Using parthenogenetic lineages to identify advantages of sex

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_4947D018DC20
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Review (review): journal as complete as possible of one specific subject, written based on exhaustive analyses from published work.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Using parthenogenetic lineages to identify advantages of sex
Journal
Evolutionary Biology
Author(s)
Neiman M., Schwander T.
ISSN
0071-3260
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2011
Volume
38
Number
2
Pages
115-123
Language
english
Abstract
The overwhelming predominance of sexual reproduction in nature is surprising given that sex is expected to confer profound costs in terms of production of males and the breakup of beneficial allele combinations. Recognition of these theoretical costs was the inspiration for a large body of empirical research-typically focused on comparing sexual and asexual organisms, lineages, or genomes-dedicated to identifying the advantages and maintenance of sex in natural populations. Despite these efforts, why sex is so common remains unclear. Here, we argue that we can generate general insights into the advantages of sex by taking advantage of parthenogenetic taxa that differ in such characteristics as meiotic versus mitotic offspring production, ploidy level, and single versus multiple and hybrid versus non-hybrid origin. We begin by evaluating benefits that sex can confer via its effects on genetic linkage, diversity, and heterozygosity and outline how the three classes of benefits make different predictions for which type of parthenogenetic lineage would be favored over others. Next, we describe the type of parthenogenetic model system (if any) suitable for testing whether the hypothesized benefit might contribute to the maintenance of sex in natural populations, and suggest groups of organisms that fit the specifications. We conclude by discussing how empirical estimates of characteristics such as time since derivation and number of independent origins of asexual lineages from sexual ancestors, ploidy levels, and patterns of molecular evolution from representatives of these groups can be used to better understand which mechanisms maintain sex in natural populations.
Keywords
Asexuality, Parthenogenesis, Meiosis, Sexual reproduction
Web of science
Create date
04/02/2013 10:22
Last modification date
20/08/2019 13:56
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