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Grodwohl JB, Parker GA. The early rise and spread of evolutionary game theory: perspectives based on recollections of early workers. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210493. [PMID: 36934759 PMCID: PMC10034578 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Though the first attempts to introduce game theory into evolutionary biology failed, new formalism by Maynard Smith and Price in 1973 had almost instant success. We use information supplied by early workers to analyse how and why evolutionary game theory (EGT) spread so rapidly in its earliest years. EGT was a major tool for the rapidly expanding discipline of behavioural ecology in the 1970s; each catalysed the other. The first models were applied to animal contests, and early workers sought to improve their biological reality to compare predictions with observations. Furthermore, it was quickly realized that EGT provided a general evolutionary modelling method; not only was it swiftly applied to diverse phenotypic adaptations in evolutionary biology, it also attracted researchers from other disciplines such as mathematics and economics, for which game theory was first devised. Lastly, we pay attention to exchanges with population geneticists, considering tensions between the two modelling methods, as well as efforts to bring them closer. This article is part of the theme issue 'Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Baptiste Grodwohl
- Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Laboratoire SPHERE, UMR7219, University of Paris Cité, Paris 75 013, France
| | - Geoff A. Parker
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
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2
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On the Origin and Evolution of Sperm Cells. Cells 2022; 12:cells12010159. [PMID: 36611950 PMCID: PMC9818235 DOI: 10.3390/cells12010159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Sperm cells have intrigued biologists since they were first observed nearly 350 years ago by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and Johan Ham [...].
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Sansegundo E, Tourmente M, Roldan ERS. Energy Metabolism and Hyperactivation of Spermatozoa from Three Mouse Species under Capacitating Conditions. Cells 2022; 11:220. [PMID: 35053337 PMCID: PMC8773617 DOI: 10.3390/cells11020220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian sperm differ widely in sperm morphology, and several explanations have been presented to account for this diversity. Less is known about variation in sperm physiology and cellular processes that can give sperm cells an advantage when competing to fertilize oocytes. Capacitation of spermatozoa, a process essential for mammalian fertilization, correlates with changes in motility that result in a characteristic swimming pattern known as hyperactivation. Previous studies revealed that sperm motility and velocity depend on the amount of ATP available and, therefore, changes in sperm movement occurring during capacitation and hyperactivation may involve changes in sperm bioenergetics. Here, we examine differences in ATP levels of sperm from three mouse species (genus Mus), differing in sperm competition levels, incubated under non-capacitating and capacitating conditions, to analyse relationships between energetics, capacitation, and swimming patterns. We found that, in general terms, the amount of sperm ATP decreased more rapidly under capacitating conditions. This descent was related to the development of a hyperactivated pattern of movement in two species (M. musculus and M. spicilegus) but not in the other (M. spretus), suggesting that, in the latter, temporal dynamics and energetic demands of capacitation and hyperactivation may be decoupled or that the hyperactivation pattern differs. The decrease in ATP levels during capacitation was steeper in species with higher levels of sperm competition than in those with lower levels. Our results suggest that, during capacitation, sperm consume more ATP than under non-capacitating conditions. This higher ATP consumption may be linked to higher velocity and lateral head displacement, which are associated with hyperactivated motility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ester Sansegundo
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish Research Council (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Maximiliano Tourmente
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish Research Council (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain;
- Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Cordoba X5016GCA, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas (IIByT), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científica y Técnicas (CONICET), Cordoba X5016GCA, Argentina
| | - Eduardo R. S. Roldan
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish Research Council (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain;
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Baer-Imhoof B, den Boer SPA, Boomsma JJ, Baer B. Sperm Storage Costs Determine Survival and Immunocompetence in Newly Mated Queens of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta colombica. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.759183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica, queens receive ejaculates from multiple males during one single mating event early in their lives. A queen’s fertility and fitness therefore depend on maximizing the number of sperm cells she can store and maintain inside her spermatheca. Previous studies implied significant physiological mating costs, either originating from energetic investments maximizing sperm survival, or from resolving sexual conflicts to terminate male-driven incapacitation of rival sperm via serine proteases found in seminal fluid. Here we conducted an artificial insemination experiment, which allowed us to distinguish between the effects of sperm and seminal fluid within the queen’s sexual tract on her survival and immunocompetence. We found significantly higher mortality in queens that we had inseminated with sperm, independently of whether seminal fluid was present or not. Additionally, after receiving sperm, heavier queens had a higher probability of survival compared to lightweight queens, and immunocompetence decreased disproportionally for queens that had lost weight during the experiment. These findings indicate that queens pay significant physiological costs for maintaining and storing sperm shortly after mating. On the other hand, the presence of seminal fluid within the queens’ sexual tract neither affected their survival nor their immunocompetence. This suggests that the energetic costs that queens incur shortly after mating are primarily due to investments in sperm maintenance and not costs of terminating conflicts between competing ejaculates. This outcome is consistent with the idea that sexually selected traits in social insects with permanent castes can evolve only when they do not affect survival or life-time fitness of queens in any significant way.
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Syed ZA, Dallai R, Nasirzadeh N, Brill JA, O’Grady PM, Cong S, Leef EM, Rice S, Asif A, Nguyen S, Hansen MM, Dorus S, Pitnick S. Sperm Cyst "Looping": A Developmental Novelty Enabling Extreme Male Ornament Evolution. Cells 2021; 10:cells10102762. [PMID: 34685746 PMCID: PMC8534658 DOI: 10.3390/cells10102762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Postcopulatory sexual selection is credited as a principal force behind the rapid evolution of reproductive characters, often generating a pattern of correlated evolution between interacting, sex-specific traits. Because the female reproductive tract is the selective environment for sperm, one taxonomically widespread example of this pattern is the co-diversification of sperm length and female sperm-storage organ dimension. In Drosophila, having testes that are longer than the sperm they manufacture was believed to be a universal physiological constraint. Further, the energetic and time costs of developing long testes have been credited with underlying the steep evolutionary allometry of sperm length and constraining sperm length evolution in Drosophila. Here, we report on the discovery of a novel spermatogenic mechanism—sperm cyst looping—that enables males to produce relatively long sperm in short testis. This phenomenon (restricted to members of the saltans and willistoni species groups) begins early during spermatogenesis and is potentially attributable to heterochronic evolution, resulting in growth asynchrony between spermatid tails and the surrounding spermatid and somatic cyst cell membranes. By removing the allometric constraint on sperm length, this evolutionary innovation appears to have enabled males to evolve extremely long sperm for their body mass while evading delays in reproductive maturation time. On the other hand, sperm cyst looping was found to exact a cost by requiring greater total energetic investment in testes and a pronounced reduction in male lifespan. We speculate on the ecological selection pressures underlying the evolutionary origin and maintenance of this unique adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeeshan A. Syed
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
- Correspondence: (Z.A.S.); (S.P.)
| | - Romano Dallai
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy;
| | - Negar Nasirzadeh
- Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada; (N.N.); (J.A.B.)
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Julie A. Brill
- Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada; (N.N.); (J.A.B.)
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | | | - Siyuan Cong
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Ethan M. Leef
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Sarah Rice
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Amaar Asif
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Stephanie Nguyen
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Matthew M. Hansen
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Steve Dorus
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
| | - Scott Pitnick
- Center for Reproductive Evolution, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; (S.C.); (E.M.L.); (S.R.); (A.A.); (S.N.); (M.M.H.); (S.D.)
- Correspondence: (Z.A.S.); (S.P.)
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Simmons LW, Parker GA. The devil is in the details: a comment on Shuker and Kvarnemo. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Leigh W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Geoff A Parker
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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7
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Can Sexual Selection Drive the Evolution of Sperm Cell Structure? Cells 2021; 10:cells10051227. [PMID: 34067752 PMCID: PMC8156441 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Sperm cells have undergone an extraordinarily divergent evolution among metazoan animals. Parker recognized that because female animals frequently mate with more than one male, sexual selection would continue after mating and impose strong selection on sperm cells to maximize fertilization success. Comparative analyses among species have revealed a general relationship between the strength of selection from sperm competition and the length of sperm cells and their constituent parts. However, comparative analyses cannot address causation. Here, we use experimental evolution to ask whether sexual selection can drive the divergence of sperm cell phenotype, using the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus as a model. We either relaxed sexual selection by enforcing monogamy or allowed sexual selection to continue for 20 generations before sampling males and measuring the total length of sperm cells and their constituent parts, the acrosome, nucleus, and flagella. We found differences in the length of the sperm cell nucleus but no differences in the length of the acrosome, flagella, or total sperm length. Our data suggest that different sperm cell components may respond independently to sexual selection and contribute to the divergent evolution of these extraordinary cells.
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Lehtonen J. The Legacy of Parker, Baker and Smith 1972: Gamete Competition, the Evolution of Anisogamy, and Model Robustness. Cells 2021; 10:573. [PMID: 33807911 PMCID: PMC7998237 DOI: 10.3390/cells10030573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of anisogamy or gamete size dimorphism is a fundamental transition in evolutionary history, and it is the origin of the female and male sexes. Although mathematical models attempting to explain this transition have been published as early as 1932, the 1972 model of Parker, Baker, and Smith is considered to be the first explanation for the evolution of anisogamy that is consistent with modern evolutionary theory. The central idea of the model is ingenious in its simplicity: selection simultaneously favours large gametes for zygote provisioning, and small gametes for numerical competition, and under certain conditions the outcome is anisogamy. In this article, I derive novel analytical solutions to a 2002 game theoretical update of the 1972 anisogamy model, and use these solutions to examine its robustness to variation in its central assumptions. Combining new results with those from earlier papers, I find that the model is quite robust to variation in its central components. This kind of robustness is crucially important in a model for an early evolutionary transition where we may only have an approximate understanding of constraints that the different parts of the model must obey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jussi Lehtonen
- Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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