Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Parasite-driven replacement of a sexual by a closely related asexual taxon in nature

View ORCID ProfileJennifer N. Lohr, View ORCID ProfileChristoph R. Haag
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/143446
Jennifer N. Lohr
1University of Fribourg, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Fribourg, Switzerland
2Tvärminne Zoological Station, Hanko, Finland
3Institute of Healthy Ageing, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Jennifer N. Lohr
  • For correspondence: j.lohr@ucl.ac.uk
Christoph R. Haag
1University of Fribourg, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, Fribourg, Switzerland
2Tvärminne Zoological Station, Hanko, Finland
4Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Université de Montpellier, France, email:
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Christoph R. Haag
  • For correspondence: christoph.haag@cefe.cnrs.fr
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Asexual species are thought to suffer more from coevolving parasites than related sexuals. Yet, this prediction may be modulated by the fact that closely related sexuals and asexuals often differ in respects other than reproductive mode. Here, we follow the frequency dynamics of sexual and asexual Daphnia pulex in a natural pond that was initially dominated by sexuals. However, coinciding with an epidemic of a microsporidian parasite infecting both sexuals and asexuals, the pond was rapidly taken over by the initially rare asexuals. We experimentally confirm that asexuals are less susceptible and also suffer less from the parasite once infected. These results show the ecological replacement of a sexual taxon by a closely related asexual taxon, as driven by parasites. We suggest that this replacement is, however, not directly connected with the reproductive mode, but rather due to the recent introduction and invasive nature of the asexuals studied.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted May 29, 2017.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Parasite-driven replacement of a sexual by a closely related asexual taxon in nature
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Parasite-driven replacement of a sexual by a closely related asexual taxon in nature
Jennifer N. Lohr, Christoph R. Haag
bioRxiv 143446; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/143446
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Parasite-driven replacement of a sexual by a closely related asexual taxon in nature
Jennifer N. Lohr, Christoph R. Haag
bioRxiv 143446; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/143446

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Evolutionary Biology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4681)
  • Biochemistry (10357)
  • Bioengineering (7670)
  • Bioinformatics (26330)
  • Biophysics (13523)
  • Cancer Biology (10683)
  • Cell Biology (15438)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (8497)
  • Ecology (12820)
  • Epidemiology (2067)
  • Evolutionary Biology (16850)
  • Genetics (11394)
  • Genomics (15477)
  • Immunology (10614)
  • Microbiology (25206)
  • Molecular Biology (10220)
  • Neuroscience (54455)
  • Paleontology (401)
  • Pathology (1668)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2897)
  • Physiology (4342)
  • Plant Biology (9243)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1586)
  • Synthetic Biology (2557)
  • Systems Biology (6779)
  • Zoology (1466)