Londono-Nieto, C. P. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2025

Chilling out or heating up? Thermal plasticity of seminal fluid proteins in Drosophila melanogaster

Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) play crucial roles in reproduction by shaping female post-mating physiology and behaviour, male sperm competition, and sexual conflict between the sexes. However, we mostly ignore how abiotic ecological factors regulate SFP expression and transfer. Here, we use quantitative proteomics in adult flies from a wild Drosophila melanogaster population to test how exposure to natural temperature variation (20{degrees}C, 24{degrees}C and 28{degrees}C) across two-time scales (48h and 13d), and under either no or high sperm competition risk, interact to shape SFP production and transfer. We show that both production and transfer of SFPs was reduced after long-term (13d) exposure to low (20{degrees}C) and high (28{degrees}C) temperatures, including in key proteins (sex peptide and ovulin networks) mediating female post-copulatory responses, sperm competition and sexual conflict. Our results show that natural temperature fluctuations can have a strong effect on SFP production and transfer, and thus on post-copulatory sexual selection dynamics.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Thermal phenotypic plasticity of pre- and post-copulatory male harm buffers sexual conflict in wild Drosophila melanogaster

Strong sexual selection frequently leads to sexual conflict and ensuing male harm, whereby males increase their reproductive success at the expense of harming females. Male harm is a widespread evolutionary phenomenon with a strong bearing on population viability. Thus, understanding how it unfolds in the wild is a current priority. Here, we sampled a wild Drosophila melanogaster population and studied male harm across the normal range of temperatures under which it reproduces optimally in nature by comparing female lifetime reproductive success and underlying male harm mechanisms under monogamy (i.e., low male competition/harm) vs. polyandry (i.e., high male competition/harm). While females had equal lifetime reproductive success across temperatures under monogamy, polyandry resulted in a maximum decrease of female fitness at 24{degrees}C (35%), reducing its impact at both 20{degrees}C (22%), and 28{degrees}C (10%). Furthermore, female fitness components and pre- (i.e., harassment) and post-copulatory (i.e., ejaculate toxicity) mechanisms of male harm were asymmetrically affected by temperature. At 20{degrees}C, male harassment of females was reduced, and polyandry accelerated female actuarial ageing. In contrast, the effect of mating on female receptivity (a component of ejaculate toxicity) was affected at 28{degrees}C, where the mating costs for females decreased and polyandry mostly resulted in accelerated reproductive ageing. We thus show that, across a natural thermal range, sexual conflict processes and their effects on female fitness components are plastic and complex. As a result, the net effect of male harm on overall population viability is likely to be lower than previously surmised. We discuss how such plasticity may affect selection, adaptation and, ultimately, evolutionary rescue under a warming climate.

evolutionary biology↗