scholarly journals Role of demographic stochasticity in a speciation model with sexual reproduction

2016 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis F. Lafuerza ◽  
Alan J. McKane
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Demographic Stochasticity ◽  
Speciation Model

Temperature modulation of photoperiodism and the timing of late-season changes in life history for an aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum

2011 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A.H. Smith ◽  
P.A. MacKay ◽  
R.J. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Temperature Modulation ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
Aphid Clone ◽  
Photoperiodic Responses

AbstractWhere winters are severe, aphids reproduce parthenogenetically and viviparously in summer, switch to sexual reproduction in late summer, and produce winter-hardy eggs by the end of the season. The role of day length and temperature in initiating seasonal changes from parthenogenetic to sexual reproduction by pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), are described and the selection pressures that affect the timing of this transition are investigated. Over four seasons, a pea aphid clone was sampled from field cages through late summer in southern Manitoba, Canada, and reared in the laboratory to determine the phenotypes of progeny produced as the season progressed. The timing of transitions from one phenotype to another under natural day length and temperature, and the critical day lengths that caused the transitions, coincided with expectations from laboratory studies of photoperiodic responses. Males and mating females appeared later when the weather in August was warm than when it was cool. The timing of seasonal changes was adapted to minimize the physiological time to the end of the season, which maximized the number of asexual summer generations. Ambient temperature modulated the response to day length and fine-tuned the timing of sexual reproduction to adapt for annual variation in autumn weather.

scholarly journals Genomic and Population Analyses of the Mating Type Loci in Coccidioides Species Reveal Evidence for Sexual Reproduction and Gene Acquisition

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1189-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alejandra Mandel ◽  
Bridget M. Barker ◽  
Scott Kroken ◽  
Steven D. Rounsley ◽  
Marc J. Orbach
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Coccidioides Immitis ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Valley Fever ◽  
Population Analyses ◽  
Gene Acquisition ◽  
Close Proximity

ABSTRACT Coccidioides species, the fungi responsible for the valley fever disease, are known to reproduce asexually through the production of arthroconidia that are the infectious propagules. The possible role of sexual reproduction in the survival and dispersal of these pathogens is unexplored. To determine the potential for mating of Coccidioides, we analyzed genome sequences and identified mating type loci characteristic of heterothallic ascomycetes. Coccidioides strains contain either a MAT1-1 or a MAT1-2 idiomorph, which is 8.1 or 9 kb in length, respectively, the longest reported for any ascomycete species. These idiomorphs contain four or five genes, respectively, more than are present in the MAT loci of most ascomycetes. Along with their cDNA structures, we determined that all genes in the MAT loci are transcribed. Two genes frequently found in common sequences flanking MAT idiomorphs, APN2 and COX13, are within the MAT loci in Coccidioides, but the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 copies have diverged dramatically from each other. Data indicate that the acquisition of these genes in the MAT loci occurred prior to the separation of Coccidioides from Uncinocarpus reesii. An analysis of 436 Coccidioides isolates from patients and the environment indicates that in both Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, there is a 1:1 distribution of MAT loci, as would be expected for sexually reproducing species. In addition, an analysis of isolates obtained from 11 soil samples demonstrated that at three sampling sites, strains of both mating types were present, indicating that compatible strains were in close proximity in the environment.

The role of UV-B radiation in plant sexual reproduction

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Llorens ◽  
Francisco Rubén Badenes-Pérez ◽  
Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto ◽  
Christian Zidorn ◽  
Alberto Fereres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Plant Sexual Reproduction

scholarly journals Essential role of autophagy in resource allocation during sexual reproduction

Autophagy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Gao ◽  
Muhammad Babar Khawar ◽  
Wei Li
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Essential Role

scholarly journals Tudor Nuclease Genes and Programmed DNA Rearrangements in Tetrahymena thermophila

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 1795-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Howard-Till ◽  
Meng-Chao Yao
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Small Rna ◽  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Dna Deletion ◽  
Genome Defense ◽  
Rna Pathways ◽  
A Minor

ABSTRACT Proteins containing a Tudor domain and domains homologous to staphylococcal nucleases are found in a number of eukaryotes. These “Tudor nucleases” have been found to be associated with the RNA-induced silencing complex (A. A. Caudy, R. F. Ketting, S. M. Hammond, A. M. Denli, A. M. Bathoorn, B. B. Tops, J. M. Silva, M. M. Myers, G. J. Hannon, and R. H. Plasterk, Nature 425:411-414, 2003). We have identified two Tudor nuclease gene homologs, TTN1 and TTN2, in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, which has two distinct small-RNA pathways. Characterization of single and double KOs of TTN1 and TTN2 shows that neither of these genes is essential for growth or sexual reproduction. Progeny of TTN2 KOs and double knockouts occasionally show minor defects in the small-RNA-guided process of DNA deletion but appear to be normal in hairpin RNA-induced gene silencing, suggesting that Tudor nucleases play only a minor role in RNA interference in Tetrahymena. Previous studies of Tetrahymena have shown that inserted copies of the neo gene from Escherichia coli are often deleted from the developing macronucleus during sexual reproduction (Y. Liu, X. Song, M. A. Gorovsky, and K. M. Karrer, Eukaryot. Cell 4:421-431, 2005; M. C. Yao, P. Fuller, and X. Xi, Science 300:1581-1584, 2003). This transgene deletion phenomenon is hypothesized to be a form of genome defense. Analysis of the Tudor nuclease mutants revealed exceptionally high rates of deletion of the neo transgene at the TTN2 locus but no deletion at the TTN1 locus. When present in the same genome, however, the neo gene is deleted at high rates even at the TTN1 locus, further supporting a role for trans-acting RNA in this process. This deletion is not affected by the presence of the same sequence in the macronucleus, thus providing a counterargument for the role of the macronuclear genome in specifying all sequences for deletion.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document