The male ejaculate as inhibitor of female remating in two tephritid flies

ABRAHAM SOLANA; LARA-PÉREZ LUIS; RODRÍGUEZ CHRISTIAN; CONTRERAS-NAVARRO YAIR; NUÑEZ-BEVERIDO NICOLÁS; OVRUSKI SERGIO; PÉREZ-STAPLES DIANA

JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 88 p. 40 - 47

0022-1910

The inhibition of female receptivity after copulation is usually relatedto the quality of the first mating. Males are able to modulate femalereceptivity through various mechanisms. Among these is the transfer of the ejaculatecomposed mainly by sperm and accessory gland proteins (AGPs). Here we used theSouth American fruit fly Anastrephafraterculus (where AGP injections inhibit female receptivity) and theMexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens(where injection of AGPs failed to inhibit receptivity) as study organisms totest which mechanisms are used by males to prevent remating. In both species,neither the act of copulation without ejaculate transfer nor sperm stored inhibitedfemale receptivity. Moreover, using multiply mated sterile and wild males in Mexflies we showed that the number of sperm stored by females varied according tomale fertility status and number of previous matings, while female remating didnot. We suggest female receptivity in both flies is inhibited by the mechanicaland/or physiological effect of the full ejaculate. This finding brings uscloser to understanding the mechanisms through which female receptivity can bemodulated.