Evolutionary and ecological implications of sexual parasitism

Sexual parasites offer unique insights into asexual and sexual reproduction. They mate with a ‘host’ whose genetic contribution is discarded either immediately (in androgenesis or gynogenesis) or after a delay of one generation (in hybridogenesis). The discarded genome can be maternal or paternal, i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2013-05, Vol.28 (5), p.297-306
Main Authors: Lehtonen, Jussi, Schmidt, Daniel J., Heubel, Katja, Kokko, Hanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Ecosystem
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Hybridization, Genetic
Reproduction - genetics
Reproduction - physiology
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Summary:Sexual parasites offer unique insights into asexual and sexual reproduction. They mate with a ‘host’ whose genetic contribution is discarded either immediately (in androgenesis or gynogenesis) or after a delay of one generation (in hybridogenesis). The discarded genome can be maternal or paternal, implying that not only females but also males can reproduce asexually. The resulting lineages are often older than ecological or evolutionary theory predicts. Sexual parasites have links to a diverse set of concepts: selfish genetic elements, degradation of clonal genomes, evolution of sex, mate-choice theory, and host–parasite dynamics. We discuss the different sexually parasitic systems in both hermaphrodites and gonochoristic organisms, emphasizing their similarities and differences in ecological and evolutionary settings.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2012.12.006