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Triploid ZZZ Z ebra F inches T aeniopygia guttata exhibit abnormal sperm heads and poor reproductive performance
Author(s) -
Girndt Antje,
Knief Ulrich,
Forstmeier Wolfgang,
Kempenaers Bart
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/ibi.12135
Subject(s) - sperm , ploidy , biology , sperm cell , andrology , zoology , genetics , gene , medicine
Here we report the first discovery of two viable triploid male Z ebra F inches T aeniopygia guttata . We compared the morphology of their sperm with that of normal diploid Z ebra F inches and examined eggs resulting from a triploid male and diploid female pairing to investigate whether triploid Z ebra F inches can reproduce. The majority (78%) of the triploids' spermatozoa had malformed sperm heads, which were 60% larger, and all examined eggs ( n = 42) were infertile. Our results tentatively suggest that triploid ZZZ Z ebra F inches cannot reproduce, and thus represent a rare evolutionary dead‐end.