Syracuse-led study finds sperm conjugation widespread across arthropods

Evolutionary biologists from Syracuse University, the University of Siena, and the University of Szeged report that sperm conjugation-sperm cooperating in coordinated groups-is widespread across arthropods and has evolved repeatedly, Phys.org reported on a Nature Communications paper. The team studied spiders, crabs, insects, centipedes, and related groups and described membrane-bound sperm-associated material that can bind sperm together or form external structures organizing them. Co-author Steve Dorus said fertilization is often viewed as competition among individual sperm, but in many species cells work together in ways that can influence reproductive success. Lead author R. Antonio Gomez said evolution has effectively run the same experiment over and over across arthropod groups, revealing when sperm cooperation emerges, disappears, and reappears. The paper lists DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-73950-z.