Evolution of sperm storage mechanisms in Coleoidea

• Grant number: 25/01246-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: José Eduardo Amoroso Rodriguez Marian
• Grantee: Sara Jéssica Soja Venceslau
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/02746-9 - Diving in the Mesozoic Marine Revolution from the perspective of benthic and nektonic mollusks, AP.PNGP.PI

Abstract

Decapodiform cephalopods (e.g., squid, cuttlefish) present a wide variety of reproductive strategies, making them excellent candidates for the study of sexual selection. Among these strategies, the presence of seminal receptacles located in the buccal membrane of females stands out. Due to their specialized sperm storage capacity, seminal receptacles give females a greater degree of control over fertilization via cryptic female choice. Recent evidence suggests at least two independent gains of seminal receptacles in the clade, potentially associated with transitions between marine habitats. This makes this clade an interesting model for studies on the interaction between sexual selection and environment in the diversification of marine lineages. However, the scarcity of knowledge of the structure and function of decapodiform seminal receptacles prevents hypotheses from being adequately proposed and tested. In this context, this project aims at investigating - by means of histological analyses - the structure of the seminal receptacle of representatives of all orders of Decapodiformes that exhibit these organs. In addition, this project aims to identify - through comparative transcriptome - the presence of antioxidant enzymes in the storage organs of two species whose receptacles were hypothesized to be homoplastic. With this, we intend to establish the basis for understanding the diversification of sperm storage strategies in this clade.