Facultative parthenogenesis: a transient state in transitions between sex and obligate asexuality in stick insects?use asterix (*) to get italics

Chloé Larose, Guillaume Lavanchy, Susana Freitas, Darren J. Parker, Tanja SchwanderPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"

2023

<p>Transitions from obligate sex to obligate parthenogenesis have occurred repeatedly across the tree of life. Whether these transitions occur abruptly or via a transient phase of facultative parthenogenesis is rarely known. We discovered and characterised facultatively parthenogenetic populations of the North American stick insect Timema douglasi, a species in which only obligately parthenogenetic populations were known so far. These populations comprised three genetic lineages. Females from all lineages were capable of parthenogenesis (with variable efficiency) but their propensity to reproduce sexually after mating varied extensively. In all three lineages, parthenogenesis resulted in the complete loss of heterozygosity in a single generation. Obligately parthenogenetic Timema have also lost all heterozygosity, suggesting that the transition to obligate parthenogenesis did not require a modification of the proximate mechanism, but rather involved a gradual increase in frequency. We speculate that facultative parthenogenesis may often be transient and be replaced by obligate strategies (either sex or parthenogenesis) because of a trade-off between the efficiency of the two reproductive modes. Such a trade-off could help explain why facultative parthenogenesis is rare among animals, despite its potential to combine the known benefits of sex and parthenogenesis.</p>

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA804475, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/?term=PRJNA808673You should fill this box only if you chose 'All or part of the results presented in this preprint are based on data'. URL must start with http:// or https://

https://github.com/glavanc1/Timema_facultative_parthenoYou should fill this box only if you chose 'Scripts were used to obtain or analyze the results'. URL must start with http:// or https://

Timema douglasi, Timema poppensis, Phasmatodea, RAD sequencing, Reproductive mode, Reproductive system, Automixis

NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).

Reproduction and Sex

Mercedes Burns - burnsm@umbc.edu, Christoph Haag - christoph.haag@cefe.cnrs.fr, Thomas Lenormand - thomas.lenormand@cefe.cnrs.fr No need for them to be recommenders of PCIEvolBiol. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct

2022-05-20 10:41:13

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