Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Why sex and recombination?

N H Barton1, B Charlesworth

  • 1Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK. n.barton@ed.ac.uk charlesworth@ed.ac.uk.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 25, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Sexual reproduction persists in most organisms despite asexual advantages. Genetic recombination, facilitated by sex, enhances natural selection efficiency by resolving negative genetic correlations, a key factor in its evolutionary maintenance.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Unravelling coastal plastic pollution dynamics along southeastern Australia: Insights from oceanographic modelling informed by empirical data.

Marine pollution bulletin·2025
Same author

Establishment in a new habitat by polygenic adaptation.

Theoretical population biology·2017
Same author

The infinitesimal model: Definition, derivation, and implications.

Theoretical population biology·2017
Same author

A CHROMOSOMAL CLINE IN THE GRASSHOPPER PODISMA PEDESTRIS.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
Same author

THE PROBABILITY OF PEAK SHIFTS IN A FOUNDER POPULATION. II. AN ADDITIVE POLYGENIC TRAIT.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
Same author

HABITAT PREFERENCE IN THE BOMBINA HYBRID ZONE IN CROATIA.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Reproductive strategies

Background:

  • Asexual reproduction offers an inherent reproductive advantage over sexual reproduction.
  • Despite this, most higher organisms reproduce sexually, suggesting strong selective pressures favor sexuality.
  • The evolutionary maintenance of sex and genetic recombination remains a significant question in biology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the selective forces favoring sexual reproduction and genetic recombination.
  • To explore the theoretical underpinnings of how sex and recombination enhance natural selection.
  • To discuss the empirical challenges in distinguishing between theoretical models.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of genetic recombination and natural selection.
  • Review of existing literature on the evolution of sex.
  • Discussion of empirical challenges in evolutionary genetics.

Main Results:

  • Sexual reproduction and genetic recombination break down negative correlations between beneficial genetic variants at different loci.
  • This process increases the efficiency of natural selection, providing a significant advantage.
  • This mechanism is a likely major factor favoring the evolution and maintenance of sex.

Conclusions:

  • The efficiency of natural selection, boosted by sex and recombination, is a primary driver for the prevalence of sexual reproduction.
  • While theoretical models exist, empirical validation remains challenging.
  • Further research is needed to empirically discriminate between theoretical explanations for the evolution of sex.

Related Experiment Videos