Abstract

About eight million animal species are estimated to live on Earth, and all except those belonging to one subphylum are invertebrates. Invertebrates are incredibly diverse in their morphologies, life histories, and in the range of the ecological niches that they occupy. A great variety of modes of reproduction and sex determination systems is also observed among them, and their mosaic-distribution across the phylogeny shows that transitions between them occur frequently and rapidly. Genetic conflict in its various forms is a long-standing theory to explain what drives those evolutionary transitions. Here, we review (1) the different modes of reproduction among invertebrate species, highlighting sexual reproduction as the probable ancestral state; (2) the paradoxical diversity of sex determination systems; (3) the different types of genetic conflicts that could drive the evolution of such different systems.

Highlights

  • About eight million animal species are estimated to live on Earth, and all except those belonging to one subphylum are invertebrates

  • The two kinds of gametes required for sexual reproduction are produced through meiosis, (1) allowing for recombination of the parental genomes to produce new combinations of genetic material, which is thought to underlie the success of sex in eukaryotes [6]; (2) reducing the diploid genome to a haploid set, with diploidy being restored through the fusion of gametes after fertilization

  • The existence of these various reproductive modes raises important questions, such as: if sex facilitates adaptation, why do so many lineages reproduce asexually? Do the mechanisms underlying asexual reproduction matter to their evolutionary dynamics? If hermaphrodites have the benefits of sex at a lower cost, why are species with separate sexes so widespread? we discuss the distribution of reproductive modes among invertebrate species, and its implications for some of these questions

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Summary

Reproductive Modes

Reproduction consists of the vertical transmission of genetic material from parent(s) to the generation. The two kinds of gametes required for sexual reproduction are produced through meiosis, (1) allowing for recombination of the parental genomes to produce new combinations of genetic material, which is thought to underlie the success of sex in eukaryotes [6]; (2) reducing the diploid genome to a haploid set, with diploidy being restored through the fusion of gametes after fertilization. Male and female gametes can be produced by the same individual (simultaneously or successively) in hermaphroditic species, or by two separate sexes in gonochoric species. The existence of these various reproductive modes raises important questions, such as: if sex facilitates adaptation, why do so many lineages reproduce asexually? The existence of these various reproductive modes raises important questions, such as: if sex facilitates adaptation, why do so many lineages reproduce asexually? Do the mechanisms underlying asexual reproduction matter to their evolutionary dynamics? If hermaphrodites have the benefits of sex at a lower cost (such as the need to find a mate of the opposite sex), why are species with separate sexes so widespread? we discuss the distribution of reproductive modes among invertebrate species, and its implications for some of these questions

The Diversity of Reproductive Modes in Invertebrates
Coexistence of Sexual and Asexual Mechanisms within the Same Species
Some Modes of Parthenogenesis Maintain Diversity without Sex
Fertilization without Genetic Exchange
Sexual Reproduction
Meiosis and Fertilization Genes in Eukaryotes
Dmrt Genes in All Animals
Mechanisms and Timing of Sex Determination
Sex Chromosomes
Haplodiploidy
Sequential Hermaphrodites
Intracellular Parasites Can Highjack Sex Determination
Cytonuclear Conflict Can Promote the Switch to Asexuality
Genetic Conflicts Over Parental Transmission Driving Hermaphroditism
Hypotheses for the Establishment of Haplodiploidy
Genetic Conflict and Sex Chromosome Turnover
Future Directions
Conclusions
Definitions in Alphabetical Order
Findings
Acronyms for Molecular Players of the Sex Determination Cascade

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