Per capita sperm metabolism is density dependent.
J Exp Biol
; 227(6)2024 Mar 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38380562
ABSTRACT
From bacteria to metazoans, higher density populations have lower per capita metabolic rates than lower density populations. The negative covariance between population density and metabolic rate is thought to represent a form of adaptive metabolic plasticity. A relationship between density and metabolism was actually first noted 100â
years ago, and was focused on spermatozoa; even then, it was postulated that adaptive plasticity drove this pattern. Since then, contemporary studies of sperm metabolism specifically assume that sperm concentration has no effect on metabolism and that sperm metabolic rates show no adaptive plasticity. We did a systematic review to estimate the relationship between sperm aerobic metabolism and sperm concentration, for 198 estimates spanning 49 species, from protostomes to humans from 88 studies. We found strong evidence that per capita metabolic rates are concentration dependent both within and among species, sperm have lower metabolisms in dense ejaculates, but increase their metabolism when diluted. On average, a 10-fold decrease in sperm concentration increased per capita metabolic rate by 35%. Metabolic plasticity in sperm appears to be an adaptive response, whereby sperm maximize their chances of encountering eggs.
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1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Exp Biol
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article