DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Consequences of Sexual Conflict on Offspring Fitness

科学家们早就认识到繁殖对雌性来说是昂贵的。对不同物种的研究发现，性活跃的雌性比处女雌性寿命短。最近对果蝇的研究发现，雄性果蝇的精液中含有有毒化合物，会缩短雌性果蝇交配后的寿命。这些有毒化合物在做什么，它们为什么进化，这在很大程度上是一个尚未解决的问题。以前在果蝇中进行的实验表明，父母的交配频率会影响后代的适应性。这个项目的目标是确定暴露于有毒精液化合物的女性是否会有健康状况改善的后代。该项目将比较雌性在保持一周后重新交配的后代的适应性1）作为处女，2）与雄性，3）与产生精液但不产生精子的基因改变的雄性，4）与不产生精液或精子的基因改变的雄性。 这项研究将有助于确定是否发生雌性生殖成本，以提高后代的质量。这项工作是重要的，为我们的一般理解产妇护理，性和亲子冲突，并为生殖策略的演变。

Scientists have long recognized that reproduction is costly to females. Research in various species finds that sexually active females have shorter lives than virgin females. Recent studies, in fruit flies, have discovered toxic compounds in the seminal fluid of males that shorten the longevity of females after copulation. What the toxic compounds are doing and why they have evolved is a largely unresolved question. Previous experiments conducted in the fruit fly indicate that the mating frequency of parents affects the fitness of offspring. The goal of this project is to determine whether females exposed to toxic seminal fluid compounds have offspring with improved fitness. This project will compare the fitness of offspring from females that re-mate after holding them for one week 1) as virgins, 2) with males, 3) with genetically altered males that produce seminal fluid but not sperm, 4) with genetically altered males that do not produce seminal fluid or sperm. This study will help determine whether female reproductive costs occur to improve the quality of offspring. This work is important for our general understanding of maternal care, sexual and parent-offspring conflict, and for the evolution of reproductive strategies.