Asexual reproduction of Pliocene solitary scleractinian coralTruncatoflabellum: a morphological and biometric study

2012 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Tokuda ◽  
Yoichi Ezaki
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Transverse Division ◽  
Life Cycle Strategy ◽  
Life Mode ◽  
Alternation Of Generations

Truncatoflabellumhas been considered a free-living genus that exhibits both sexual and asexual phases; divided lower coralla (anthocauli) are specialized for asexual reproduction by transverse division through a decalcification process, whereas the upper coralla (anthocyathi) only undertake sexual reproduction, in a life-cycle strategy that includes a distinct alternation of generations. However, little evidence has been presented to support this idea of its life cycle. We elucidate the life mode ofTruncatoflabellumby identifying key fossil characters (e.g., multiple rejuvenations and decalcification records just beneath lateral spines) and statistically analyzing the size distributions of over 500 individual coralla. Results of those morphological and biometric analyses clearly indicate alternation of generations in the life cycle ofTruncatoflabellum.

scholarly journals Observation of asexual reproduction with symbiont transmission in planktonic foraminifera

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruka Takagi ◽  
Atsushi Kurasawa ◽  
Katsunori Kimoto
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Vertical Transmission ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Planktonic Foraminifera ◽  
Gamete Release ◽  
Symbiotic Algae ◽  
Laboratory Cultures ◽  
Symbiont Transmission

Abstract Gamete release has been frequently observed in laboratory cultures of various species of planktonic foraminifera. Those observations have been taken as evidence that these organisms produce new generations exclusively by sexual reproduction. We report here the first observation of asexual reproduction in Globigerinita uvula, a small, microperforate foraminifera. The asexual phase was associated with the release of ca. 110 offspring, all of which hosted symbiotic algae that must have been passed on directly from the parent. This event was also the first observation of vertical transmission of symbionts in planktonic foraminifera. Although the trigger of the observed asexual reproduction and its frequency in nature remain unknown, our observation indicates that among the planktonic foraminifera, at least G. uvula has not abandoned the asexual phase of its life cycle.

scholarly journals Plant Sexual Reproduction: Perhaps the current plant two-sex model should be replaced with three- and four-sex models?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Meissner
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
The Other ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Sexual Determination ◽  
New Models ◽  
Plant Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Alternation Of Generations

The current plant two-sex model makes the assumption that there are only two sexual reproductive states: male and female. However, the application of this model to the plant alternation of generations requires the subtle redefinition of several common terms related to sexual reproduction, which also seems to obscure aspects of one or the other plant generation: For instance, the homosporous sporophytic plant is treated as being “asexual,” and the gametophytes of angiosperms treated like mere gametes. In contrast, the proposal is made that the sporophytes of homosporous plants are indeed sexual reproductive organisms, as are the gametophytes of heterosporous plants. This view requires the expansion of the number of sexual reproductive states we accept for plants, therefore a three-sex model for homosporous plants and a four-sex model for heterosporous plants are described and then contrasted with the current two-sex model. These new models allow the use of sexual reproductive terms in a manner largely similar to that seen in animals, and may better accommodate the plant alternation of generations life cycle than does the current plant two-sex model. These new three-sex and four-sex models may also help stimulate new lines of research, and examples of how they might alter our view of the flower, and may lead to new perspectives in terms of sexual determination, are presented. Thus it is suggested that plants have more than merely two sexual reproductive states, and that recognition of this may promote our study and understanding of plants.

Studies on North Indian Volvocales. VI. On the life cycle and cytology of a new member of Phacotaceae, Dysmorphococcus sarmaii sp. nov.

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 726-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Shyam
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Chromosome Number ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
The Other ◽  
Laboratory Conditions ◽  
Contractile Vacuoles ◽  
A New Species

This paper deals with the morphology, reproduction, and cytology of a new species of Dysmorphococcus, viz., Dysmorphococcus sarmaii sp. nov. (Phacotaceae, Volvocales) from India. The lorica of this flagellate displays a remarkable morphological variability in nature as well as in culture under laboratory conditions. The alga is characterised by an anteriorly bilobed pentagonal lorica ornamentated with polygonal pores, a massive globose chloroplast that lacks a pyrenoid and almost completely occupys the protoplast, a prominent red stigma, two contractile vacuoles located anteriorly near the insertion of the flagella, and flagella that are equal to or a little longer than the length of the lorica. The pentagonal lorica of the present taxon differs remarkably from the broadly ovoid to globose lorica of D. variabilis Takeda, D. coccifer Korschikoff, and D. globosus Bold and Starr. The lorica of D. sarmaii is somewhat comparable in shape to D. punctatus Fott because of its bilobed anterior but differs from the latter in its ornamentation. The massive globose chloroplast lacking a pyrenoid in the present alga differs remarkably from the other species of this genus where the chloroplast possesses one or several pyrenoids. In addition, asexual reproduction, which is accomplished by division of the protoplast within the lorica, results in the production of 8–16 zoospores as compared with the earlier record of 2 and 4 zoospores in this genus. The alga is heterothallic and sexual reproduction, which was not known for the earlier described species of the genus Dysmorphococcus, takes place by isogametes produced 16–32(–64) per cell. The chromosome number recorded for D. sarmaii is n = 10.

scholarly journals Sex Determination in the Parasitic Nematode Strongyloides ratti

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 158 (4) ◽  
pp. 1527-1533
Author(s):  
S C Harvey ◽  
M E Viney
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Dna Markers ◽  
Parasitic Nematode ◽  
Rflp Analysis ◽  
Single Copy ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Cytological Evidence ◽  
X Chromosomes

Abstract The parasitic nematode Strongyloides ratti reproduces by both parthenogenesis and sexual reproduction, but its genetics are poorly understood. Cytological evidence suggests that sex determination is an XX/XO system. To investigate this genetically, we isolated a number of sex-linked DNA markers. One of these markers, Sr-mvP1, was shown to be single copy and present at a higher dose in free-living females than in free-living males. The inheritance of two alleles of Sr-mvP1 by RFLP analysis was consistent with XX female and XO male genotypes. Analysis of the results of sexual reproduction demonstrated that all progeny inherit the single paternal X chromosome and one of the two maternal X chromosomes. Therefore, all stages of the S. ratti life cycle, with the exception of the free-living males, are XX and genetically female. These findings are considered in relation to previous analyses of S. ratti and to other known sex determination systems.

Life cycle of Spirogyra decimina var. juergensii (Kütz.) O.V. Petlovany from Lake Baikal

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Ekaterina A. Volkova
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Lake Baikal

Identification of Spirogyra species is based on the morphology of the fertile specimens. This work provides characteristics of growth and the time of reproduction of Spirogyra decimina var. juergensii in Lake Baikal and describes sexual reproduction and conditions for germination of new filaments of this species isolated from the lake.

Molecular basis of adaptive evolution of sperm motility involved in in vivo fertilization of terrestrial animals

Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (6) ◽  
pp. 73-75
Author(s):  
Akihiko Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Acrosome Reaction ◽  
Sperm Morphology ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
The Face ◽  
Genetic Profiles

One of the unifying traits of life on this planet is reproduction, or life's ability to make copies of itself. The mode of reproduction has evolved over time, having almost certainly begun with simple asexual reproduction when the ancestral single celled organism divided into two. Since these beginnings' life has tried out numerous strategies, and perhaps one of the most important and successful has been sexual reproduction. This form of reproduction relies on the union of gametes, otherwise known as sperm and egg. Evolutionarily, sexual reproduction allows for greater adaptive potential because the genes of two unique individuals have a chance to recombine and mix in order to produce a new individual. Unlike asexual reproduction which produces genetically-identical clones of the parent individual, sex produces offspring with novel genes and combinations of genes. Therefore, in the face of new selective pressures there is a higher chance that one of these novel genetic profiles will produce an adaptation that is advantageous in the new circumstances. Dr Akihiko Watanabe is a reproductive biologist based in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science Yamagata University in Japan, he is currently working on three research projects; a comparative study on the signalling pathways for inducing sperm motility and acrosome reaction in amphibians, the mechanism behind the adaptive modification of sperm morphology and motility, and the origin of sperm motility initiating substance (SMIS).

scholarly journals The Advantages of Segregation and the Evolution of Sex

Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 164 (3) ◽  
pp. 1099-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah P Otto
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Asexual Reproduction ◽  
Deleterious Mutations ◽  
Evolution Of Sex ◽  
Beneficial Mutations ◽  
Selection Regime ◽  
Strong Selection ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Low Levels

AbstractIn diploids, sexual reproduction promotes both the segregation of alleles at the same locus and the recombination of alleles at different loci. This article is the first to investigate the possibility that sex might have evolved and been maintained to promote segregation, using a model that incorporates both a general selection regime and modifier alleles that alter an individual’s allocation to sexual vs. asexual reproduction. The fate of different modifier alleles was found to depend strongly on the strength of selection at fitness loci and on the presence of inbreeding among individuals undergoing sexual reproduction. When selection is weak and mating occurs randomly among sexually produced gametes, reductions in the occurrence of sex are favored, but the genome-wide strength of selection is extremely small. In contrast, when selection is weak and some inbreeding occurs among gametes, increased allocation to sexual reproduction is expected as long as deleterious mutations are partially recessive and/or beneficial mutations are partially dominant. Under strong selection, the conditions under which increased allocation to sex evolves are reversed. Because deleterious mutations are typically considered to be partially recessive and weakly selected and because most populations exhibit some degree of inbreeding, this model predicts that higher frequencies of sex would evolve and be maintained as a consequence of the effects of segregation. Even with low levels of inbreeding, selection is stronger on a modifier that promotes segregation than on a modifier that promotes recombination, suggesting that the benefits of segregation are more likely than the benefits of recombination to have driven the evolution of sexual reproduction in diploids.

scholarly journals Nematode Hsp90: highly conserved but functionally diverse

Parasitology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 141 (9) ◽  
pp. 1203-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
VICTORIA GILLAN ◽  
EILEEN DEVANEY
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Heat Shock Protein 90 ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Actual Number ◽  
Host Organism ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Parasitic Species ◽  
Free Living Nematode ◽  
Functionally Diverse

SUMMARYNematodes are amongst the most successful and abundant organisms on the planet with approximately 30 000 species described, although the actual number of species is estimated to be one million or more. Despite sharing a relatively simple and invariant body plan, there is considerable diversity within the phylum. Nematodes have evolved to colonize most ecological niches, and can be free-living or can parasitize plants or animals to the detriment of the host organism. In this review we consider the role of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in the nematode life cycle. We describe studies on Hsp90 in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and comparative work on the parasitic species Brugia pahangi, and consider whether a dependence upon Hsp90 can be exploited for the control of parasitic species.

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