Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026
10:50
Rearing and Long-Term Maintenance of Eristalis tenax Hoverflies for Research Studies
Published on: May 19, 2018
Losing the desire: selection can promote obligate asexuality
Kayla C King1, Gregory D D Hurst
1Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. kingkc@umail.iu.edu
BMC Biology
|August 7, 2010
Summary
A new model suggests endosymbiont infection can drive the evolution of obligate asexuality from sexual reproduction. This provides a potential pathway for the sex-asex transition in various animal lineages.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Reproductive Strategies
Background:
- Parthenogenesis, or asexual reproduction, has evolved numerous times across diverse animal groups.
- The evolutionary drivers and consequences of the transition from sexual to asexual reproduction are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a potential mechanism driving the evolution of obligate asexuality.
- To explore the role of endosymbiont infection in the sex-asex transition.
Main Methods:
- Development of a theoretical model.
- Analysis of evolutionary pathways for reproductive strategies.
Main Results:
- The model demonstrates a pathway where endosymbiont infection can lead to selection for obligate asexuality.
- This mechanism offers a plausible explanation for the repeated evolution of asexuality.
Conclusions:
- Endosymbiont infection is a potential key factor in the evolution of obligate parthenogenesis.
- Further research can explore empirical evidence for this proposed pathway.
Related Concept Videos
01:06Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...
01:46Types of Selection
Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
01:20Mate Choice
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
02:12Relationship Formation
What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...
01:23Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...