Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone
Abstract Multiple paternity is common in many species. While its benefits for males are obvious, for females they are less clear. Female indirect benefits may include acquiring ‘good genes’ for offspring or increasing litter genetic diversity. The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a successful invasive s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42718-6 |
| _version_ | 1797560042975657984 |
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| author | Ruth Fishman Lee Koren Rachel Ben-Shlomo Uri Shanas Yoni Vortman |
| author_facet | Ruth Fishman Lee Koren Rachel Ben-Shlomo Uri Shanas Yoni Vortman |
| author_sort | Ruth Fishman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Multiple paternity is common in many species. While its benefits for males are obvious, for females they are less clear. Female indirect benefits may include acquiring ‘good genes’ for offspring or increasing litter genetic diversity. The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a successful invasive species. In its native habitat, it is polygynous, with larger and more aggressive males monopolizing paternity. Here, using culled nutria we genetically examined multiple paternity in-utero and found a high incidence of multiple paternity and maintenance of the number of fathers throughout gestation. Moreover, male fetuses sired by the prominent male have higher testosterone levels. Despite being retained, male fetuses of ‘rare’ fathers, siring commonly only one of the fetuses in the litter, have lower testosterone levels. Considering the reproductive skew of nutria males, if females are selected for sons with higher future reproductive success, low testosterone male fetuses are expected to be selected against. A possible ultimate explanation for maintaining multiple paternity could be that nutria females select for litter genetic diversity e.g., a bet-hedging strategy, even at the possible cost of reducing the reproductive success of some of their sons. Reproductive strategies that maintain genetic diversity may be especially beneficial for invasive species, as they often invade through a genetic bottleneck. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:54:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-65ae144e3fbf48ea9b9d1e24c47965b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:54:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-65ae144e3fbf48ea9b9d1e24c47965b32023-11-20T09:14:21ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-10-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-42718-6Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosteroneRuth Fishman0Lee Koren1Rachel Ben-Shlomo2Uri Shanas3Yoni Vortman4Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of ScienceThe Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan UniversityFaculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa—OranimFaculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa—OranimHula Research Center, Department of Animal Sciences, Tel-Hai CollegeAbstract Multiple paternity is common in many species. While its benefits for males are obvious, for females they are less clear. Female indirect benefits may include acquiring ‘good genes’ for offspring or increasing litter genetic diversity. The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a successful invasive species. In its native habitat, it is polygynous, with larger and more aggressive males monopolizing paternity. Here, using culled nutria we genetically examined multiple paternity in-utero and found a high incidence of multiple paternity and maintenance of the number of fathers throughout gestation. Moreover, male fetuses sired by the prominent male have higher testosterone levels. Despite being retained, male fetuses of ‘rare’ fathers, siring commonly only one of the fetuses in the litter, have lower testosterone levels. Considering the reproductive skew of nutria males, if females are selected for sons with higher future reproductive success, low testosterone male fetuses are expected to be selected against. A possible ultimate explanation for maintaining multiple paternity could be that nutria females select for litter genetic diversity e.g., a bet-hedging strategy, even at the possible cost of reducing the reproductive success of some of their sons. Reproductive strategies that maintain genetic diversity may be especially beneficial for invasive species, as they often invade through a genetic bottleneck.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42718-6 |
| spellingShingle | Ruth Fishman Lee Koren Rachel Ben-Shlomo Uri Shanas Yoni Vortman Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone Scientific Reports |
| title | Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone |
| title_full | Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone |
| title_fullStr | Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone |
| title_short | Paternity share predicts sons’ fetal testosterone |
| title_sort | paternity share predicts sons fetal testosterone |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42718-6 |
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