Tag Archives: aneil agrawal

Low Quality Genes May Cause Mutational Meltdown

Deficiencies compound over time, researchers say

Evolutionary biologists at the University of Toronto have found that individuals with low-quality genes may produce offspring with even more inferior chromosomes, possibly leading to the extinction of certain species over generations.

Their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, predicts that organisms with such genetic deficiencies could experience an increased number of mutations in their DNA, relative to individuals with high-quality genes. The research was done on fruit flies whose simple system replicates aspects of biology in more complex systems, so the findings could have implications for humans. (more…)

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U of T Biologists Identify Influence of Environment on Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction

Image credit: University of Toronto

Evolutionary biologists at U of T have found that environment plays a key role in determining whether a species opts for sexual over asexual reproduction.

The study, led by post-doctoral student Lutz Becks and Professor Aneil Agrawal of ecology and evolutionary biology, found that species that inhabit spatially heterogenous environments – habitats characterized by uneven concentrations of its own species among a rich variety of other animals and plants – had higher rates of sexual reproduction than those in more homogenous environments. (more…)

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