RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Sexual Reproduction in Bdelloid Rotifers
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.08.06.239590
DO 10.1101/2020.08.06.239590
A1 Veronika N. Laine
A1 Timothy Sackton
A1 Matthew Meselson
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/16/2020.08.06.239590.abstract
AB Many hypotheses have been advanced to explain why, despite its substantial costs, sexual reproduction is nearly universal in eukaryotes and why its loss generally leads to early extinction. Posing an exception to all such hypotheses are a few groups thought to be entirely asexual that arose millions of years ago. Of these, the most extensively studied are the rotifers of Class Bdelloidea, common freshwater invertebrates of worldwide distribution. Here we present genomic evidence showing that a bdelloid species, Macrotrachella quadricornifera, is facultatively sexual, removing a challenge to hypotheses for the evolutionary benefit of sex and making it likely that sexual reproduction is essential for long-term evolutionary success in all eukaryotes.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.