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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Observation and Quantification of Mating Behavior in the Pinewood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
Published on: December 25, 2016
Water-flea males from the netherworld
Alessandro Minelli1, Giuseppe Fusco
1Department of Biology, University of Padua, Via Ugo Bassi 58 B, I-35131 Padua, Italy. alessandro.minelli@unipd.it
Abstract:
Simple treatments with hormones could unlock the expression of complex phenotypes not known to occur in nature. Using this method, Kim et al. recently obtained males from all-female populations of water fleas. The novel characters revealed by this work can be used in taxonomic identification and phylogenetic inference. Additionally, these "resurrected" males offer insights into the conservation of traits that are not exposed to natural selection.
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