
- Department of Entomology, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
| | - Maydianne C B Andrade
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada M1C1A4 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada M1C1A4
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Michalik P, Ramírez MJ. Evolutionary morphology of the male reproductive system, spermatozoa and seminal fluid of spiders (Araneae, Arachnida)--current knowledge and future directions. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2014; 43:291-322. [PMID: 24907603 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2014.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2014] [Revised: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 05/21/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The male reproductive system and spermatozoa of spiders are known for their high structural diversity. Spider spermatozoa are flagellate and males transfer them to females in a coiled and encapsulated state using their modified pedipalps. Here, we provide a detailed overview of the present state of knowledge of the primary male reproductive system, sperm morphology and the structural diversity of seminal fluids with a focus on functional and evolutionary implications. Secondly, we conceptualized characters for the male genital system, spermiogenesis and spermatozoa for the first time based on published and new data. In total, we scored 40 characters for 129 species from 56 families representing all main spider clades. We obtained synapomorphies for several taxa including Opisthothelae, Araneomorphae, Dysderoidea, Scytodoidea, Telemidae, Linyphioidea, Mimetidae, Synotaxidae and the Divided Cribellum Clade. Furthermore, we recovered synspermia as a synapomorphy for ecribellate Haplogynae and thus propose Synspermiata as new name for this clade. We hope that these data will not only contribute to future phylogenetic studies but will also stimulate much needed evolutionary studies of reproductive systems in spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Michalik
- Allgemeine und Systematische Zoologie, Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, J.-S.-Bach-Straße 11/12, D-17489 Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Martín J Ramírez
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" - CONICET, Av. Angel Gallardo 470, 1405 Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Kuntner M, Agnarsson I, Li D. The eunuch phenomenon: adaptive evolution of genital emasculation in sexually dimorphic spiders. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:279-96. [PMID: 24809822 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2013] [Revised: 03/24/2014] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Under natural and sexual selection traits often evolve that secure paternity or maternity through self-sacrifice to predators, rivals, offspring, or partners. Emasculation-males removing their genitals-is an unusual example of such behaviours. Known only in insects and spiders, the phenomenon's adaptiveness is difficult to explain, yet its repeated origins and association with sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and sexual cannibalism suggest an adaptive significance. In spiders, emasculation of paired male sperm-transferring organs - secondary genitals - (hereafter, palps), results in 'eunuchs'. This behaviour has been hypothesized to be adaptive because (i) males plug female genitals with their severed palps (plugging hypothesis), (ii) males remove their palps to become better fighters in male-male contests (better-fighter hypothesis), perhaps reaching higher agility due to reduced total body mass (gloves-off hypothesis), and (iii) males achieve prolonged sperm transfer through severed genitals (remote-copulation hypothesis). Prior research has provided evidence in support of these hypotheses in some orb-weaving spiders but these explanations are far from general. Seeking broad macroevolutionary patterns of spider emasculation, we review the known occurrences, weigh the evidence in support of the hypotheses in each known case, and redefine more precisely the particular cases of emasculation depending on its timing in relation to maturation and mating: 'pre-maturation', 'mating', and 'post-mating'. We use a genus-level spider phylogeny to explore emasculation evolution and to investigate potential evolutionary linkage between emasculation, SSD, lesser genital damage (embolic breakage), and sexual cannibalism (females consuming their mates). We find a complex pattern of spider emasculation evolution, all cases confined to Araneoidea: emasculation evolved at least five and up to 11 times, was lost at least four times, and became further modified at least once. We also find emasculation, as well as lesser genital damage and sexual cannibalism, to be significantly associated with SSD. These behavioural and morphological traits thus likely co-evolve in spiders. Emasculation can be seen as an extreme form of genital mutilation, or even a terminal investment strategy linked to the evolution of monogyny. However, as different emasculation cases in araneoid spiders are neither homologous nor biologically identical, and may or may not serve as paternity protection, the direct link to monogyny is not clear cut. Understanding better the phylogenetic patterns of emasculation and its constituent morphologies and behaviours, a clearer picture of the intricate interplay of natural and sexual selection may arise. With the here improved evolutionary resolution of spider eunuch behaviour, we can more specifically tie the evidence from adaptive hypotheses to independent cases, and propose promising avenues for further research of spider eunuchs, and of the evolution of monogyny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matjaž Kuntner
- Institute of Biology, Scientific Research Centre, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi Trg 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Centre for Behavioural Ecology & Evolution, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, 368 Youyi Road, 430062, Wuhan, China; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, U.S.A
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