Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are diverse and near ubiquitous in Eukaryotes and can be potent drivers of evolution. Here, we discuss SGEs that specifically act on sperm to gain a transmission advantage to the next generation. The diverse SGEs that affect sperm often impose costs on carrier males, including damaging ejaculates, skewing offspring sex ratios and in particular reducing sperm-competitive success of SGE-carrying males. How males and females tolerate and mitigate against these costs is a dynamic and expanding area of research. The intense intra-genomic conflict that these selfish elements generate could also have implications for male fertility and spermatogenesis more widely.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Fifty years of sperm competition’.

自私遗传元件（SGE）在真核生物中多种多样且几乎无处不在，可以成为进化的强大驱动力。在这里，我们讨论专门作用于精子以获得下一代遗传优势的 SGE。影响精子的多种 SGE 常常会给携带 SGE 的雄性带来成本，包括损害射精、扭曲后代性别比例，特别是降低携带 SGE 的雄性的精子竞争成功率。男性和女性如何容忍和减轻这些成本是一个动态且不断扩大的研究领域。这些自私因素产生的激烈的基因组内冲突也可能对男性生育能力和精子发生产生更广泛的影响。

本文是“精子竞争五十年”主题的一部分。