Evolution Of Asexual Reproduction Research Articles

Evolutionary Dynamics and Consequences of Parthenogenesis in Vertebrates

Parthenogenesis is asexual reproduction without any required participation from males and, as such, is a null model for sexual reproduction. In a comparative context, we can expand our understanding of the evolution and ecology of sex by investigating the consequences of parthenogenesis. In this review, we examine the theoretical predictions of and empirical results on the evolution of asexual reproduction in vertebrates, focusing on recent studies addressing the origins and geographic spread of parthenogenetic lineages and the genomic consequences of an asexual life history. With advances in computational methods and genome technologies, researchers are poised to make rapid and significant progress in studying the origin and evolution of parthenogenesis in vertebrates, thus providing an important perspective on understanding biodiversity patterns of both asexual and sexual populations.

Evolutionary conservation of the placodal transcriptional network during sexual and asexual development in chordates

An important question behind vertebrate evolution is whether the cranial placodes originated de novo, or if their precursors were present in the ancestor of chordates. In this respect, tunicates are of particular interest as they are considered the closest relatives to vertebrates. They are also the only chordate group possessing species that reproduce both sexually and asexually, allowing both types of development to be studied to address whether embryonic pathways have been co-opted during budding to build the same structures. We studied the expression of members of the transcriptional network associated with vertebrate placodal formation (Six, Eya, and FoxI) in the colonial tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. During both sexual and asexual development, each transcript is expressed in branchial fissures and in two discrete regions proposed to be homologues to groups of vertebrate placodes. Results reinforce the idea that placode origin predates the origin of vertebrates and that the molecular network involving these genes was co-opted in the evolution of asexual reproduction. Considering that gill slit formation in deuterostomes is based on similar expression patterns, we discuss possible alternative evolutionary scenarios depicting gene co-option as critical step in placode and pharynx evolution.

Radical modification of the A–P axis and the evolution of asexual reproduction in Convolutriloba acoels

Acoel worms in the genus Convolutriloba are remarkable in that closely related, morphologically very similar species reproduce asexually by dramatically different processes. Transverse fission, longitudinal fission, and reversed-polarity budding all occur within this genus, indicating an unparalleled ability to alter the A-P axis. Convolutriloba thus offers an exceptional opportunity to investigate the development and evolution of asexual reproduction. Molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that reversed-polarity budding is ancestral and fission is derived for the genus. A clear difference between budding and fission is indicated by the development of the nervous system, which forms de novo during budding, but regenerates largely by extensions of remaining components of the nervous system during both types of fission. Despite this and other differences between fission and budding, localized muscle disorganization coupled with behaviorally mediated tearing are characteristic of both transverse fission and reversed-polarity budding (though not longitudinal fission), suggesting that a homologous tissue-separation mechanism underlies these two outwardly quite different asexual reproductive modes. We suggest that the ability to split the posterior axis field into two adjacent fields, manifested during both reversed-polarity budding and longitudinal fission, may have been a driving force behind the diversification of asexual reproductive mode in this group.

DEVELOPMENTAL SUCCESS, STABILITY, AND PLASTICITY IN CLOSELY RELATED PARTHENOGENETIC AND SEXUAL LIZARDS (HETERONOTIA, GEKKONIDAE)

The developmental trajectory of an organism is influenced by the interaction between its genes and the environment in which it develops. For example, the phenotypic traits of a hatchling reptile can be influenced by the organism's genotype, by incubation temperature, and by genetically coded norms of reaction for thermally labile traits. The evolution of parthenogenesis provides a unique opportunity to explore such effects: a hybrid origin of this trait in vertebrates modifies important aspects of the genotype (e.g., heterozygosity, polyploidy) and may thus impact not only on the phenotype generally, but also on the ways in which incubation temperature affects expression of the phenotype. The scarcity of vertebrate parthenogenesis has been attributed to developmental disruptions, but previous work has rarely considered reaction norms of embryogenesis in this respect. We used closely related sexual and asexual races of the Australian gecko Heteronotia binoei, which include those with multiple origins of parthenogenesis, to explore the ways in which reproductive modes (sexual, asexual), incubation temperatures (24, 27, and 30°C), and the interaction between these factors affected hatchling phenotypes. The hatchling traits we considered included incubation period, incidence of deformities, hatchling survivorship, body size and shape, scalation (including fluctuating asymmetry), locomotor performance, and growth rate. Developmental success was slightly reduced (higher proportion of abnormal offspring) in parthenogenetic lineages although there was no major difference in hatching success. Incubation temperature affected a suite of traits including incubation period, tail length, body mass relative to egg mass, labial scale counts, running speed, growth rate, and hatchling survival. Our data also reveal an interaction between reproductive modes and thermal regimes, with the phenotypic traits of parthenogenetic lizards less sensitive to incubation temperature than was the case for their sexual relatives. Thus, the evolution of asexual reproduction in this species complex has modified both mean hatchling viability and the norms of reaction linking hatchling phenotypes to incubation temperature. Discussions on the reasons why parthenogenetic organisms are scarce in nature should take into account interactive effects such as these; future work could usefully try to tease apart the roles of parthenogenesis, its hybrid origin (and thus effects on ploidy and heterozygosity, etc.), and clonal selection in generating these divergent embryonic responses.

Deleterious Mutations and the Evolution of Male Haploidy

Previous articleNext article No AccessNotes and CommentsDeleterious Mutations and the Evolution of Male HaploidyDavid B. GoldsteinDavid B. Goldstein Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 144, Number 1Jul., 1994 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/285668 Views: 7Total views on this site Citations: 19Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1994 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Laura Ross, Nicholas G. Davies, Andy Gardner How to make a haploid male, Evolution Letters 3, no.22 (Mar 2019): 173–184.https://doi.org/10.1002/evl3.107Kenji Matsuura, Joel D. Levine, Daniel J. C. Kronauer, Michael H. Dickinson Evolution of the asexual queen succession system and its underlying mechanisms in termites, Journal of Experimental Biology 220, no.11 (Jan 2017): 63–72.https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.142547Yuuki Kawasaki, Hannes Schuler, Christian Stauffer, Ferenc Lakatos, Hisashi Kajimura Wolbachia endosymbionts in haplodiploid and diploid scolytine beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), Environmental Microbiology Reports 8, no.55 (Jul 2016): 680–688.https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12425J. Kidner, R. F. A. Moritz Conditions for the invasion of male-haploidy in diploid populations, Journal of Evolutionary Biology 29, no.99 (Jul 2016): 1804–1811.https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.12912Heath Blackmon, Nate B. Hardy, Laura Ross The evolutionary dynamics of haplodiploidy: Genome architecture and haploid viability, Evolution 69, no.1111 (Nov 2015): 2971–2978.https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12792Gang-Hua Li, Long Liu, Chao-Liang Lei, Qiu-Ying Huang A trade-off between antipredatory behavior and pairing competition produced by male-male tandem running in three Reticulitermes species, Insect Science 22, no.44 (Nov 2014): 560–568.https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12150Simone Immler and Sarah Perin Otto Driven Apart: The Evolution of Ploidy Differences between the Sexes under Antagonistic Selection., The American Naturalist 183, no.11 (Jul 2015): 96–107.https://doi.org/10.1086/674025Kenji Matsuura Sexual and Asexual Reproduction in Termites, (Sep 2010): 255–277.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3977-4_10B. KUIJPER, I. PEN The evolution of haplodiploidy by male-killing endosymbionts: importance of population structure and endosymbiont mutualisms, Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23, no.11 (Jan 2010): 40–52.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01854.xJan Engelstädter Constraints on the evolution of asexual reproduction, BioEssays 30, no.11-1211-12 (Nov 2008): 1138–1150.https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.20833George E. Heimpel, Jetske G. de Boer Sex Determination in the Hymenoptera, Annual Review of Entomology 53, no.11 (Jan 2008): 209–230.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.53.103106.093441Benjamin B. Normark PERSPECTIVE: MATERNAL KIN GROUPS AND THE ORIGINS OF ASYMMETRIC GENETIC SYSTEMS?GENOMIC IMPRINTING, HAPLODIPLOIDY, AND PARTHENOGENESIS, Evolution 60, no.44 (Apr 2006): 631–642.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2006.tb01145.xBenjamin B. Normark PERSPECTIVE: MATERNAL KIN GROUPS AND THE ORIGINS OF ASYMMETRIC GENETIC SYSTEMS—GENOMIC IMPRINTING, HAPLODIPLOIDY, AND PARTHENOGENESIS, Evolution 60, no.44 (Jan 2006): 631.https://doi.org/10.1554/05-546.1Patsy Haccou, Maria Victoria Schneider Modes of Reproduction and the Accumulation of Deleterious Mutations With Multiplicative Fitness Effects, Genetics 166, no.22 (Mar 2004): 1093–1104.https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.166.2.1093Patsy Haccou, Maria Victoria Schneider Modes of Reproduction and the Accumulation of Deleterious Mutations With Multiplicative Fitness Effects, Genetics 166, no.22 (Feb 2004): 1093–1104.https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/166.2.1093Benjamin B. Normark HAPLODIPLOIDY AS AN OUTCOME OF COEVOLUTION BETWEEN MALE-KILLING CYTOPLASMIC ELEMENTS AND THEIR HOSTS, Evolution 58, no.44 (Jan 2004): 790.https://doi.org/10.1554/03-338Nick G C Smith The evolution of haplodiploidy under inbreeding, Heredity 84, no.22 (Feb 2000): 186–192.https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2540.2000.00643.xAlexey S. Kondrashov Evolutionary Genetics of Life Cycles, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 28, no.11 (Nov 1997): 391–435.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.391Sarah Perin Otto, Jane Claire Marks Mating systems and the evolutionary transition between haploidy and diploidy, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 57, no.33 (Jan 2008): 197–218.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1996.tb00309.x

Reviews.

Book Reviewed in this article: Carbon Partitioning within and between Organisms. Ed. by C.J. Pollock, J. F. Farrar & A. J. Gordon. Mycorrhizas in Ecosystems. Ed. by D. J. Read, D. H. Lewis, A. H. Fitter & I. J. Alexander. Methods in Comparative Ecology: a Laboratory Manual. Ed by G. A. F. Hendry & J. P. Grime. Climate Modes of the Phanerozoic. By L. A. Frakes, J. E. Francis & J. A. Syktus. The Evolution of Asexual Reproduction in Plants. By M. Mogie.