Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/D009634/1
Evolutionary consequences of sperm ageing
Fellowship Award
- Fellow:
- Dr K Reinhardt, University of Sheffield, Animal and Plant Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Sheffield, Animal and Plant Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Environmental Physiology
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Population Ecology
- Behavioural Ecology
- Abstract:
- Summary. Does the performance of gamete cells affect the reproductive output of individuals? To answer this question, evolutionary and behavioural biologists focus on genotypic correlates of sperm performance but their models lack a mechanism, other than numerical competition. By contrast, reproductive biologists and cellular biogerontologists address ageing of (sperm) cells, but often neglect organismal influences on sperm performance. This proposal will address the question of variation in gamete performance and solve the dilemmas of both fields by unifying their concepts, and their methods. The combination of techniques at the forefront of cell biology and sophisticated design of experimental evolution with my previous experience in ecology, behaviour, physiology and evolution will put me in a unique position to test the novel idea that Sperm ageing is a strong evolutionary force causing variation at the cellular, cell population and organismal level. Bed bugs are an ideal model organism with which to address this hypothesis. Unlike other systems, in bed bugs sperm ageing is important because it limits fertility; females digest sperm in a special organ; they allow non-invasive sperm marking and artificial insemination with differently aged sperm with and without male-produced seminal substances. This will enable me to quantify sperm age effects at the level of the sperm cell, the sperm population and in males and females. I will quantify its evolutionarily relevant consequences by estimating the heritability and genetic constraints of sperm age-related traits, and subsequently test these estimates quantitatively in selection lines. The importance of bed bugs as model organisms for sexual conflict and their re-emergence as human pests under an altered environment guarantee a wide and cross-discipline applicability of the results.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/D009634/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Postdoctoral Fellow (FEC)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
This fellowship award has a total value of £291,059
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £92,015 | £31,501 | £102,065 | £6,913 | £58,566 |
If you need further help, please read the user guide.