| Literature DB >> 16230622 |
Ana Y Signorovitch1, Stephen L Dellaporta, Leo W Buss.
Abstract
Placozoans, the simplest free-living animals, have never been observed to reproduce sexually. Here, we describe molecular evidence for sexual reproduction within one clade of the Placozoa. In a population sample of 10 individuals, within-individual and overall nucleotide diversity were similar to each other and consistent with levels observed in sexually reproducing species. Intergenic recombination as well as the sharing of alleles between heterozygous and homozygous individuals was also observed. These hallmarks of sexual reproduction establish that sex is indeed present in this phylum.Mesh:
Year: 2005 PMID: 16230622 PMCID: PMC1266089 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0504031102
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN: 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205