Researchers report that female mice that mated with sterile male mice displayed weight gain and increased reproductive output in late life, along with a reduced lifespan, compared with female mice housed with other females, a finding suggesting that mating alone, in the absence of fertilization, can alter life-history resource allocation and account for some of the lifespan trade-offs typically attributed to pregnancy and lactation.
Article #20-03159: "Mating in the absence of fertilization promotes a growth-reproduction versus lifespan trade-off in female mice," by Michael Garratt, Heather Try, Kristina O. Smiley, David R. Grattan, Robert C. Brooks.
MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Garratt, University of Otago, Dunedin, NEW ZEALAND; e-mail: mike.garratt@otago.ac.nz
###
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences