Variation of sperm size and evolution of giant spermatozoa in Lonchopteridae (Diptera)

Michael Tröster; Marion Kotrba; Martin Heß

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2023.101285

Variation of sperm size and evolution of giant spermatozoa in Lonchopteridae (Diptera)

Arthropod Struct Dev. 2023 Jul:75:101285. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2023.101285. Epub 2023 Jun 30.

Authors

Michael Tröster¹, Marion Kotrba², Martin Heß³

Affiliations

¹ SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Münchhausenstraße 21, D-81247, München, Germany; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Biocenter, Großhaderner Straße 2, D-82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany. Electronic address: troestermichael@web.de.
² SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Münchhausenstraße 21, D-81247, München, Germany.
³ Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Biocenter, Großhaderner Straße 2, D-82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.

PMID: 37393782
DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2023.101285

Abstract

Among species of the spear-winged flies (Lonchopteridae) there is remarkable variation in sperm size, with some species producing giant spermatozoa. With a length of 7500 μm and a width of 1.3 μm the spermatozoon of Lonchoptera fallax ranks among the largest known to date. In the present study body size, testis size, sperm size, and spermatid number per bundle and per testis were examined across 11 Lonchoptera species. Results are discussed in terms of how these characters are related with each other and how their evolution affects the resource allocation amongst spermatozoa. Based on some discrete morphological characters and a molecular tree derived from DNA barcodes a phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus Lonchoptera is proposed. The occurrence of giant spermatozoa in Lonchopteridae is compared to convergent occurrences reported in other taxa.

Keywords: Giant spermatozoa; Phylogeny of Lonchopteridae; Reproduction.

MeSH terms

Animals
Diptera*
Male
Phylogeny
Semen
Spermatozoa