No Mate, No Problem: Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Parthenogenesis in the Cosmopolitan Earthworm Aporrectodea trapezoides (Annelida, Clitellata).

ABSTRACT: Approximately, 40% of earthworm species can reproduce by parthenogenesis. This is the case for the cosmopolitan species, Aporrectodea trapezoides, although sexual forms have been described sporadically. We analyse the genotypes and microbiomes of 30 individuals from four localities where both forms appear in order to understand the evolutionary mechanisms related to parthenogenesis. In all sites, heterozygosity values were approximately 30% higher in parthenogenetic individuals. However, we detected a stronger genomic structuring due to reproduction than to the geographical setting only in the Algerian population, underpinned by 195 loci that were related to gametogenesis, symbiont-like processes, and nitrate reduction. Similarly, statistical differences in the abundance of ZOTUs were only

SUBMITTER: de Sosa I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12329633 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature