Phylogenetically Widespread Polyembryony in Cyclostome Bryozoans and the Protracted Asynchronous Release of Clonal Brood-Mates.

ABSTRACT: Polyembryony-the production of multiple cloned embryos from a single fertilised egg-is a seemingly paradoxical combination of reproductive modes that nevertheless persists in diverse taxa. We document features of polyembryony in the Cyclostomata (Bryozoa)-an ancient order of modular colonial marine invertebrates-that suggest a substantial reduction in the paradoxical nature of this enigmatic reproductive mode. Firstly, we provide molecular evidence for polyembryony in three exemplar species, supporting the widely cited inference that polyembryony characterises the entire order. Secondly, genotyping demonstrates protracted release of cloned offspring from the primary embryo in a given gonozooid (chamber for embryonic incubation), thus exposing the same genotype to changing environmental con

SUBMITTER: Jenkins HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5240946 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature