Removal and subsequent ingestion of rivals' semen during copulation in a tree cricket

ABSTRACT. A novel combination of adaptations resulting from sperm competition is demonstrated for the tree cricket Truljalia hibinonis (Matsumura) (Podoscirtinae: Gryllidae: Orthoptera). 87.5% of the semen of previous males is displaced onto the penis of the copulating male and is removed at the end of copulation. Semen thus removed is ingested during post-copulatory oro-genital grooming. No overt morphological adaptations for sperm removal were observed and, on the basis of anatomical evidence, it is suggested that rivals' semen is flushed out of the female?s sperm storage organ by the semen of the last male.     

MULTIPLE FORMS OF β -GALACTOSIDASE AND THE CHANGES IN ITS PATTERN DURING DEVELOPMENT OF DICTYOSTELIUM DISCOIDEUM

Four forms of β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) were separated from cell extracts of Dictyostelium discoideum by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Changes in the pattern of multiple forms of this enzyme during differentiation and dedifferentiation were studied. The band closest to the anode (Band 1) existed throughout development, but the other three bands appeared and disappeared at certain stages. One of those bands was specific for the vegetative stage (Band 3), and another for the morphogenetic stages (Band 2). The last one predominantly appeared during dedifferentiation of disaggregated slug cells (Band 4), although it was slightly detected during culmination. During the process of dedifferentiation, the increase in activity of Band 4 coincided with the decrease in Band 2. After the completion of dedifferentiation, Band 4 also disappeared, only Band 1 remaining. These multiple forms were not only electrophoretically separable but different in their sensitivities to various inhibitors. All forms of the enzyme were localized in subcellular particles, probably in lysosomes and phagosomes, and the relative activities in these two fractions varied during development.