Why is there sex? From the perspective of evolutionary biology ... Interesting article appeared today at our uni. It it is about sexuality from the perspective of evolutionary biology. It turns out that the central question that given by this science, the same who ask and I: "Why is there sex?
( That never would have thought that such a serious science is defined in such a "stupid" the central issue! )
Well, it turns out that from an economic point of view of non-sexual (same-sex) reproduction would be much more profitable than sexual (Bisexual), because then we could have the same cost of producing twice as many individuals. In the course of evolution, sexual reproduction is won!
Why is this so? Because sexual reproduction in individuals better adapted! To each other and the environment! In this case, everything is decided by only one gene!
That's it ... What far-reaching philosophical conclusions can be drawn from this fact ... Already shivering his way ... :)
the article itself:
Sex hat Vor-und Nachteile
Zwei Forscher der Universität Zurich and ETH Zurich have discovered in a particular Blattlauswespe that a single gene determines whether the insects reproduce sexually or asexually. This is not only to the pesticides of interest, but could also help answer a central question in evolutionary biology.
Felix sausages
Why is there sex? This simple question evolutionary biologists to this day have not found a satisfactory answer. The asexual reproduction would be under "economic" point of actually much more efficient, since sexual reproduction with separate sexes only part of the living creatures give birth to offspring. Nevertheless, in the course of evolution, sexual reproduction widely adopted.
Place the black Blattlauswespen L. fabarum parasitic eggs in the gray aphids (Image: Christoph Vorburger)
Why this is so, try to explain various theories - so far without success. After all, a big problem here is that these theories can be tested empirically difficult. While there are some animal species that reproduce both sexually and asexually, but usually differ in these species the individuals who were conceived sexually, and in other features of the procreated asexually, so that a direct comparison is hardly meaningful.
Christoph Vorburger, SNF Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the Institute for Integrative Biology at the ETH Zurich and EAWAG in Dübendorf, and his graduate student Chris Sandrock from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Zurich have now discovered, however, that this central question of evolutionary biology in a specific parasitic wasp species could be studied empirically.
The two researchers have examined in their study, the Blattlauswespe Lysiphlebus fabarum, of which we have long been aware that they can reproduce in both ways. Vorburger and Sandrock showed that asexual and sexual individuals differ in this wasp is not practical - except just that they reproduce different. The genetic differences between individuals are not greater than in a population would be the case anyway.
precise agreement with the theory
The wasps that reproduce sexually emerge, the females from fertilized eggs, the males however, from unfertilized eggs. In the case of asexual wasps, however, the females give birth without fertilization only daughters. Vorburger and Sandrock wanted to know what genetic factors determine whether a wasp is to reproduce sexually or asexually.
surprisingly turned out that this fundamental difference is apparently only just controlled by a single gene. On the basis of breeding experiments, the two scientists also demonstrate that the trait is recessive. In the third generation of their attempt to find exactly 12.5 percent females, which reproduce asexually - that is just as much as by the Mendelian Laws of inheritance for a recessive trait is predicted.
determine Which gene reproductive way, and still not know Vorburger Sandrock. "We could only prove that the feature as a single genetic factor behaves, and we've already been a micro-satellite, a genetic marker which is located near the major gene," explains Vorburger. "In a further study, we want to answer that question now."
Christoph Sandrock, Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Sciences University Zurich: question of the meaning of sexual reproduction first investigated empirically. (Photo: PD)
consequences for pest unclear
's findings are not rock and sand Vorburger for evolutionary biology of interest, but also for pest control. Blattlauswespen as L. fabarum be used for biological control, as these wasps plant their eggs in the aphids and thereby kill the pests. Since the sexual wasps only half of the individuals an effective amount of pesticide make - namely, the females lay their eggs in the aphids - the efficiency of the method could potentially be improved if this asexual wasps were used. "Because then all individuals are females, and can kill aphids," said Sandrock.
But it could also be that the higher efficiency of short term success would be "as Vorburger holds. "For with the asexual reproduction produces genetically uniform lines. There are . So no more genetic mixing, and consequently therefore no adjustment to changing conditions "And it is this adaptability, many evolutionary biologists believe that it is ultimately, why has prevailed in the nature of sexual reproduction - even if they at first glance seems to be less economically
http://www.uzh.ch/news/articles/2011/sex-hat-vor--und-nachteile.html.