Genotype influences pre and post-meiotic sperm senescence in Drosophila melanogaster

TOURMENTE, MAXIMILIANO; ARCHER, C. RUTH; HOSKEN, DAVID J.

Exeter

Congreso; 2018 Genetics Society / British Society for Genetic Medicine Meeting. Genotype to Phenotype to Fitness; 2018

The Genetics Society

Deterioration in sperm quality with age is a major cause of male infertility. However, the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of declining sperm quality with age remain very poorly understood. First, it is unclear how much of the reduction in male fertility is due to declining sperm quality associated to advanced male age, or decreases in sperm performance as sperm age within male storage organs. Second, the precise consequences of sperm aging for male reproductive success, and offspring fitness are unclear. Third, the extent to which genetic background affects fertility senescence has not been systematically addressed. Here, we used a panel of 16 isogenic Drosophila melanogaster lines to test for genetic variation in sperm viability (percentage of viable cells) senescence, while disentangling two possible sources of variation, male (pre-meiotic) and sperm (post-meiotic) aging and how both affect male fertility and offspring quality. Results indicated complex interactions between male age and sperm age affecting reproductive performance, and these tended to be genotype dependent.