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Intimate yeast: Mating and meiosis

By Guest PostJanuary 13, 2014Scienceasexual reproduction, brewer yeast, candida lusitaniae, candida tropicalis, christine scaduto, chromosome, diploid yeast, diploidy, eukaryotic cell, evolution, exotic sex, haploid lifestyle, haploidy, ime2, intimate yeast, mating, meiosis, polyploidy, raquel kim sherwood, richard bennett, saccharomyces cerevisiae, sandra torres, schizosaccharomyces pombe, sexual, sexual habits, ste12, studying fungal sex, university of california

Mating and meiosis – the specialized cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in a cell – are related, but in most yeasts they are regulated separately. Not so in Candida lusitaniae, where the two programs work in unison, according to a new study in Nature. Comparison with other species suggests that this fusion may support C. lusitaniae’s “haploid lifestyle” of maintaining only one set of chromosomes in each cell.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — From a biological point of view, the world’s most exotic sex lives may be the ones lived by fungi. As a kingdom, they are full of surprises, and a new one reported in the journal Nature seems sure to titillate the intellects of those who study the evolution of mating and ploidy, the complement of chromosomes in each cell. (more…)

Global Warming May Reroute Evolution

By Guest PostFebruary 21, 2011Environment, Nature, Scienceasclepias syriaca, asexual reproduction, carbon dioxide levels, cardenolides, chemical defenses, driving force of evolution, elevated carbon dioxide, environmental factors, genetic composition, global warming, heart poisons, interaction, mark hunter, milkweed, milkweed plants, monarch caterpillars, plant eating insects, plant evolution, plants and insects, rachel vannette, selection pressure

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming may affect interactions between plants and the insects that eat them, altering the course of plant evolution, research at the University of Michigan suggests.

The research focused on the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca. Milkweed is one of many plants that produce toxic or bitter chemical compounds to protect themselves from being eaten by insects. These chemical defenses are the result of a long history of interactions between the plants and insects such as monarch caterpillars that feed on them. (more…)

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

By Guest PostOctober 18, 2010Nature, Scienceaneil agrawal, asexual reproduction, ecology, evolutionary biologists, Germany, homogenous environments, lutz becks, sexual, sexual reproduction, spatially heterogenous environments, species, volkswagen foundation

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…)

Tag Archives: asexual reproduction

Intimate yeast: Mating and meiosis

Global Warming May Reroute Evolution

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