Coevolution of male and female reproductive traits in a simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail

Frequent origins of traumatic insemination involve convergent shifts in sperm and genital morphology

Traumatic insemination is a mating behavior during which the (sperm) donor uses a traumatic intromittent organ to inject an ejaculate through the epidermis of the (sperm) recipient, thereby frequently circumventing the female genitalia. Traumatic insemination occurs widely across animals, but the frequency of its evolution, the intermediate stages via which it originates, and the morphological changes that such shifts involve remain poorly understood. Based on observations in 145 species of the free-living flatworm genus Macrostomum, we identify at least nine independent evolutionary origins of traumatic insemination from reciprocal copulation, but no clear indication of reversals. These origins involve convergent shifts in multivariate morphospace of male and female reproductive traits, suggesting that traumatic insemination has a canalizing effect on morphology. We also observed sperm in both the sperm receiving organ and within the body tissue of two species. These species had intermediate trait values indicating that traumatic insemination evolves through initial internal wounding during copulation. Finally, signatures of male-female coevolution of genitalia across the genus indicate that sexual selection and sexual conflict drive the evolution of traumatic insemination, because it allows donors to bypass postcopulatory control mechanisms of recipients.

Intraspecific morphological variation of the sperm storing organ in two hermaphroditic land snail species

Background

Postcopulatory sexual selection is very important in species with reproductive strategies that involve multiple mating and prolonged sperm storage. The sperm storage organ has been hypothesized to evolve in response to different levels of sperm competition in several species while population density has been considered as a factor that approximates sperm competition risk and intensity in the field. Apart from population density, local microclimatic conditions may also play a role in determining sperm competition levels in natural populations of land snails by affecting their chances of encountering mates. The goal of this study was to investigate the variation of the structure of the sperm storage organ in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snails Helix lucorum and Cepaea vindobonensis occurring sympatrically in two sites which differed in habitat humidity. The populations of both species from the two sites, also differed in density and in duration of reproductive period. Multiple samples were taken from each population in order to test for temporal variation.

Results

In both species, the spermatheca consisted of a simple fertilization chamber and a variable number of lateral tubules. The length of the spermatheca showed no temporal or spatial differentiation nor did it show any correlation with snail size. The number of tubules in Helix lucorum ranged from five to sixteen and in Cepaea vindobonensis from one to eight and in both species a significant difference of this trait between the two study sites was detected. In Cepaea vindobonensis, the difference in tubule number led to difference of the total tubule length which reflects sperm storage capacity of the spermatheca but this was not the case with H. lucorum in which no increase in total tubule length was detected.

Conclusions

Intraspecific variation in the spermatheca was observed in both snail species studied. The variation observed was independent of snail size, and reproduction status, while the two species responded differently to higher sperm competition levels.

High level of sperm competition may increase transfer of accessory gland products carried by the love dart of land snails

Postcopulatory adaptations that increase reproductive success compared to rivals, like the transfer of accessory gland products that promote paternity, are common when sperm competition occurs among males. In land snails, the dart shooting behavior and its adaptive significance, in promoting individual fitness through enhanced paternity of the successful dart shooter, have been considered such an adaptation. The fitness result gained is mediated by the transfer of mucus components on the love dart capable of altering the physiology of the receiver's reproductive tract. In this context, dart shooting and mucus transfer could be considered as processes targeted by sexual selection. While the effect of dart mucus is beneficial for the dart user, so far it has remained unknown whether its transport is greater when snails experience a higher level of sperm competition. Here, we report results of a study on inter- and intraspecific variations of dart and mucus gland morphometry, considered to be traits reflecting the ability of snails to adjust the production and transfer of mucus under varying sperm competition scenarios. We investigated four populations with different densities from four dart-bearing species, Arianta arbustorum, Cepaea nemoralis, Cornu aspersum, and Helix lucorum. The results indicate that different adaptations of these traits occur among the studied species that all seem to achieve the same goal of transferring more mucus when sperm competition is higher. For example, the presence of longer and more branched mucous glands or an increase in dart surface most likely reflect increased mucus production and enhanced ability of mucus transport, respectively. Interestingly, the species for which the use of the dart is reported to be facultative, A. arbustorum, did not show any variation among the examined traits. To conclude, sexual selection in the form of sperm competition intensity seems to be an important selective force for these simultaneously hermaphroditic dart-bearing snails, driving differences in sexual traits.

Resolving mechanisms of short-term competitive fertilization success in the red flour beetle

Postcopulatory sexual selection occurs when sperm from multiple males occupy a female's reproductive tract at the same time and is expected to generate strong selection pressures on traits related to competitive fertilization success. However, knowledge of competitive fertilization success mechanisms and characters targeted by resulting selection is limited, partially due to the difficulty of discriminating among sperm from different males within the female reproductive tract. Here, we resolved mechanisms of competitive fertilization success in the promiscuous flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Through creation of transgenic lines with fluorescent-tagged sperm heads, we followed the fate of focal male sperm in female reproductive tracts while tracking paternity across numerous rematings. Our results indicate that a given male's sperm persist and fertilize eggs through at least seven rematings. Additionally, the proportion of a male's sperm in the bursa (the site of spermatophore deposition), which is influenced by both timing of female's ejecting excess sperm and male size, significantly predicted paternity share in the 24h following a mating. Contrary to expectation, proportional representation of sperm within the female's specialized sperm-storage organ did not significantly predict paternity, though spermathecal sperm may play a role in fertilization when females do not have access to mates for longer time periods. We address the adaptive significance of the identified reproductive mechanisms in the context of T. castaneum's unique mating system and ecology.

Breeding system, shell size and age at sexual maturity affect sperm length in stylommatophoran gastropods

BACKGROUND

Sperm size and quality are key factors for fertilization success. There is increasing empirical evidence demonstrating that sperm form and function are influenced by selective pressures. Theoretical models predict that sperm competition could favour the evolution of longer sperm. In hermaphrodites, self-fertilizing species are expected to have shorter sperm than cross-fertilizing species, which use sperm stored from several mating partners for the fertilization of their eggs and thus are exposed to intense sperm competition. We tested this hypothesis by comparing original data on sperm length in 57 species of simultaneously hermaphroditic stylommatophoran gastropods from Europe and South America with respect to the species' breeding system. We used 28S rRNA nuclear and COI mitochondrial sequence data to construct a molecular phylogeny. Phylogenetic generalized linear models were applied to examine the potential influence of morphological and life-history characters.

RESULTS

The best-fit model revealed that the breeding system and age at sexual maturity influence sperm length in gastropods. In general, species with predominant cross-fertilization had longer sperm than species with predominant self-fertilization or a mixed breeding system. Across species with shells (snails), sperm length also increased with shell size.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study provides evidence that sperm length in stylommatophoran gastropods is influenced by the risk of sperm competition, as well as by age at sexual maturity and shell size. This finding extends present knowledge of sperm evolution to a group of so far poorly studied simultaneous hermaphrodites.

Early diversification of sperm size in the evolutionary history of the old world leaf warblers (Phylloscopidae)

Sperm morphological traits are highly variable among species and are commonly thought to evolve by post-copulatory sexual selection. However, little is known about the evolutionary dynamics of sperm morphology, and whether rates of evolutionary change are variable over time and among taxonomic groups. Here, we examine sperm morphology from 21 species of Old World leaf warblers (Phylloscopidae), a group of generally dull, sexually monochromatic birds, which are known to have high levels of extra-pair paternity. We found that sperm length differs markedly across species, spanning about 40% of the range observed across a larger selection of passerine birds. Furthermore, we found strong support for an 'early-burst' model of trait evolution, implying that the majority of divergence in sperm length has occurred early in the evolutionary history of this clade with subsequent evolutionary stasis. This large early divergence matches the early divergence reported in ecological traits (i.e. body size and feeding behaviour). Our findings demonstrate that rates of evolution in sperm morphology can change over time in passerine taxa, and that evolutionary stasis in sperm traits can occur even in species exhibiting characteristics consistent with moderate-to-high levels of sperm competition. It remains a major challenge to identify the selection mechanisms and possible constraints responsible for these variable rates of sperm evolution.

Reproductive strategies in hermaphroditic gastropods: conceptual and empirical approaches

An individual optimizes its reproductive success by adopting a particular reproductive strategy. Studying the details of a reproductive strategy leads to an understanding of how sexual selection acts, as the former is the process via which the individual reproduces successfully. Hermaphroditic gastropods display a bewildering diversity of reproductive strategies, which may be due to their mode of gender expression, when compared with well-studied separate-sexed species. Extensive theoretical, observational, and experimental research has been conducted on this topic. However, despite our knowledge about the reproductive system of hermaphroditic gastropods, we still need to fill the gap between pre- and post-copulatory processes and reproductive success. Here, we review and propose conceptual and empirical approaches aimed at understanding reproductive strategies of hermaphroditic gastropods. In sum, our suggestions are (i) to focus on sex-biased traits, (ii) to take biologically reliable measurements at both the pre- and post-copulatory level that relate to reproductive success, and (iii) to examine the fitness consequences of biased sex allocation.

The Tegula tango: a coevolutionary dance of interacting, positively selected sperm and egg proteins

Reproductive proteins commonly show signs of rapid divergence driven by positive selection. The mechanisms driving these changes have remained ambiguous in part because interacting male and female proteins have rarely been examined. We isolate an egg protein the vitelline envelope receptor for lysin (VERL) from Tegula, a genus of free-spawning marine snails. Like VERL from abalone, Tegula VERL is a major component of the VE surrounding the egg, includes a conserved zona pellucida (ZP) domain at its C-terminus, and possesses a unique, negatively charged domain of about 150 amino acids implicated in interactions with the positively charged lysin. Unlike for abalone VERL, where this unique VERL domain occurs in a tandem array of 22 repeats, Tegula VERL has just one such domain. Interspecific comparisons show that both lysin and the VERL domain diverge via positive selection, whereas the ZP domain evolves neutrally. Rates of nonsynonymous substitution are correlated between lysin and the VERL domain, consistent with sexual antagonism, although lineage-specific effects, perhaps owing to different ecologies, may alter the relative evolutionary rates of sperm- and egg-borne proteins.

Bateman gradients in hermaphrodites: an extended approach to quantify sexual selection

Sexual selection is often quantified using Bateman gradients, which represent sex-specific regression slopes of reproductive success on mating success and thus describe the expected fitness returns from mating more often. Although the analytical framework for Bateman gradients aimed at covering all sexual systems, empirical studies are biased toward separate-sex organisms, probably because important characteristics of other systems remain incompletely treated. Our synthesis complements the existing Bateman gradient approach with three essential reproductive features of simultaneous hermaphrodites. First, mating in one sex may affect fitness via the opposite sex, for example, through energetic trade-offs. We integrate cross-sex selection effects and show how they help characterizing sexually mutualistic versus antagonistic selection. Second, male and female mating successes may be correlated, complicating the interpretation of Bateman gradients. We show how to quantify the impact of this correlation on sexual selection and propose a principal component analysis on male and female mating success to facilitate interpretation. Third, self-fertilization is accounted for by adding selfed progeny as a separate category of reproductive success to analyses of Bateman gradients. Finally, using a worked example from the snail Biomphalaria glabrata, we illustrate how the extended analytical framework can enhance our understanding of sexual selection in hermaphroditic animals and plants.

Sexual selection is involved in speciation in a land snail radiation on crete

We investigated the importance of sexual selection in facilitating speciation in a land snail radiation on Crete. We used differences in the genitalia of the Cretan Xerocrassa species as potential indices of sexual selection. First, we rejected the hypothesis that differences in the genitalia of the Xerocrassa species can be explained by genetic drift using coalescent simulations based on a mitochondrial gene tree. Second, we showed that there is no evidence for the hypothesis that the differences in the genitalia can be explained by natural selection against hybrids under the assumption that this is more likely in geographically overlapping species pairs and clades. Third, we showed that there is a positive scaling between male spermatophore-producing organs and female spermatophore-receiving organs indicating sexual coevolution. The spermatophore enables the sperm to escape from the female gametolytic organ. Thus, the coevolution might be a consequence of sexual conflict or cryptic female choice. Finally, we showed that the evolution of differences in the length of the flagellum that forms the tail of the spermatophore is concentrated toward the tips of the tree indicating that it is involved in speciation. If speciation is facilitated by sexual selection, niches may remain conserved and nonadaptive radiation may result.

Differential survival of allosperm by location within the female storage organ of the snail Cornu aspersum

The sperm storage organ of terrestrial gastropod molluscs is implicated in sexual selection because it has a complex structure and it functions in a context of intense sperm competition. Received sperm are stored in spermathecal tubules. In our sample using the brown garden snail ( Cornu aspersum (Müller, 1774)) (n = 58), the mean number of tubules per animal was 16, with lengths ranging from ≤40 to 2480 μm. A hereditary influence on tubule number was indicated by clutch-dependent variations. From histological sections, we counted the spermatozoa that were present in the tubules of ex-virgin snails 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after mating (n = 40). Sperm were distributed, on average, across 75% of the tubules in individual snails, thus contradicting one proposed mechanism for cryptic female choice. The total number of sperm declined 66% over 8 weeks, with the largest losses incurred by sperm in the lumens of the tubules and sperm gathered in clusters. By contrast, in the same period, the numbers of sperm that were in contact with the walls of the tubules remained relatively stable. These data imply that sperm survive best when attached to the epithelial wall, either because they derive nutrition from the epithelium or because they use the epithelium as an anchor.

Cryptic genetic divergence and associated morphological differentiation in the arboreal land snail Satsuma (Luchuhadra) largillierti (Camaenidae) endemic to the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

Land snails are renowned model organisms in evolutionary ecology, but extensive morphological variation and lack of readily available diagnostic characters often invite taxonomic confusion among closely related species. Satsuma (Luchuhadra) largillierti is an arboreal land snail endemic to Okinawa Island, Japan, in which extensive geographic variation in shell morphology has long caused taxonomic complication. To establish robust species limits among S. largillierti and its allies, we perform molecular and morphological analyses of snails sampled from the entire range of Luchuhadra. Analyses of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequences divide S. largillierti into two, reproductively isolated groups. Each of these groups includes Satsuma erabuensis and Satsuma sooi, respectively, which occur on a nearby island and were traditionally regarded as distinct species. Morphometric analysis of the genitalia further provides clear difference between the two groups, whereas differentiation in shell morphology is slight if any. These results indicate that the traditional taxonomy has overly depended on inadequate morphological difference and a priori information of island geography, which resulted in oversimplification of complex speciation history in Luchuhadra.

The evolution of sperm morphometry in pheasants

Post-copulatory sexual selection is thought to be a potent evolutionary force driving the diversification of sperm shape and function across species. In birds, insemination and fertilization are separated in time and sperm storage increases the duration of sperm-female interaction and hence the opportunity for sperm competition and cryptic female choice. We performed a comparative study of 24 pheasant species (Phasianidae, Galliformes) to establish the relative importance of sperm competition and the duration of sperm storage for the evolution of sperm morphometry (i.e. size of different sperm traits). We found that sperm size traits were negatively associated with the duration of sperm storage but were independent of the risk of sperm competition estimated from relative testis mass. Our study emphasizes the importance of female reproductive biology for the evolution of sperm morphometry particularly in sperm-storing taxa.

Reproductive isolation in birds: postcopulatory prezygotic barriers

Reproductive isolation is an important part of the speciation process. Recent studies of birds have highlighted not only the significance of postcopulatory postzygotic barriers, but also the almost complete absence of information about postcopulatory prezygotic barriers. Here, we draw attention to studies that provide an opportunity to test whether prezygotic barriers to heterospecific sperm exist in birds. We show that, compared with other taxa, such barriers in birds are relatively inefficient, possibly because, similar to postcopulatory postzygotic barriers, they take a long time to evolve. These data also raise questions about the mechanisms of sperm-female and sperm-egg recognition in birds. Future research will serve the dual purpose of providing more detail of the mechanisms of both heterospecific and conspecific prezygotic processes.

X chromosome influences sperm length in the stalk-eyed fly Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni

Whether sexually selected traits are sex linked can have profound effects on their evolution. In the diopsid stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni, sperm length and female reproductive tract morphology have coevolved across species, postcopulatory sexual selection is known to occur, and X-linked genes affect female ventral sperm receptacle size. Here, we estimate the location of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for spermatocyst tail length by using F2 progeny segregating for an X-linked factor that causes sex-ratio meiotic drive. We found two QTL, including a major X-linked QTL responsible for 25% of the variation in spermatocyst tail length 2.1 cM from the sex-ratio element and 0.8 cM from a major eye span QTL. Sex-ratio males produce shorter spermatocyst tails and shorter eye spans. Thus, X-linked factors affect both pre- and postcopulatory traits, and linkage between the alleles for short eye span and short spermatocyst tail length allow pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection to potentially act in concert against the transmission bias caused by the sex-ratio chromosome.

Variation in spermathecal morphology is independent of sperm competition intensity in populations of the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Cornu aspersum

The complexity of the sperm-storing organ (spermatheca) has been hypothesized to reflect sperm competition intensity in several gastropod species. Furthermore, considerable variation in spermathecal morphology has been detected among populations of the same species. The morphological variation of the fertilization pouch was studied in five populations of the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Cornu aspersum (formerly, Helix aspersa). The populations studied differed in snail density and habitat humidity regimes, thus in sperm competition intensity. The study was conducted on wild adult snails and their progeny, which was reared in the laboratory for two successive generations. Finally, the morphology of the spermatheca was correlated to behavioral mating traits of the snails. The fertilization pouch consisted of a simple fertilization chamber and 4-19 blind tubules. The five studied populations did not differ in either mean number of spermathecal tubules, length of the fertilization chamber, length of the main tubule, or cumulative length of all tubules, while they differed in copulation frequency and mating propensity. No correlation was found between snail size and number of tubules, or length of any spermathecal structure measured. Additionally, no correlation was found between any behavioral trait and the morphological characteristics of the spermatheca. Strong correlations were found only among measurements of some of the spermathecal structures. Our results suggest that the complexity of the spermatheca is not related to sperm competition intensity and its structure is thus genetically determined.