Sex is the queen of problems in evolutionary biology. Generations of researchers have investigated one of the last remaining evolutionary paradoxes: why sex exists at all. Given that sexual reproduction is costly from an evolutionary point of view, one could wonder why not all animals and plants reproduce asexually. Dozens of contemporary hypotheses attempt to explain the prevalence of sex and its advantages and predict the early extinction of fully asexual lineages.
The major theme of this book is: what is the fate of animal and plant groups in which sex is lost? Initial chapters discuss theory behind asexual life: what major disadvantages do asexual groups have to face, what are the genetic and ecological consequences and what does this theory predict for more applied aspects of asexual life, for example in agricultural pests, diseases as well as in cultural crops such as grapes. Cases studies in many animals (focusing on both invertebrates and vertebrates) and plants reveal parallel, but also singularly novel adaptations to the absence of meiosis and syngamy. And last but not least, are asexuals really doomed to early extinction or do genuine ancient asexuals exist?
This book assembles contributions from the most important research groups dealing with asexual evolution in eukaryotes. It is a milestone in research on parthenogenesis and will be useful to undergraduate as well as graduate students and to senior researchers in all fields of evolutionary biology, as the paradox of sex remains its queen of problems.
Author(s): Bengt O. Bengtsson (auth.), Isa Schön, Koen Martens, Peter Dijk (eds.)
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 615
Tags: Evolutionary Biology; Ecology; Plant Sciences; Zoology
Front Matter....Pages i-xvii
Asex and Evolution: A Very Large-Scale Overview....Pages 1-19
The Evolution of the Problem of Sex....Pages 21-46
Apomixis: Basics for Non-botanists....Pages 47-62
Cytology of Asexual Animals....Pages 63-74
A Graphical Approach to Lineage Selection Between Clonals and Sexuals....Pages 75-97
Geographical Parthenogenesis: General Purpose Genotypes and Frozen Niche Variation....Pages 99-131
Sex and the Red Queen....Pages 133-159
Geographical Parthenogenesis: Opportunities for Asexuality....Pages 161-186
The Elusive Clone – In Search of Its True Nature and Identity....Pages 187-200
Asexual Speciation....Pages 201-216
Darwinulid Ostracods: Ancient Asexual Scandals or Scandalous Gossip?....Pages 217-240
Parthenogenesis in Oribatid Mites (Acari, Oribatida): Evolution Without Sex....Pages 241-257
Bdelloid Rotifers: Progress in Understanding the Success of an Evolutionary Scandal....Pages 259-279
Sex Loss in Monogonont Rotifers....Pages 281-294
Cyclical Parthenogenesis in Daphnia : Sexual Versus Asexual Reproduction....Pages 295-316
Metasexual Stick Insects: Model Pathways to Losing Sex and Bringing It Back....Pages 317-345
Thelytoky in Hymenoptera with Venturia canescens and Leptopilina clavipes as Case Studies....Pages 347-375
Sex in Parthenogenetic Planarians: Phylogenetic Relic or Evolutionary Resurrection?....Pages 377-397
Sperm-Dependent Parthenogenesis and Hybridogenesis in Teleost Fishes....Pages 399-432
Masked Damage: Mutational Load in Hemiclonal Water Frogs....Pages 433-446
Lost Sex in the Reptiles: Constraints and Correlations....Pages 447-474
An Apomixis-Gene’s View on Dandelions....Pages 475-493
Allelic Sequence Divergence in the Apomictic Boechera holboellii Complex....Pages 495-516
Asexual Reproduction in Infectious Diseases....Pages 517-533
What’s in a Clone: The Rapid Evolution of Aphid Asexual Lineages in Relation to Geography, Host Plant Adaptation and Resistance to Pesticides....Pages 535-557
Epigenetic Mechanisms in Mammals and Their Effects on Cloning Procedures....Pages 559-579
Grapevine ( Vitis ssp.): Example of Clonal Reproduction in Agricultural Important Plants....Pages 581-598
Back Matter....Pages 599-615
