Social status and ejaculate composition in the house mouse.

Sperm competition theory predicts that males should tailor ejaculates according to their social status. Here, we test this in a model vertebrate, the house mouse (), combining experimental data with a quantitative proteomics analysis of seminal fluid composition. Our analyses reveal that both sperm production and the composition of proteins found in seminal vesicle secretions differ according to social status.

Identification of novel ejaculate proteins in a seed beetle and division of labour across male accessory reproductive glands.

The male ejaculate contains a multitude of seminal fluid proteins (SFPs), many of which are key reproductive molecules, as well as sperm. However, the identification of SFPs is notoriously difficult and a detailed understanding of this complex phenotype has only been achieved in a few model species. We employed a recently developed proteomic method involving whole-organism stable isotope labelling coupled with proteomic and transcriptomic analyses to characterize ejaculate proteins in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus.

Mating Changes Sexually Dimorphic Gene Expression in the Seed Beetle Callosobruchus maculatus.

Sexually dimorphic phenotypes arise largely from sex-specific gene expression, which has mainly been characterized in sexually naïve adults. However, we expect sexual dimorphism in transcription to be dynamic and dependent on factors such as reproductive status. Mating induces many behavioral and physiological changes distinct to each sex and is therefore expected to activate regulatory changes in many sex-biased genes.

The De Novo Transcriptome and Its Functional Annotation in the Seed Beetle Callosobruchus maculatus.

Despite their unparalleled biodiversity, the genomic resources available for beetles (Coleoptera) remain relatively scarce. We present an integrative and high quality annotated transcriptome of the beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, an important and cosmopolitan agricultural pest as well as an emerging model species in ecology and evolutionary biology. Using Illumina sequencing technology, we sequenced 492 million read pairs generated from 51 samples of different developmental stages (larvae, pupae and adults) of C.

Cross-species proteomics in analysis of mammalian sperm proteins.

Unlabelled: Many proteomics studies are conducted in model organisms for which fully annotated, detailed, high quality proteomes are available. By contrast, many studies in ecology and evolution are conducted in species which lack high quality proteome data, limiting the perceived value of a proteomic approach for protein discovery and quantification. This is particularly true of rapidly evolving proteins in the reproductive system, such as those that have an immune function or are under sexual selection, and can compromise the potential for cross-species proteomics to yield confident identification.