Hybridization, glaciation and geographical parthenogenesis

Kearney, Michael R.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.06.005

Cited by 303 publications

(370 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In order to assess the explanatory power of adaptive hypotheses concerning the distribution of parthenogenesis, it is important to first consider expectations under a neutral model that does not resort to benefits or costs of asexuality per se, but to spatially varying probabilities of appearance [3,13] or persistence [8,19] of new asexual lineages. The environments where asexual lineages originate could offer elements of explanation for their current distribution, if the probability of transition from sexuality to asexuality varies spatially.…”

Section: Explanations For the Main Patterns Of Geographic Parthenogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only those asexuals that happened to colonize them (by chance, as under the neutral model they are not better colonizers per se) remain observable today. Boundaries could then get stabilized by evolution of reproductive barriers, or a lethal hybrid zone equally detrimental to sexuals as asexuals [8,19,79].…”

Section: Explanations For the Main Patterns Of Geographic Parthenogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because most asexual species featured in the geographic parthenogenesis literature are both hybrid and polyploid, disentangling these effects is tricky. This triggered a debate that appears to have ended without a resolution, in the absence of any clearer way to cut than a few available counter-examples in both camps [8,86,87]. Of course, there is no reason why the two hypotheses should be mutually exclusive (while it remains a valid question which of these might be the stronger driving force).…”

Section: (B) Models In Which Correlates Of Parthenogenesis Rather Thamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geographic parthenogenesis literature has clear 'favourite taxa': temperate angiosperms with distributions in Europe and northern America, lizards [27] and Coleoptera [141]. Reviews can be found on plants and animals in [8], on angiosperms in [140], on arthropods in [17]. Expanding the discussion to other groups is crucial to determine if asexuality affects distribution patterns universally and in a consistent fashion (a best-case scenario, because then geographic parthenogenesis could give the crucial clue to the mystery of the persistence of sex as a whole), or if recurring geographic patterns are merely a quirky phenomenon restrained to a few groups.…”

Section: (A) Better Documentation Of the Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modern introductions to the phenomenon of geographic parthenogenesis often focus on a co-occurrence of three patterns [3,4]: first, parthenogens tend to have a wider distribution than their sexual counterparts [3]; second, they tend to occupy higher latitudes (mostly studied in the Northern Hemisphere [5]; but see [6,7]) and third, they tend to occur in higher altitudes [8]. In addition to the above-mentioned broad patterns, a disproportionate occurrence of parthenogens in arid habitats compared with their sexual counterparts (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What does the geography of parthenogenesis teach us about sex?

Tilquin

Kokko

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 15 to a theme issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'. Theory predicts that sexual reproduction is difficult to maintain if asexuality is an option, yet sex is very common. To understand why, it is important to pay attention to repeatably occurring conditions that favour transitions to, or persistence of, asexuality. Geographic parthenogenesis is a term that has been applied to describe a large variety of patterns where sexual and related asexual forms differ in their geographic distribution. Often asexuality is stated to occur in a habitat that is, in some sense, marginal, but the interpretation differs across studies: parthenogens might not only predominate near the margin of the sexuals' distribution, but might also extend far beyond the sexual range; they may be disproportionately found in newly colonizable areas (e.g. areas previously glaciated), or in habitats where abiotic selection pressures are relatively stronger than biotic ones (e.g. cold, dry). Here, we review the various patterns proposed in the literature, the hypotheses put forward to explain them, and the assumptions they rely on. Surprisingly, few mathematical models consider geographic parthenogenesis as their focal question, but all models for the evolution of sex could be evaluated in this framework if the (often ecological) causal factors vary predictably with geography. We also recommend broadening the taxa studied beyond the traditional favourites.This article is part of the themed issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'.

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Section: Explanations For the Main Patterns Of Geographic Parthenogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Explanations For the Main Patterns Of Geographic Parthenogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (B) Models In Which Correlates Of Parthenogenesis Rather Thamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (A) Better Documentation Of the Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What does the geography of parthenogenesis teach us about sex?

Tilquin

Kokko

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Sex: Advantage

Neiman¹,

Jokela²

2010

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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One of the most important unanswered questions in evolutionary biology is why sexual reproduction is so common. In theory, sex is so costly that individuals that reproduce sexually should be at a major disadvantage relative to asexually reproducing competitors. This leads to the expectation that sex should lose in competition with asexual reproduction and thus be rare in nature, which is in striking contrast to its widespread occurrence. It is this profound disconnect between theory and reality that has motivated decades of research into potential advantages of sexual reproduction. While much progress has come from these efforts, why sex predominates is still unclear. It is likely that part of the answer is linked to an advantage of sex under pressure from coevolving parasites. Other important processes may be more efficient clearance of deleterious mutations and other costs associated with asexuality that are not direct consequences of the lack of recombination. Key Concepts: The fundamental difference between sexual and asexual reproduction is that sex produces offspring that have both unique combinations of alleles and different combinations of alleles than their parents and their siblings. In theory, sex should be rare because it breaks up allele combinations that have proven to work well together and because sexual females waste resources on son production. The predominance of sex in nature indicates that production of genetically distinct offspring must also generate profound benefits. Comparing the geographic distribution of sexual and asexual populations can provide insights into the advantages and disadvantages of sex. The most direct and powerful way to study sex is to compare coexisting sexual and asexual females that are phylogenetically close relatives and ecologically very similar with the exception of their reproductive mode. Likely direct benefits of sex include evasion of biological enemies and clearance of harmful mutations. The transition to asexuality may lower the fitness of asexual phenotypes and thus the cost of sex, in which case the maintenance of sex is easier to explain.

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Sex: Advantage

Paczesniak

Neiman

Jokela

2021

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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One of the important unanswered questions in evolutionary biology is why sexual reproduction is so common. In theory, sex is so costly that individuals that reproduce sexually should be at a major disadvantage relative to asexually reproducing competitors. This leads to the expectation that sex should lose in competition with asexual reproduction and thus be rare in nature, which is in striking contrast to its widespread occurrence. This profound disconnect between theory and reality has motivated decades of research into potential advantages of sexual reproduction. While much progress has come from these efforts, why sex predominates is still unclear. It is likely that part of the answer is linked to an advantage of sex under pressure from coevolving parasites. Other important processes may be increased rate of adaptation, more efficient clearance of deleterious mutations and other costs associated with asexuality that are not direct consequences of the lack of recombination. Key Concepts The fundamental difference between sexual and asexual reproduction is that sex produces offspring that due to recombination differ from their siblings and their parents by having both unique and different combinations of alleles in their genome. In theory, sex should be rare because it breaks up allele combinations that have proven to work well together and because sexual females waste resources on production of sons that do not directly contribute to population growth. The predominance of sex in nature indicates that production of genetically distinct offspring must also generate profound benefits. Comparing the geographic distribution of sexual and asexual populations can provide insights into the advantages and disadvantages of sex. The most direct and powerful way to study sex is to compare coexisting sexual and asexual females that are phylogenetically close relatives and ecologically very similar apart from their reproductive mode. Benefits of sex likely include increased rate of adaptation, clearance of harmful mutations and potential advantages of genetic diversity with respect to the evasion of biological enemies. The transition to asexuality may lower the fitness of asexual phenotypes and thus the cost of sex, in which case the maintenance of sex is easier to explain.

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Hybridization, glaciation and geographical parthenogenesis

Cited by 303 publications

References 57 publications

What does the geography of parthenogenesis teach us about sex?

What does the geography of parthenogenesis teach us about sex?

Sex: Advantage

Sex: Advantage

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