Dichotomous sperm in Lepidopteran insects: a biorational target for pest management

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Abstract

Lepidoptera are unusual in possessing two distinct kinds of sperm, regular nucleated (eupyrene) sperm and anucleate (apyrene) sperm (‘parasperm’). Sperm of both types are transferred to the female and are required for male fertility. Apyrene sperm play ‘helper’ roles, assisting eupyrene sperm to gain access to unfertilized eggs and influencing the reproductive behavior of mated female moths. Sperm development and behavior are promising targets for environmentally safer, target-specific biorational control strategies in lepidopteran pest insects. Sperm dimorphism provides a wide window in which to manipulate sperm functionality and dynamics, thereby impairing the reproductive fitness of pest species. Opportunities to interfere with spermatozoa are available not only while sperm are still in the male (before copulation), but also in the female (after copulation, when sperm are still in the male-provided spermatophore, or during storage in the female’s spermatheca). Biomolecular technologies like RNAi, miRNAs and CRISPR-Cas9 are promising strategies to achieve lepidopteran pest control by targeting genes directly or indirectly involved in dichotomous sperm production, function, or persistence.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Stuart E. Reynolds: URI : https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/189602

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Front Insect Sci

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Front Insect Sci

Journal ID (publisher-id): Front. Insect Sci.

Title: Frontiers in Insect Science

Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.

ISSN (Print): 2673-8600

ISSN (Electronic): 2673-8600

Publication date (Electronic): 23 August 2023

Publication date Collection: 2023

Volume: 3

Electronic Location Identifier: 1198252

Affiliations

[1] ¹ Department of Zoology, University of Delhi , Delhi, India

[2] ² Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath , Bath, United Kingdom

[3] ³ Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath , Bath, United Kingdom

Author notes

Edited by: Bernard Moussian, Université Côte d’Azur, France

Reviewed by: Romano Dallai, University of Siena, Italy; Bruce Hay, California Institute of Technology, United States

*Correspondence: Stuart E. Reynolds, s.e.reynolds@ 123456bath.ac.uk

Article

DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1198252

PMC ID: 10926456

PubMed ID: 38469506

SO-VID: 65d6ea60-beec-4aa1-94e5-17932c637f66

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

History

Date received : 31 March 2023

Date accepted : 31 July 2023

Page count

Figures: 4, Tables: 3, Equations: 0, References: 236, Pages: 26, Words: 15892

Funding

RS sincerely acknowledges the financial support from International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), Vienna funded under FAO/IAEA Coordinated Research Projects.

Custom metadata

section-in-acceptance Insect Physiology

Keywords: spermatozoa,sperm activation,sperm motility,initiatorin,serine endopeptidase,lepidoptera,pest management,rnai

Data availability:

Keywords: spermatozoa, sperm activation, sperm motility, initiatorin, serine endopeptidase, lepidoptera, pest management, rnai

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