Effects of male genital sensilla on mating in three Drosophila species
| . | . | . | Mating posture . | . | . | . | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species . | N . | Mating frequency (%) . | Central (%) . | Left side (%) . | Right side (%) . | Mean copulation latency (min) . | ||
| D. melanogaster | ||||||||
| Ablation of clasper long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 52 | 88.5 | 82.6 | 6.5 | 10.9 | 8.8±0.7 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 30 | 36.7 | 72.7 | 18.2 | 9.1 | 10±2 | ||
| Right-side ablation | 36 | 72.2 | 11.5 | 57.7 | 30.8 | 11.5±2.6 | ||
| Left-side ablation | 33 | 66.7 | 4.5 | 17.4 | 78.3 | 11.2±1.3 | ||
| D. melanogaster | ||||||||
| Ablation of lateral plate long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 55 | 85.4 | 74.5 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 6.7±0.6 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 35 | 71.4 | 40 | 24 | 36 | 12.2±1.9 | ||
| Right-side ablation | 35 | 80 | 28.6 | 35.7 | 35.7 | 10.7±1.3 | ||
| Left-side ablation | 35 | 65.7 | 30.4 | 30.4 | 39.2 | 8.5±1.7 | ||
| D. simulans | ||||||||
| Ablation of clasper long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 56 | 32 | 94.2 | 5.8 | 0 | 18.7±3.4 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 41 | 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 18.7±4.6 | ||
| Right-side ablation | 41 | 27 | 81.8 | 18.2 | 0 | 16.3±4.1 | ||
| Left-side ablation | 41 | 27 | 81.8 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 24.7±6.3 | ||
| D. sechellia | ||||||||
| Ablation of clasper long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 40 | 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 7.2±2.1 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 38 | 13 | 80 | 20 | 0 | 14.6±5.2 | ||
| . | . | . | Mating posture . | . | . | . | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species . | N . | Mating frequency (%) . | Central (%) . | Left side (%) . | Right side (%) . | Mean copulation latency (min) . | ||
| D. melanogaster | ||||||||
| Ablation of clasper long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 52 | 88.5 | 82.6 | 6.5 | 10.9 | 8.8±0.7 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 30 | 36.7 | 72.7 | 18.2 | 9.1 | 10±2 | ||
| Right-side ablation | 36 | 72.2 | 11.5 | 57.7 | 30.8 | 11.5±2.6 | ||
| Left-side ablation | 33 | 66.7 | 4.5 | 17.4 | 78.3 | 11.2±1.3 | ||
| D. melanogaster | ||||||||
| Ablation of lateral plate long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 55 | 85.4 | 74.5 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 6.7±0.6 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 35 | 71.4 | 40 | 24 | 36 | 12.2±1.9 | ||
| Right-side ablation | 35 | 80 | 28.6 | 35.7 | 35.7 | 10.7±1.3 | ||
| Left-side ablation | 35 | 65.7 | 30.4 | 30.4 | 39.2 | 8.5±1.7 | ||
| D. simulans | ||||||||
| Ablation of clasper long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 56 | 32 | 94.2 | 5.8 | 0 | 18.7±3.4 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 41 | 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 18.7±4.6 | ||
| Right-side ablation | 41 | 27 | 81.8 | 18.2 | 0 | 16.3±4.1 | ||
| Left-side ablation | 41 | 27 | 81.8 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 24.7±6.3 | ||
| D. sechellia | ||||||||
| Ablation of clasper long sensilla | ||||||||
| Control | 40 | 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 7.2±2.1 | ||
| Bilateral ablation | 38 | 13 | 80 | 20 | 0 | 14.6±5.2 | ||
Uni- and bilateral ablations were performed on the long bristle of the clasper in D. melanogaster, D. simulans or D. sechellia and on 1 or 2 sensilla of the lateral plate in D. melanogaster.
The frequency of mating posture is relative to the total number of successful matings. D. melanogaster males with bilaterally ablated clasper sensilla mated significantly less frequently than intact males:χ 2=21.7; P<0.001.
Copulation duration showed clear interspecific differences: 18.3±0.3 min in D. melanogaster, 24.0±0.8 min in D. simulans,25.8±2.2 min in D. sechellia (F2,67=40.03, P=0.0001). No differences were found between control and experimental males (data not shown).
For copulation latency, a significant difference was found only for D. melanogaster LP1b ablation (F3,118=5.63, P=0.001), but not in the other cases: D. melanogaster CL1b ablation (F3,101=0.97, NS), D. simulans CL1b ablation (F3,42=0.392, NS), D. sechelliaCL1b ablation (F1,9=1.81, NS).
NS, not significant.