Recovery from heat-induced infertility: A study of reproductive tissue responses and fitness consequences in male Drosophila melanogaster

The predicted temperature increase caused by climate change is a threat to biodiversity. Across animal taxa, male reproduction is often sensitive to elevated temperatures leading to fertility loss and in more adverse scenarios, this can result in sterility when males reach their upper thermal fertility limit. Here we investigate temperature-induced changes in reproductive tissues, fertility reduction, sterility, and the associated fitness loss during the subsequent recovery phase in male Drosophila melanogaster. We heat-stressed males during development and either allowed them to recover or not in early adulthood, while measuring several determinants of male reproductive success. We found significant differences in recovery rate, organ sizes, sperm production, and other key reproductive traits among males from our different temperature treatments. Sperm maturation was impaired before reaching the upper thermal sterility threshold. While some effects were reversible, this did not compens...

气候变化导致的预测温度升高对生物多样性构成威胁。在各类动物类群中，雄性生殖往往对高温敏感，会引发生育力下降；在更恶劣的情况下，当雄性达到其热生育上限时，可能导致不育。本研究探讨了黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）雄性在温度诱导下生殖组织的变化、生育力降低、不育现象，以及后续恢复阶段相关的适合度损失（fitness loss）。我们在雄性发育期间对其施加热应激处理，并在成年早期让部分个体恢复、部分个体不恢复，同时测量雄性生殖成功的若干决定因素。结果显示，不同温度处理组的雄性在恢复率、器官大小、精子产量及其他关键生殖性状上存在显著差异。精子成熟在达到热不育阈值上限前即已受损。尽管部分效应具有可逆性，但这并未补偿……