Sperm variation within a single ejaculate affects offspring development in atlantic salmon

Abstract

It is generally believed that variation in sperm phenotype within a single ejaculate has no consequences for offspring performance, because sperm phenotypes are thought not to reflect sperm genotypes.We show that variation in individual sperm function within an ejaculate affects the performance of the resulting offspring in the Atlantic salmon Salmo salar. We experimentally manipulated the time between sperm activation and fertilization in order to select for sperm cohorts differing in longevity within single ejaculates of wild caught male salmon. We found that within-ejaculate variation in sperm longevity significantly affected offspring development and hence time until hatching. Whether these effects have a genetic or epigenetic basis needs to be further evaluated. However, our results provide experimental evidence for transgenerational effects of individual sperm function.