Effects of Age, Phase Variation and Pheromones on Male Sperm Storage in the Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria
Open Access
- 14 July 2021
- Vol. 12 (7), 642
- https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12070642
Abstract
In general, sperm produced in the testis are moved into the seminal vesicle via the vas deferens in insects, where they are stored. How this sperm movement is controlled is less well understood in locusts or grasshoppers. In this study, the effects of age, phase variation and pheromones on male sperm storage were investigated in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål). In this locust, a pair of ducts, the vasa deferentia, connect the testes to a pair of the long, slender seminal vesicles that are folded approximately thirty times, and where the sperm are stored. We found that phase variation affected the level of sperm storage in the seminal vesicle. Moreover, adult males that detected pheromones emitted by mature adult males showed enhanced sperm storage compared with males that received the pheromones emitted from nymphs: The former, adult male pheromones are known to promote sexual maturation of immature adults of both sexes, whereas the latter, nymphal pheromones delay sexual maturation. Most mature adult males had much sperm in the vasa deferentia at all times examined, suggesting daily sperm movement from the testes to the seminal vesicles via the vasa deferentia. As adult males aged, sperm were accumulated from the proximal part to the distal end of the seminal vesicle. Many sperm remained in the seminal vesicle after mating. These results suggest that young or new sperm located near the proximal part of the seminal vesicle could be used for mating, whereas old sperm not used for mating are stored in the distal part of the seminal vesicle.Keywords
This publication has 60 references indexed in Scilit:
- Comparison of reproductive traits of regular and irradiated male desert locust Schistocerca gregaria (Orthoptera: Acrididae): Evidence of last-male sperm precedenceBiology Open, 2012
- Gregarious desert locusts have substantially larger brains with altered proportions compared with the solitarious phaseProceedings. Biological sciences, 2010
- From Disorder to Order in Marching LocustsScience, 2006
- Male insect accessory glands: Functions and control of secretory activityInvertebrate Reproduction & Development, 1996
- ?Longevity? of sperm within the female of the melon fly,Dacus cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae), and its relevance to sperm competitionJournal of Insect Behavior, 1991
- Development of secretory activity in the seminal vesicle of the male migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes (fabr.) (Orthoptera : Acrididae)International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology, 1988
- Immunochemical ablation of accessory reproductive glands of the male desert locustInternational Journal of Tropical Insect Science, 1986
- SPERMATOPHORE FORMATION AND SPERM TRANSFER IN THE DESERT LOCUST, SCHISTOCERCA GREGARIA (ORTHOPTERA: ACRIDIDAE)The Canadian Entomologist, 1973
- COUPLING BEHAVIOUR OF THE MIGRATORY GRASSHOPPER, MELANOPLUS SANGUINIPES (ORTHOPTERA: ACRIDIDAE)The Canadian Entomologist, 1972
- The architecture of the accessory reproductive glands of the desert locust IV. Fine structure of the glandular epitheliumPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences, 1969