The maintenance of sex: Ronald Fisher meets the Red Queen.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sex in higher diploids carries a two-fold cost of males that should reduce its fitness relative to cloning, and result in its extinction. Instead, sex is widespread and clonal species face early obsolescence. One possible reason is that sex is an adaptation that allows organisms to respond more effectively to endless changes in their environment. The purpose of this study was to model mutation and selection in a diploid organism in an evolving environment and ascertain their support for sex.

Results

We used a computational approach to model finite populations where a haploid environment subjects a diploid host to endlessly evolving change. Evolution in both populations is primarily through adoption of novel advantageous mutations within a large allele space. Sex o

SUBMITTER: Green D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3765275 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature