Interspecific diversity of testes mass and sperm morphology in the Philippine chrotomyine rodents: implications for differences in breeding systems across the species
William G. Breed
A C E , Hazirah Hassan A D , Macarena Gonzalez A , Hanna J. McLennan A , Chris M. Leigh A and Lawrence R. Heaney B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Robinson Research Institute, School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
B Field Museum of Natural History, Division of Mammals, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA.
C Present address: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
D Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
E Corresponding author. Email: bill.breed@adelaide.edu.au
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 31(4) 705-711 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD18278
Abstract
The high diversity of native Philippine murid rodents includes an old endemic group, the chrotomyines, which are the sister group of the Australasian hydromyines. Herein we detail their interspecific diversity of relative testes mass (RTM) and sperm morphology. We find that in chrotomyines, as in the Australasian hydromyines, testes mass relative to body mass differs by an order of magnitude across the species and ranges from a large RTM in Soricomys and Chrotomys species to a small RTM in Apomys. Sperm morphology is associated with these findings, with individuals in species of Soricomys and Chrotomys producing relatively larger spermatozoa with a prominent apical hook and long tail, whereas, by contrast, the Apomys species have a sperm head that either has a very short or no apical hook and a shorter tail. These findings indicate coevolution of RTM with sperm morphological traits across the species, with the marked interspecific differences in RTM suggesting differences in the intensity of intermale sperm competition and hence breeding system. Thus, we hypothesise that species of Soricomys and Chrotomys that produce more streamlined spermatozoa with longer tails have a polyandrous or promiscuous mating system, whereas the Apomys species, which produce smaller and less streamlined spermatozoa, may exhibit monogamy.
Additional keywords: mating system, Philippine rodents, sexual selection, testis size.
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