Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid
ABSTRACT Mating is essential for population reproduction and survival, but individuals often incur costs of mating, including energy consumption and increased risks of death, predation, or disease transmission. Many studies on insects have reported a decreased post‐mating lifespan, and studies on th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71932 |
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| author | Zi‐Yin Wang Jing Li Jia‐Min Tang Lan‐Feng Qiu Hao‐Yuan Hu Peng‐Cheng Liu |
| author_facet | Zi‐Yin Wang Jing Li Jia‐Min Tang Lan‐Feng Qiu Hao‐Yuan Hu Peng‐Cheng Liu |
| author_sort | Zi‐Yin Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Mating is essential for population reproduction and survival, but individuals often incur costs of mating, including energy consumption and increased risks of death, predation, or disease transmission. Many studies on insects have reported a decreased post‐mating lifespan, and studies on the effects of mating on longevity have focused mainly on females. However, the effect of mating on lifespan has also been observed in males, and this process is thought to be more complex and distinctive. Sperm production and sperm transfer during copulation are believed to be the main factors involved in the mating‐induced reduction in male longevity due to significant energy investment, and this theory has been widely demonstrated in many insect species. Here, we found that mating has a negative effect on the longevity of males in an egg parasitoid species, Anastatus disparis. However, our results suggest that courtship rather than ejaculation is the main factor responsible for the reduced longevity of mated A. disparis males. Integrated transcriptomic analyses revealed the lots of upregulated genes and enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms involved in lipid metabolism during male courtship. This finding suggested that lipid metabolism may be an important source of high energy expenditure during courtship. Besides, we discussed the role of increased lipid consumption for satisfying energy expenditure for courtship in the shortened lifespan of A. disparis males. In summary, our study provides comprehensive insights into post‐mating changes in male longevity and provides a basis for future mechanistic studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-37d2d5645f874dbd8e0f73c55427d1d6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-37d2d5645f874dbd8e0f73c55427d1d62025-08-25T08:11:52ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-08-01158n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71932Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg ParasitoidZi‐Yin Wang0Jing Li1Jia‐Min Tang2Lan‐Feng Qiu3Hao‐Yuan Hu4Peng‐Cheng Liu5The School of Ecology and Environment Anhui Normal University Wuhu Anhui ChinaSchool of Laboratory Medicine Wannan Medical College Wuhu Anhui ChinaThe School of Ecology and Environment Anhui Normal University Wuhu Anhui ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Ecological Function Assessment and Regulation Technology of Green Space Beijing Academy of Forestry and Landscape Architecture Beijing ChinaThe School of Ecology and Environment Anhui Normal University Wuhu Anhui ChinaThe School of Ecology and Environment Anhui Normal University Wuhu Anhui ChinaABSTRACT Mating is essential for population reproduction and survival, but individuals often incur costs of mating, including energy consumption and increased risks of death, predation, or disease transmission. Many studies on insects have reported a decreased post‐mating lifespan, and studies on the effects of mating on longevity have focused mainly on females. However, the effect of mating on lifespan has also been observed in males, and this process is thought to be more complex and distinctive. Sperm production and sperm transfer during copulation are believed to be the main factors involved in the mating‐induced reduction in male longevity due to significant energy investment, and this theory has been widely demonstrated in many insect species. Here, we found that mating has a negative effect on the longevity of males in an egg parasitoid species, Anastatus disparis. However, our results suggest that courtship rather than ejaculation is the main factor responsible for the reduced longevity of mated A. disparis males. Integrated transcriptomic analyses revealed the lots of upregulated genes and enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms involved in lipid metabolism during male courtship. This finding suggested that lipid metabolism may be an important source of high energy expenditure during courtship. Besides, we discussed the role of increased lipid consumption for satisfying energy expenditure for courtship in the shortened lifespan of A. disparis males. In summary, our study provides comprehensive insights into post‐mating changes in male longevity and provides a basis for future mechanistic studies.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71932lipid metabolismmating costparasitoid wasptranscriptomic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Zi‐Yin Wang Jing Li Jia‐Min Tang Lan‐Feng Qiu Hao‐Yuan Hu Peng‐Cheng Liu Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid Ecology and Evolution lipid metabolism mating cost parasitoid wasp transcriptomic analysis |
| title | Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid |
| title_full | Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid |
| title_fullStr | Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid |
| title_full_unstemmed | Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid |
| title_short | Courtship Is a Major Factor of Mating‐Shortened Male Lifespan in an Egg Parasitoid |
| title_sort | courtship is a major factor of mating shortened male lifespan in an egg parasitoid |
| topic | lipid metabolism mating cost parasitoid wasp transcriptomic analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71932 |
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