New York: Scientists have discovered that it is not the fastest swimming sperm that is most likely to succeed in fertilising the egg but the slower and longer one.
Researchers from Syracuse University found that in sperm competition in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) slower and longer sperms outcompete their faster rivals.
The research team led by Stefan Lupold, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences made the discovery using fruit flies that were genetically altered so that the heads of their sperm glow fluorescent green or red under the microscope.
“Sperm competition is a fundamental biological process throughout the animal kingdom, yet we know very little about how ejaculate traits determine which males win contests,” Lupold said in a statement.
“This is the first study that actually measures sperm quality under competitive conditions inside the female, allowing us to distinguish the traits that are important in each of the reproductive phases,” he added.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
