Not so clonal asexuals: Unraveling the secret sex life of Artemia parthenogenetica.

ABSTRACT: The maintenance of sex is paradoxical as sexual species pay the "twofold cost of males" and should thus quickly be replaced by asexual mutants reproducing clonally. However, asexuals may not be strictly clonal and engage in "cryptic sex," challenging this simple scenario. We study the cryptic sex life of the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica, which has once been termed an "ancient asexual" and where no genetic differences have ever been observed between parents and offspring. This asexual species rarely produces males, which can hybridize with sexual females of closely related species and transmit asexuality to their offspring. Using such hybrids, we show that recombination occurs in asexual lineages, causing loss-of-heterozygosity and parent-offspring differences. These differe

SUBMITTER: Boyer L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8045904 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature