Sexual reproduction as an adaptation to resist parasites (a review).

Hamilton, W. D.; Axelrod, Robert; Tanese, Reiko

doi:10.1073/pnas.87.9.3566

Cited by 1,152 publications

(973 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…Variability in immune-system defenses-achieved through sexual reproduction and mutation-is needed to avoid the rapidly evolving evasion mechanisms in the parasite. Variable defenses, in turn, create pressures for the coevolution of the parasites' evasion mechanisms (e.g., Hamilton, Axelrod, & Tanese, 1990). For coevolving features of predator-prey relationships and social competition, variability is more likely to be at the behavioral level and at the level of supporting brain and cognitive systems.…”

Section: Ecological Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain and cognitive evolution: Forms of modularity and functions of mind.

Geary¹,

Huffman²

2002

Psychological Bulletin

207

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Genetic and neurobiological research is reviewed as related to controversy over the extent to which neocortical organization and associated cognitive functions are genetically constrained or emerge through patterns of developmental experience. An evolutionary framework that accommodates genetic constraint and experiential modification of brain organization and cognitive function is then proposed. The authors argue that 4 forms of modularity and 3 forms of neural and cognitive plasticity define the relation between genetic constraint and the influence of developmental experience. For humans, the result is the ontogenetic emergence of functional modules in the domains of folk psychology, folk biology, and folk physics. The authors present a taxonomy of these modules and review associated research relating to brain and cognitive plasticity in these domains.For several millennia, scholars have debated whether human traits largely result from our biological nature or are a reflection of nurture, specifically our developmental experiences. The debate continues to this day and has recently pervaded the cognitive neurosciences, at least with respect to theoretical models of brain and cognitive evolution (Elman et al

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Section: Ecological Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain and cognitive evolution: Forms of modularity and functions of mind.

Geary¹,

Huffman²

2002

Psychological Bulletin

207

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“…The theoretical advantages to outcrossing in facilitating adaptive evolution (Fisher, 1930;Muller, 1932;Hamilton et al, 1990) and in eliminating deleterious mutations (Muller, 1964 ;Felsenstein, 1974 ;Kondrashov, 1988 ;Charlesworth, 1990 ;Gabriel et al, 1993) form enticing hypotheses for male persistence in this species, but other possibilities -namely the notion that malespecific genes and loci that influence X non-disjunction might act as selfish genetic elements -must be excluded before this may be considered definitive. Clearly, dissection of the evolutionary forces responsible for the persistence of males in populations of C. elegans and other androdioecious nematodes remains a topic requiring further inquiry.…”

Section: (I) Experimental Verification Of the Sex Ratio Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

The proximate determinants of sex ratio in C. elegans populations

2003

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SummaryThe soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an example of a species in which self-fertilizing hermaphrodites predominate, but functional males continue to persist -allowing outcrossing to persevere at low levels. Hermaphrodites can produce male progeny as a consequence of sex chromosome non-disjunction or via outcrossing with males. Consequently, the genetics of sex determination coupled with the efficiency by which males find, inseminate and obtain fertilizations with hermaphrodites will influence the frequency at which males and outcrossing occurs in such populations. Behavioural and physiological traits with a heritable basis, as well as ecological characters, may influence male reproductive success and therefore sex ratio. Because sex ratio is tied to male reproductive success, sex ratio greatly affects outcrossing rates, patterns of genetic variation, and the ability of natural selection to act within populations. In this paper we explore the determinants of male frequency in C. elegans with a mathematical model and experimental data. We address the role of the genetic machinery of sex determination via sex chromosome non-disjunction on sex ratio and the influence of physiological components of C. elegans ' life history that contribute to variation in sex ratio by way of male reproductive success. Finally, we discuss the short-term and long-term factors that are likely to affect sex ratio and breeding system evolution in species like C. elegans.

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“…Because hosts with rare MHC alleles have the highest fitness, the frequency of rare MHC alleles will increase, and common MHC alleles will become less frequent, resulting in a dynamic polymorphism (Snell 1968;Bodmer 1972;Beck 1984;Slade and McCallum 1992). By coevolution, hosts become a "moving target" for parasites (Penn and Potts 1999), an argument that has also been used to explain the evolution of sexual reproduction (Hamilton et al 1990). Recent studies of a snail infected by a trematode parasite provide support for host-pathogen coevolution, by demonstrating that the parasite adapts to be most virulent in the dominant host genotype (Dybdahl and Lively 1998;Lively and Dybdahl 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MHC polymorphism under host-pathogen coevolution

2004

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The genes encoding major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules are among the most polymorphic genes known for vertebrates. Since MHC molecules play an important role in the induction of immune responses, the evolution of MHC polymorphism is often explained in terms of increased protection of hosts against pathogens. Two selective pressures that are thought to be involved are (1) selection favoring MHC heterozygous hosts, and (2) selection for rare MHC alleles by host-pathogen coevolution. We have developed a computer simulation of coevolving hosts and pathogens to study the relative impact of these two mechanisms on the evolution of MHC polymorphism. We found that heterozygote advantage per se is insufficient to explain the high degree of polymorphism at the MHC, even in very large host populations. Host-pathogen coevolution, on the other hand, can easily account for realistic polymorphisms of more than 50 alleles per MHC locus. Since evolving pathogens mainly evade presentation by the most common MHC alleles in the host population, they provide a selective pressure for a large variety of rare MHC alleles. Provided that the host population is sufficiently large, a large set of MHC alleles can persist over many host generations under hostpathogen coevolution, despite the fact that allele frequencies continuously change.

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Sexual reproduction as an adaptation to resist parasites (a review).

Cited by 1,152 publications

References 83 publications

Brain and cognitive evolution: Forms of modularity and functions of mind.

Brain and cognitive evolution: Forms of modularity and functions of mind.

The proximate determinants of sex ratio in C. elegans populations

MHC polymorphism under host-pathogen coevolution

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