Single-male paternity in coelacanths

Latimeria chalumnae , a ‘living fossil,’ is of great scientific interest, as it is closely related to the aquatic ancestors of land-living tetrapods. Latimeria show internal fertilization and bear live young, but their reproductive behaviour is poorly known. Here we present for the first time a pate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2013-09, Vol.4 (1), p.2488-2488, Article 2488
Main Authors: Lampert, Kathrin P., Blassmann, Katrin, Hissmann, Karen, Schauer, Jürgen, Shunula, Peter, Kharousy, Zahor el, Ngatunga, Benjamin P., Fricke, Hans, Schartl, Manfred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/181
631/601/2722
Alleles
Animals
Female
Fertilization
Fishes - genetics
Genetic Loci
Genotype
Humanities and Social Sciences
Inheritance Patterns
Male
multidisciplinary
Reproduction - physiology
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sexual Behavior, Animal - physiology
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Summary:Latimeria chalumnae , a ‘living fossil,’ is of great scientific interest, as it is closely related to the aquatic ancestors of land-living tetrapods. Latimeria show internal fertilization and bear live young, but their reproductive behaviour is poorly known. Here we present for the first time a paternity analysis of the only available material from gravid females and their offspring. We genotype two L. chalumnae females and their unborn brood for 14 microsatellite loci. We find that the embryos are closely related to each other and never show more than three different alleles per locus, providing evidence for a single father siring all of the offspring. We reconstruct the father’s genotype but cannot identify it in the population. These data suggest that coelacanths have a monogamous mating system and that individual relatedness is not important for mate choice. Deep-sea coelacanth female fish were thought to enhance genetic variability in their offspring by mating with multiple males. Here, Lampert et al. analyse the paternity of the offspring of two females, and present evidence that coelacanth females are in fact monogamous.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms3488