Relationship between male age, accessory gland, sperm transferred, and fitness traits in Drosophila bipectinata.

Abstract

The number of cells and the size of the cells in the male accessory gland, the quantity of accessory gland proteins, and their effects on fitness in males of different ages were studied in Drosophila bipectinata Duda (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Male age was significantly positively correlated with the size of accessory gland, the number of main cells of the accessory gland, the quantity of protein in unmated males, the duration of copulation, the transferred quantity of protein and sperm to the mated female, fecundity, and fertility, while male age was significantly negatively correlated with the size of main cell in the accessory gland and the quantity of protein in mated males. The size of the main cells was significantly positively correlated with the quantity of protein in unmated males but significantly negatively correlated with the size of the accessory gland and the number of main cells in the accessory gland. These results suggest that D. bipectinata young males, with their smaller size of their accessory glands and having fewer and larger main cells in their accessory glands, produced the least quantity of protein and transferred significantly less protein and sperm to the mated female than did middle and old age males. Thus, this study suggests that in D. bipectinata, male age affects the number of accessory gland cells and the quantity of protein in the accessory gland. The size and number of main cells in the accessory gland and the size of the accessory gland were related to the production of protein. Females who mated with old males obtained a fitness benefit.