Turnover in local parasite populations temporarily favors host outcrossing over self-fertilization during experimental evolution.

ABSTRACT: The ubiquity of outcrossing in plants and animals is difficult to explain given its costs relative to self-fertilization. Despite these costs, exposure to changing environmental conditions can temporarily favor outcrossing over selfing. Therefore, recurring episodes of environmental change are predicted to favor the maintenance of outcrossing. Studies of host-parasite coevolution have provided strong support for this hypothesis. However, it is unclear whether multiple exposures to novel parasite genotypes in the absence of coevolution are sufficient to favor outcrossing. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the bacterial parasite Serratia marcescens, we studied host responses to parasite turnover. We passaged several replicates of a host population that was well-adap

SUBMITTER: Lynch ZR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6053587 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature