Tweet
Same-sex reproduction discovered in fungus
AN INFECTIOUS fungus has been found to defy a basic rule of sexual reproduction: it is capable of breeding with members of the same sex.
Scientists in the United States have discovered that in the Cryptococcus neoformans, each of the two €œgenders€ that exist is capable of producing offspring sexually without the assistance of the opposite sex.
The bizarre method of breeding is different from asexual reproduction, in which an individual multiplies by producing identical copies of itself without sexual input from another member of the species.
The C. neoformans fungus breeds sexually, with genetic contributions from two individuals, but it does not require that the two be members of different sexes.
The discovery, by researchers at Duke University Medical Centre in Durham, North Carolina, promises to shed light on the evolution of sexual reproduction.
Sex has the evolutionary advantage of allowing species to shuffle genes and create fresh combinations. The origins of sex, however, are obscure and this odd model of reproduction is expected to offer insights into how it began.
AN INFECTIOUS fungus has been found to defy a basic rule of sexual reproduction: it is capable of breeding with members of the same sex.
Scientists in the United States have discovered that in the Cryptococcus neoformans, each of the two €œgenders€ that exist is capable of producing offspring sexually without the assistance of the opposite sex.
The bizarre method of breeding is different from asexual reproduction, in which an individual multiplies by producing identical copies of itself without sexual input from another member of the species.
The C. neoformans fungus breeds sexually, with genetic contributions from two individuals, but it does not require that the two be members of different sexes.
The discovery, by researchers at Duke University Medical Centre in Durham, North Carolina, promises to shed light on the evolution of sexual reproduction.
Sex has the evolutionary advantage of allowing species to shuffle genes and create fresh combinations. The origins of sex, however, are obscure and this odd model of reproduction is expected to offer insights into how it began.
Comment