MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Meiotic drive is a genetic phenomenon found in certain invertebrates, at this point in time. Drive, for short, hinders the males ability to complete spermatogenesis. As a result, subsequent generations have a lower sex ratio of males to females. Meiotic drive can be seen in a population after multiple generations and this investigation starts at generation 5.My main two hypotheses are that meiotic drive will decrease the average length of male sperm and that the variance will increased when females do not choose their mates.The inability to penetrate eggs stems from not having long enough or developed enough sperm. Consequently, the drive males typically produce shorter sperm.(Wilkinson 2004) Using Hoescht stain, we are able to fluoresce the sperm bundles,and then take pictures with a microscope on 400X. Using Image J, the pictures are measured. Males are gentotyped and meiotic drive presence is determined by a microsatelite 395 repeat. Thus far in the experiment, males displaying meiotic differ from non drive males by approximately 15 micrometers. However, due to a lack of samples, the results are inconclusive. The variance of the species has started to suggest a difference between monogamy mating and free mating. We do have more samples to do and this is a convenient stopping point for this paper, so results will be more conclusive. This paper paves the road for suture research on the ability of sperm to fertilize eggs in both invertebrates and mammals.

Reader's profile: I am imagining someone qualified in my field who peer reviews articles.

Readers Response: This reader will probably criticize multiple aspects of this experiment. First, since i even stated that the results are not conclusive due to lack of specimens, there would be an objection to the accuracy of the data. Also, the choice of the flies is questionable, and the human error in measuring is also worth mentioning. Also, which sperm bundles I pick is a huge factor and this can affect results majorly.

C -- be aware of the differences in spoken words and formal written communication. "Majorly" is one such word.

Can you address this read by saying that this work is exploratory? And, that your lab might increase the sample size if this exploratory work suggests promise?