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Updated: Aug 10, 2026
09:34
Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
Published on: August 22, 2013
Simulation of the mating advantage in mating of rare drosophila males
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|February 6, 1970
Abstract:
In several species of Drosophila, certain males mate more frequently when they are less abundant than they do when they are in the majority. The mating advantage may be artificially induced by the use of a "double chamber" technique, even when there is no difference in the actual frequencies of the competing males.
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01:20Mate Choice
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
02:45The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
In most organisms, sex is determined by the ratio of X and Y chromosomes. However, in some organisms, such as Drosophila and C.elegans, sex is determined by the ratio of the number of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes. The Y chromosome in Drosophila is active but does not determine sex. It contains genes responsible for the production of sperms in adult flies.
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...