Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia

Contagious parthenogenesis—a process involving rare functional males produced by a parthenogenetic lineage which mate with coexisting sexual females resulting in fertile parthenogenetic offspring—is one of the most striking mechanisms responsible for the generation of new parthenogenetic lineages. P...

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Main Authors: Marta Maccari, Francisco Amat, Francisco Hontoria, Africa Gómez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2014-06-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/439.pdf
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author Marta Maccari
Francisco Amat
Francisco Hontoria
Africa Gómez
author_facet Marta Maccari
Francisco Amat
Francisco Hontoria
Africa Gómez
author_sort Marta Maccari
collection DOAJ
description Contagious parthenogenesis—a process involving rare functional males produced by a parthenogenetic lineage which mate with coexisting sexual females resulting in fertile parthenogenetic offspring—is one of the most striking mechanisms responsible for the generation of new parthenogenetic lineages. Populations of the parthenogenetic diploid brine shrimp Artemia produce fully functional males in low proportions. The evolutionary role of these so-called Artemia rare males is, however, unknown. Here we investigate whether new parthenogenetic clones could be obtained in the laboratory by mating these rare males with sexual females. We assessed the survival and sex ratio of the hybrid ovoviviparous offspring from previous crosses between rare males and females from all Asiatic sexual species, carried out cross-mating experiments between F1 hybrid individuals to assess their fertility, and estimated the viability and the reproductive mode of the resulting F2 offspring. Molecular analysis confirmed the parentage of hybrid parthenogenetic F2. Our study documents the first laboratory synthesis of new parthenogenetic lineages in Artemia and supports a model for the contagious spread of parthenogenesis. Our results suggest recessive inheritance but further experiments are required to confirm the likelihood of the contagious parthenogenesis model.
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spelling doaj.art-18f9618fce3547d2b159e8106c4fbb062023-12-03T09:21:05ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592014-06-012e43910.7717/peerj.439439Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in ArtemiaMarta Maccari0Francisco Amat1Francisco Hontoria2Africa Gómez3Instituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Ribera de Cabanes (Castellón), SpainInstituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Ribera de Cabanes (Castellón), SpainInstituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Ribera de Cabanes (Castellón), SpainSchool of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, United KingdomContagious parthenogenesis—a process involving rare functional males produced by a parthenogenetic lineage which mate with coexisting sexual females resulting in fertile parthenogenetic offspring—is one of the most striking mechanisms responsible for the generation of new parthenogenetic lineages. Populations of the parthenogenetic diploid brine shrimp Artemia produce fully functional males in low proportions. The evolutionary role of these so-called Artemia rare males is, however, unknown. Here we investigate whether new parthenogenetic clones could be obtained in the laboratory by mating these rare males with sexual females. We assessed the survival and sex ratio of the hybrid ovoviviparous offspring from previous crosses between rare males and females from all Asiatic sexual species, carried out cross-mating experiments between F1 hybrid individuals to assess their fertility, and estimated the viability and the reproductive mode of the resulting F2 offspring. Molecular analysis confirmed the parentage of hybrid parthenogenetic F2. Our study documents the first laboratory synthesis of new parthenogenetic lineages in Artemia and supports a model for the contagious spread of parthenogenesis. Our results suggest recessive inheritance but further experiments are required to confirm the likelihood of the contagious parthenogenesis model.https://peerj.com/articles/439.pdfParthenogenesis Artemia Contagious parthenogenesisReproductive isolationSexual reproductionClonal reproduction
spellingShingle Marta Maccari
Francisco Amat
Francisco Hontoria
Africa Gómez
Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia
PeerJ
Parthenogenesis
Artemia
Contagious parthenogenesis
Reproductive isolation
Sexual reproduction
Clonal reproduction
title Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia
title_full Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia
title_fullStr Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia
title_full_unstemmed Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia
title_short Laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in Artemia
title_sort laboratory generation of new parthenogenetic lineages supports contagious parthenogenesis in artemia
topic Parthenogenesis
Artemia
Contagious parthenogenesis
Reproductive isolation
Sexual reproduction
Clonal reproduction
url https://peerj.com/articles/439.pdf
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AT franciscohontoria laboratorygenerationofnewparthenogeneticlineagessupportscontagiousparthenogenesisinartemia
AT africagomez laboratorygenerationofnewparthenogeneticlineagessupportscontagiousparthenogenesisinartemia