Proteomic Analysis of Dimorphic Sperm in Pieris Rapae Butterfly

Over 1,600 proteins identified via high-resolution mass spectrometry characterize dimorphic sperm in the Cabbage White butterfly. The dataset details differential protein abundance between fertilizing eupyrene and non-fertilizing apyrene sperm morphs, providing a foundation for studies of sperm evolution and function.

Use Cases

• Perform differential abundance analysis on proteins enriched in eupyrene sperm (linked to ion transport) versus apyrene sperm (linked to mitochondrial functions).
• Conduct comparative homology analyses of identified sperm proteins against other Lepidoptera species like Danaus plexippus and Manduca sexta.
• Investigate the molecular basis of sperm dimorphism by analyzing the over 1,600 proteins for functional enrichment related to reproduction.

Strengths

• Identifies more than 1,600 proteins, nearly doubling previous reports for other lepidopteran species.
• Provides differential abundance results distinguishing protein functions between two distinct sperm morphs.
• Includes comparative homology data with two other Lepidoptera species for evolutionary analysis.

Limitations

• Dataset scope is limited to 824.6 KB, indicating a focused proteomic profile rather than a large-scale multi-omics resource.
• Sample data and column structure are unavailable, requiring users to inspect the XLSX file to understand data organization.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Melissa Plakke.

Collection Method

Proteomes characterized using high-resolution, label-free mass spectrometry.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

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