Two decades ago, von Schantz et al. (von Schantz T, Bensch S, Grahn M, Hasselquist D, Wittzell H. 1999 Good genes, oxidative stress and condition-dependent sexual signals. Proc. R. Soc. B 266, 1–12. (doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0597)) united oxidative stress (OS) biology with sexual selection and life-history theory. This set the scene for analysis of how evolutionary trade-offs may be mediated by the increase in reactive molecules resulting from metabolic processes at reproduction. Despite 30 years of research on OS effects on infertility in humans, one research area that has been left behind in this integration of evolution and OS biology is postcopulatory sexual selection—this integration is long overdue. We review the basic mechanisms in OS biology, why mitochondria are the primary source of ROS and ATP production during oxidative metabolism, and why sperm, and its performance, is uniquely susceptible to OS. We also review how postcopulatory processes select for antioxidation in seminal fluids to counter OS and the implications of the net outcome of these processes on sperm damage, sperm storage, and female and oocyte manipulation of sperm metabolism and repair of DNA to enhance offspring fitness.

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

二十年前，von Schantz等人。(von Schantz T, Bensch S, Grahn M, Hasselquist D, Wittzell H. 1999 好基因、氧化应激和条件依赖性性信号。Proc . R. Soc. B266, 1-12。(doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0597)) 将氧化应激 (OS) 生物学与性选择和生活史理论结合起来。这为分析进化权衡如何通过繁殖时代谢过程产生的反应性分子的增加进行介导奠定了基础。尽管对 OS 对人类不孕症的影响进行了 30 年的研究，但在进化和 OS 生物学的这种整合中落后的一个研究领域是交配后的性选择——这种整合早就应该进行了。我们回顾了 OS 生物学的基本机制，为什么线粒体是氧化代谢过程中 ROS 和 ATP 产生的主要来源，以及为什么精子及其性能对 OS 非常敏感。

本文是“精子竞赛五十年”主题刊的一部分。