Original title: A catalog of mRNAs transferred from males to females during mating in Drosophila arizonae and D. mojavensis
During mating, male fruit flies transfer mRNAA molecule carrying instructions that cells can use to make proteins., a set of instructions cells can use to make proteins, to females. Researchers tracked mRNA in the female reproductive tract after mating and compared it with mRNA in male reproductive organs. They found 270 candidate messages linked to several male tissues, including testes, sperm-filled storage organs, and accessory glands. They also found that many transferred sperm became caught in a mass formed in the uterus, which may let sperm-associated RNA enter the female tract.
Imagine packing a bag after a busy day, then finding that some items have ended up in a pocket you did not mean to use. It is hard to tell where each item came from or how it got there. In this paper, the bag is the female reproductive tract, the items are messages transferred during mating, and comparing them with the male organs helps trace their likely sources; the trapped sperm may explain how some messages are released.
Male mRNAs enter the female reproductive tract, but researchers do not yet know whether all of them matter. This catalog identifies candidates and possible tissue sources, giving future studies a way to test which messages affect females after mating.
The catalog identifies candidate messages and likely tissue sources; it does not establish that all candidates are transferred as functional messages or affect females. The possible release of RNA from sperm trapped in the uterine mass remains an explanation to investigate. The abstract presents the catalog as a foundation for future studies.
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A catalog of mRNAs transferred from males to females during mating in Drosophila arizonae and D. mojavensis — Juan Hurtado, Carson W. Allan, Sergio Castrezana et al. — PLoS ONE — doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0358942
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.