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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: February 15, 2017

Selfish genetic elements promote polyandry in a fly.

T A R Price¹, D J Hodgson, Z Lewis

¹School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|November 22, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Female insects remate to improve offspring survival when faced with males carrying harmful genes. This study reveals that the risk of mating with low-quality males drives the evolution of polyandry, or multiple mating behaviors.

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Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: February 15, 2017

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi

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Published on: October 5, 2018

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Published on: August 22, 2013

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Behavioral Ecology
Genetics

Background:

Female remating (polyandry) is common despite costs, suggesting benefits like increased offspring fitness.
Fertilization bias towards sperm from high-fitness males is a proposed mechanism for polyandry benefits.
The role of specific genetic factors, such as selfish genetic elements, in driving polyandry is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary pressures that lead to increased female remating rates.
To test the hypothesis that the risk of mating with males carrying deleterious genes promotes polyandry.
To explore the link between selfish genetic elements, sperm competitiveness, and the evolution of multiple mating.

Main Methods:

Experimental evolution using Drosophila pseudoobscura (fruit flies).
Exposure of females to males carrying a specific sex ratio-distorting gene.
Assessment of female remating rates and offspring fitness in response to the presence of the deleterious gene.

Main Results:

Female Drosophila pseudoobscura evolved significantly higher remating rates when exposed to males with a deleterious sex ratio-distorting gene.
This gene also reduced the sperm's competitive ability, indicating a link between genetic quality and fertilization success.
The observed increase in remating suggests a direct response to the risk of mating with compromised males.

Conclusions:

The risk of mating with males possessing selfish genetic elements that reduce sperm competitiveness can drive the evolution of polyandry.
Selfish genetic elements, often associated with reduced male genetic fitness, may be a common factor promoting multiple mating in females.
This provides a novel explanation for the widespread phenomenon of polyandry in the animal kingdom.