Sperm competition is now recognised as a potent selective force shaping many male reproductive traits. While the influence of sperm competition on sperm number is widely accepted, its effects upon sperm size remain controversial. It had been traditionally assumed that there is a trade-off between sperm number and sperm size, so that an increase in sperm number would result in a decrease in sper...

In polyandrous species, sperm morphometry and sperm velocity are under strong sexual selection. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the role of sperm competition in sperm trait variation, this aspect is still poorly understood. It has been suggested that an increase in sperm competition pressure could reduce sperm size variation or produce a diversity of sperm to maximize ...

Sperm competition typically favours an increased investment in testes, because larger testes can produce more sperm to provide a numerical advantage in competition with rival ejaculates. However, interspecific variation in testis size cannot be equated directly with variation in sperm production rate--which is the trait ultimately selected under sperm competition--because there are also differe...

Post-copulatory sexual selection in the form of sperm competition is known to influence the evolution of male reproductive proteins in mammals. The relationship between sperm competition and regulatory evolution, however, remains to be explored. Protamines and transition nuclear proteins are involved in the condensation of sperm chromatin and are expected to affect the shape of the sperm head. ...

Sperm competition arises as a result of complex interactions among male and female factors. While the roles of some male factors are known, little is known of the molecules or mechanisms that underlie the female contribution to sperm competition. The genetic tools available for Drosophila allow us to identify, in an unbiased manner, candidate female genes that are critical for mediating sperm c...

Theoretical models have suggested that sperm competition can lead to increased ova resistance to fertilization. While there is some comparative evidence that this might be true, there is no experimental evidence to show that ova defensiveness evolves in response to sperm competition. We performed a series of in vitro fertilization assays to gauge the fertilizability of ova produced by female ho...

Among mammals sperm competition leads to selection for increased sperm numbers but it is not known whether it also leads to changes in sperm size. Two contrasting theoretical predictions have been made. The first hypothesis relies on the assumption that there is a trade-off between sperm numbers and sperm size and predicts that, in species confronting sperm competition, there will be a concomit...

Sperm competition is a pervasive selective force in evolution, shaping reproductive anatomy, physiology and behaviour. Here, we present comparative evidence that varying sperm competition levels account for variation in the male reproductive anatomy of rodents, the largest and most diverse mammalian order. We focus on the sperm-producing testes and the accessory reproductive glands, which produ...

Sexual selection is the pervasive force underlying the dramatic divergence of sperm form and function. Although it has been demonstrated that testis gene expression evolves rapidly, exploration of the proteomic basis of sperm diversity is in its infancy. We have employed a whole-cell proteomics approach to characterize sperm divergence among closely related Mus species that experience different...

Among mammals sperm competition leads to selection for increased sperm numbers but it is not known whether it also leads to changes in sperm size. Two contrasting theoretical predictions have been made. The first hypothesis relies on the assumption that there is a trade-off between sperm numbers and sperm size and predicts that, in species confronting sperm competition, there will be a concomit...