Sperm Evolution in Birds
Informations
- Funding country
Norway- Acronym
- -
- URL
- -
- Start date
- 1/1/2020
- End date
- 12/31/2024
- Budget
- 1,162,104 EUR
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRIMEDBIO - Independent projects - Medicine, Health Sciences and Biology | Grant | - | - | 1,162,104 EUR |
Abstract
The main function of sperm is to fertilize ova. Despite this uniform function, sperm cells show an immense variation in shape and size across the animal kingdom. This project aims to answer why and how sperm cells evolve and diversify in the most species-rich order of birds, the Passeriformes or "perching birds". We already know that sperm size and shape is highly variable in this group, but surprisingly little is known about sperm biology in most species compared to what we know about their general breeding systems, ecology and life history traits. Our project is organised in three work packages. First, we will reveal much of the unknown diversity of sperm in selected species from around the world. We will then reconstruct the evolutionary history of sperm diversification across the Passeriformes tree of life and identify major shifts in sperm traits. Second, we will identify the genes underlying sperm traits, how they are expressed in the testicles when the sperm are formed, and how they are organised in the genome in different species. This should enable us to understand the link between genes and the sperm phenotype. Third, we will examine the different types of selection that can shape the variation in sperm sizes among males in well-studied populations of a few selected species. Together, the three work packages will advance our understanding of some key factors responsible for the evolution of the diversified sperm in birds.