Data from: Transgenerational effects of sexual interactions and sexual conflict: non-sires boost the fecundity of females in the following generation

The consequences of sexual interactions extend beyond the simple production of offspring. These interactions typically entail direct effects on female fitness, but may also impact the life histories of later generations. Evaluating the cross-generational effects of sexual interactions provides insights into the dynamics of sexual selection and conflict. Such studies can elucidate whether offspring fitness optima diverge across sexes upon heightened levels of sexual interaction among parents. Here, we found that, in Drosophila melanogaster, components of reproductive success in females, but not males, were contingent on the nature of sexual interactions experienced by their mothers. In particular, maternal sexual interactions with non-sires enhanced female fecundity in the following generation. This highlights the importance of non-sire influences of sexual interactions on the expression of offspring life histories.

性相互作用（sexual interactions）所产生的影响远不止子代的简单产生。这类相互作用通常会对雌性适合度（fitness）造成直接效应，同时也可能影响后续世代的生活史。评估性相互作用的跨世代效应，可为性选择与性冲突的动态机制解析提供重要洞察。此类研究能够阐明，当亲本间性相互作用水平升高时，子代的适合度最适值是否会在不同性别间出现分化。本研究在黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）中发现，雌性的繁殖成功相关组分，而非雄性，取决于其母本所经历的性相互作用的性质。具体而言，母本与非父本个体的性相互作用，可提升下一代雌性的繁殖力（fecundity）。这一结果凸显了性相互作用的非父本影响对子代生活史表达的重要性。