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Abstract
BackgroundIn insects and in mammals, male sperm and seminal fluid provide signaling factors that influence various aspects of female physiology and behavior to promote reproductive success and to compete with other males. It is less apparent how important such signaling is in the context of a self-fertile hermaphrodite species. We have addressed this question in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which can reproduce either by hermaphrodite self-fertilization or by male-hermaphrodite mating.ResultsWe have studied the egg-laying defective mutant, egl-32, and found that the cellular basis of the egl-32 egg-laying phenotype is likely a defect in sperm. First, the time of egl-32 action coincides with the timing of spermatogenesis in the hermaphrodite. Second, egl-32 interacts with genes expressed in sperm. Third, mating experiments have revealed that wild-type sperm can rescue the egg-laying defect of egl-32 mutant animals. Most importantly, introduction of mutant egl-32 sperm into wild-type hermaphrodites or females is sufficient to induce an egg-laying defective phenotype.ConclusionPrevious work has revealed that C. elegans sperm release factors that stimulate oocyte maturation and ovulation. Here we describe evidence that sperm also promote egg laying, the release of embryos from the uterus.
Highlights
In insects and in mammals, male sperm and seminal fluid provide signaling factors that influence various aspects of female physiology and behavior to promote reproductive success and to compete with other males
Previous work has revealed that C. elegans sperm release factors that stimulate oocyte maturation and ovulation [10,11]
Mating experiments We became interested in the possibility that sperm play an active role in egg laying when we discovered that the egl32 interacting gene T08G11.2 and its three homologues are all highly expressed in sperm
Summary
In insects and in mammals, male sperm and seminal fluid provide signaling factors that influence various aspects of female physiology and behavior to promote reproductive success and to compete with other males. It is less apparent how important such signaling is in the context of a self-fertile hermaphrodite species. Egg laying is biphasic, alternating between an active phase when eggs are laid, and an inactive phase [2]. The hormone serotonin is necessary to initiate the active phase of egg laying. Hermaphrodites integrate many internal and external cues in deciding whether or not to enter the active phase. Retaining fertilized eggs for too long endangers the mother's life, as larvae that hatch internally will consume and destroy (page number not for citation purposes)
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