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Science 23 September 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5743, p. 2031
DOI: 10.1126/science.1114500
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Brevia

Bacterial Immunity Traded for Sperm Viability in Male Crickets

Leigh W. Simmons* and Benjamin Roberts

The notion that a trade-off exists between immunity and reproduction is now a central concept in theories of sexual selection. However, whether such a trade-off exists between immunity and gamete viability has not been established. Here we show that genetic variance for high levels of an immune response required to fight bacterial infections is associated with genetic variance for low sperm viability. These data have implications for our understanding of sexual selection mechanisms and of reproductive costs in male longevity.

Evolutionary Biology Research Group, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lsimmons{at}cyllene.uwa.edu.au

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Rapid sperm acrosome reaction in the absence of acrosomal CD46 expression in promiscuous field mice (Apodemus).
P. M Johnson, L. E Clift, P. Andrlikova, M. Jursova, B. F Flanagan, J. A Cummerson, P. Stopka, and K. Dvorakova-Hortova (2007)
Reproduction 134, 739-747
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Parasites physically block host copulation: a potent mechanism of parasite-mediated sexual selection.
M. Polak, L. T. Luong, and W. T. Starmer (2007)
Behav. Ecol. 18, 952-957
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Evolutionary trade-off between weapons and testes.
L. W. Simmons and D. J. Emlen (2006)
PNAS 103, 16346-16351
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)