Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Standard Standard

Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema. / Freitas, Susana; Parker, Darren J; Labédan, Marjorie et al.
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 290, No. 2007, 20230404, 27.09.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

HarvardHarvard

Freitas, S, Parker, DJ, Labédan, M, Dumas, Z & Schwander, T 2023, 'Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 290, no. 2007, 20230404. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

APA

Freitas, S., Parker, D. J., Labédan, M., Dumas, Z., & Schwander, T. (2023). Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290(2007), Article 20230404. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

CBE

Freitas S, Parker DJ, Labédan M, Dumas Z, Schwander T. 2023. Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290(2007):Article 20230404. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

MLA

Freitas, Susana et al. "Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2023. 290(2007). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

VancouverVancouver

Freitas S, Parker DJ, Labédan M, Dumas Z, Schwander T. Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2023 Sept 27;290(2007):20230404. Epub 2023 Sept 20. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

Author

Freitas, Susana ; Parker, Darren J ; Labédan, Marjorie et al. / Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2023 ; Vol. 290, No. 2007.

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evidence for cryptic sex in parthenogenetic stick insects of the genus Timema

AU - Freitas, Susana

AU - Parker, Darren J

AU - Labédan, Marjorie

AU - Dumas, Zoé

AU - Schwander, Tanja

PY - 2023/9/27

Y1 - 2023/9/27

N2 - Obligately parthenogenetic species are expected to be short lived since the lack of sex and recombination should translate into a slower adaptation rate and increased accumulation of deleterious alleles. Some, however, are thought to have been reproducing without males for millions of years. It is not clear how these old parthenogens can escape the predicted long-term costs of parthenogenesis, but an obvious explanation is cryptic sex. In this study, we screen for signatures of cryptic sex in eight populations of four parthenogenetic species of Timema stick insects, some estimated to be older than 1 Myr. Low genotype diversity, homozygosity of individuals and high linkage disequilibrium (LD) unaffected by marker distances support exclusively parthenogenetic reproduction in six populations. However, in two populations (namely, of the species Timema douglasi and T. monikensis) we find strong evidence for cryptic sex, most likely mediated by rare males. These populations had comparatively high genotype diversities, lower LD, and a clear LD decay with genetic distance. Rare sex in species that are otherwise largely parthenogenetic could help explain the unusual success of parthenogenesis in the Timema genus and raises the question whether episodes of rare sex are in fact the simplest explanation for the persistence of many old parthenogens in nature.

AB - Obligately parthenogenetic species are expected to be short lived since the lack of sex and recombination should translate into a slower adaptation rate and increased accumulation of deleterious alleles. Some, however, are thought to have been reproducing without males for millions of years. It is not clear how these old parthenogens can escape the predicted long-term costs of parthenogenesis, but an obvious explanation is cryptic sex. In this study, we screen for signatures of cryptic sex in eight populations of four parthenogenetic species of Timema stick insects, some estimated to be older than 1 Myr. Low genotype diversity, homozygosity of individuals and high linkage disequilibrium (LD) unaffected by marker distances support exclusively parthenogenetic reproduction in six populations. However, in two populations (namely, of the species Timema douglasi and T. monikensis) we find strong evidence for cryptic sex, most likely mediated by rare males. These populations had comparatively high genotype diversities, lower LD, and a clear LD decay with genetic distance. Rare sex in species that are otherwise largely parthenogenetic could help explain the unusual success of parthenogenesis in the Timema genus and raises the question whether episodes of rare sex are in fact the simplest explanation for the persistence of many old parthenogens in nature.

KW - Timema

KW - asexuality

KW - cryptic sex

KW - gene flow

KW - insects

KW - parthenogenesis

U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

DO - 10.1098/rspb.2023.0404

M3 - Article

C2 - 37727092

VL - 290

JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

SN - 0962-8452

IS - 2007

M1 - 20230404

ER -