Mating Plug
Composition
The mating plug of the Bombus terrestris was chemically analyzed and found to consist of palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid, and cycloprolylproline. It was found that the acids (sans cycloprolylproline) were sufficient by themselves to create the plug. Researchers hypothesize that cycloprolylproline reduces female receptivity to further breeding.
Occurrence in nature
Mating plugs are used by many species, including several primates, bees, rats, squirrels,scorpions, mice, and spiders.
Use of a mating plug as a strategy for reproductive success can also be seen in a few taxa of Lepidoptera and other insects and is often associated with pupal mating..
In homosexual matings
Male-male matings have been observed in species of acanthocephalan worms. Upon completion of the act, the penetrating partner will seal off the recipient’s genital region with a mating plug. Once sealed, the anal cavity becomes impervious to further infiltration.
See also
Bulbus glandis
References
^ David Quammen. The Flight of the Iguana: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature. Simon and Schuster, 1998, ISBN 0684836262. Page 29.
^ R Shine, M.M. Olsson, R.T. Mason. Chastity belts in gartersnakes: the functional significance of mating plugs. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 70 Issue 3, Pages 377 – 390. 14 January 2008
^ a b c Dunham, A. E. & Rudolf, V. H. W. (2009). “Evolution of sexual size monomorphism: the influence of passive mate guarding”. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22 (7): 1376-1386. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01768.x.
^ Boris Baer, Roland Maile, Paul Schmid-Hempe, E. David Morgan, Graeme R. Jones. Chemistry of a Mating Plug in Bumblebees. Journal of Chemical Ecology, Volume 26, Number 8 / August, 2000. Pages 1869-1875
^ Vaginal plug. Biology online dictionary.
^ Jorge Contreras-Garduo, Alfredo V. Peretti, Alex Crdoba-Aguilar. Evidence that Mating Plug is Related to Null Female Mating Activity in the Scorpion Vaejovis punctatus. Ethology, Volume 112 Issue 2, Pages 152 – 163. 31 January 2006
^ Lars M Ittner & Jrgen Gtz. Pronuclear injection for the production of transgenic mice. Figure 2 – Mating scheme and copulation plug. Nature Protocols 2, 1206 – 1215 (2007) Published online: 10 May 2007 doi:10.1038/nprot.2007.145
^ Knoflach, B. & van Harten, A. (2001). “Tidarren argo sp. nov (Araneae: Theridiidae) and its exceptional copulatory behaviour: emasculation, male palpal organ as a mating plug and sexual cannibalism”. Journal of Zoology 254: 449459. doi:10.1017/S0952836901000954.
^ The encyclopedia of land invertebrate behaviour By Rod Preston-Mafham, Ken Preston-Mafham. Pg 113.
^ Lawrence G. Abele, Sandra Gilchrist. Homosexual Rape and Sexual Selection in Acanthocephalan Worms. Science, volume 197, issue: 4298, pages 81-83. 1977
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