Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort
Abstract Background The disposable soma theory of ageing assumes that organisms optimally trade-off limited resources between reproduction and longevity to maximize fitness. Early reproduction should especially trade-off against late reproduction and longevity because of reduced investment into soma...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-1586-x |
| _version_ | 1819148238733705216 |
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| author | Charly Jehan Manon Chogne Thierry Rigaud Yannick Moret |
| author_facet | Charly Jehan Manon Chogne Thierry Rigaud Yannick Moret |
| author_sort | Charly Jehan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The disposable soma theory of ageing assumes that organisms optimally trade-off limited resources between reproduction and longevity to maximize fitness. Early reproduction should especially trade-off against late reproduction and longevity because of reduced investment into somatic protection, including immunity. Moreover, as optimal reproductive strategies of males and females differ, sexually dimorphic patterns of senescence may evolve. In particular, as males gain fitness through mating success, sexual competition should be a major factor accelerating male senescence. In a single experiment, we examined these possibilities by establishing artificial populations of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, in which we manipulated the sex-ratio to generate variable levels of investment into reproductive effort and sexual competition in males and females. Results As predicted, variation in sex-ratio affected male and female reproductive efforts, with contrasted sex-specific trade-offs between lifetime reproduction, survival and immunity. High effort of reproduction accelerated mortality in females, without affecting immunity, but high early reproductive success was observed only in balanced sex-ratio condition. Male reproduction was costly on longevity and immunity, mainly because of their investment into copulations rather than in sexual competition. Conclusions Our results suggest that T. molitor males, like females, maximize fitness through enhanced longevity, partly explaining their comparable longevity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:42:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-194ace5c6a0d402ba651dc61873fbcf6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2148 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:42:32Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Evolutionary Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-194ace5c6a0d402ba651dc61873fbcf62022-12-21T18:23:53ZengBMCBMC Evolutionary Biology1471-21482020-02-0120111310.1186/s12862-020-1586-xSex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effortCharly Jehan0Manon Chogne1Thierry Rigaud2Yannick Moret3UMR CNRS 6282 BioGéoSciences, Équipe Écologie Évolutive, Université Bourgogne-Franche ComtéUMR CNRS 6282 BioGéoSciences, Équipe Écologie Évolutive, Université Bourgogne-Franche ComtéUMR CNRS 6282 BioGéoSciences, Équipe Écologie Évolutive, Université Bourgogne-Franche ComtéUMR CNRS 6282 BioGéoSciences, Équipe Écologie Évolutive, Université Bourgogne-Franche ComtéAbstract Background The disposable soma theory of ageing assumes that organisms optimally trade-off limited resources between reproduction and longevity to maximize fitness. Early reproduction should especially trade-off against late reproduction and longevity because of reduced investment into somatic protection, including immunity. Moreover, as optimal reproductive strategies of males and females differ, sexually dimorphic patterns of senescence may evolve. In particular, as males gain fitness through mating success, sexual competition should be a major factor accelerating male senescence. In a single experiment, we examined these possibilities by establishing artificial populations of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, in which we manipulated the sex-ratio to generate variable levels of investment into reproductive effort and sexual competition in males and females. Results As predicted, variation in sex-ratio affected male and female reproductive efforts, with contrasted sex-specific trade-offs between lifetime reproduction, survival and immunity. High effort of reproduction accelerated mortality in females, without affecting immunity, but high early reproductive success was observed only in balanced sex-ratio condition. Male reproduction was costly on longevity and immunity, mainly because of their investment into copulations rather than in sexual competition. Conclusions Our results suggest that T. molitor males, like females, maximize fitness through enhanced longevity, partly explaining their comparable longevity.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-1586-xAgeingCost of reproductionDisposable soma theoryImmunityImmuno-senescenceTenebrio molitor |
| spellingShingle | Charly Jehan Manon Chogne Thierry Rigaud Yannick Moret Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort BMC Evolutionary Biology Ageing Cost of reproduction Disposable soma theory Immunity Immuno-senescence Tenebrio molitor |
| title | Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort |
| title_full | Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort |
| title_fullStr | Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort |
| title_short | Sex-specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex-ratio to manipulate reproductive effort |
| title_sort | sex specific patterns of senescence in artificial insect populations varying in sex ratio to manipulate reproductive effort |
| topic | Ageing Cost of reproduction Disposable soma theory Immunity Immuno-senescence Tenebrio molitor |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-1586-x |
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