Expression of phenotype in the offspring controlled by parental mating preference

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21368
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 42:Veterinary medical science, animal science, and related fields
• Research Institution: Shizuoka University
• Principal Investigator: Sasanami Tomohiro 静岡大学, 農学部, 教授 (80322139)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: ウズラ / 精子 / 受精 / 精子鞭毛長

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Reproduction is essential for the generation of offspring in the next generation. In this study, I investigated the actual fertilization ability of males preferred by females and the traits of their offspring. Comparing the fertilization ability of males preferred by females and males not preferred by females, it was found that males with longer sperm flagellum length had an advantage in fertilization, regardless of the testosterone concentration in their blood. In addition, F2 generation was produced from the quail line that produced sperm with long flagella and another quail line that produced sperm with short flagella, and both were examined for flagellar length and QTLseq analysis of genomic DNA was performed. The results showed that sperm flagellar length is inherited from one generation to the next and is not affected by environmental factors. In other words, the fertilization ability of males preferred by females was not necessarily high.

Free Research Field

繁殖生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

雄の個体の血中男性ホルモン濃度は、その雄個体の質を反映するという仮説が種々の動物で提唱されてきた。しかし、雌に好まれる雄の実際の受精能力や、その子孫の形質の調査はほとんど行われてこなかった。本研究結果は、この仮説は個体の繁殖能力に対しては正しいと言えるが、次世代の形質に関しては必ずしも正しくないことを示唆するものである。このことは、優秀な家畜・家禽を作出するために重要な雄の形質を調べる上で、精子の運動性や受精能力以外にも注目しなければならないことを意味する。