Multicellularity Drives the Evolution of Sexual Traits.

ABSTRACT: From the male peacock's tail plumage to the floral displays of flowering plants, traits related to sexual reproduction are often complex and exaggerated. Why has sexual reproduction become so complicated? Why have such exaggerated sexual traits evolved? Early work posited a connection between multicellularity and sexual traits such as anisogamy (i.e., the evolution of small sperm and large eggs). Anisogamy then drives the evolution of other forms of sexual dimorphism. Yet the relationship between multicellularity and the evolution of sexual traits has not been empirically tested. Given their extensive variation in both multicellular complexity and sexual systems, the volvocine green algae offer a tractable system for understanding the interrelationship of multicellular complexity and sex.

SUBMITTER: Hanschen ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685534 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature