Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.03.30.715418

Flexible Asexuality: Naturally occurring variation in mechanisms of parthenogenesis within lineages and individuals of a facultative parthenogen, Megacrania batesii

Miller, S. M.·Wilner, D.·Boldbaatar, J.·Bonduriansky, R.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Parthenogenesis is relatively rare and often regarded as an evolutionary dead end. Despite this, certain parthenogenetic animal species have endured for millions of years, but it is unclear what enables the persistence of some parthenogenetic lineages. Transitions from sexual to parthenogenetic reproduction can occur through different evolutionary processes that give rise to diverse cytological reproductive mechanisms. These mechanisms are likely to influence genetic diversity, especially in the early stages after the transition to parthenogenesis and may thus affect lineage persistence. To understand such evolutionary transitions, we used experimental crosses to investigate the mechanism of parthenogenesis and the immediate genetic consequences of switching from sexual to parthenogenetic reproduction in the facultatively parthenogenetic phasmid Megacrania batesii. We obtained DNA sequence data from multiple lineages propagated over three generations via sex, parthenogenesis, or transitions between reproductive modes. We quantified heterozygosity and within-family genetic variation and compared the genetic patterns with predictions for known mechanisms of parthenogenesis. We found that a single generation of parthenogenesis typically resulted in (near-)complete loss of heterozygosity and an absence of within-family genetic variation, consistent with automixis with gamete duplication or terminal fusion and little/no recombination. However, we also found evidence of variation in the mechanism of parthenogenesis among lineages and even within the same individual, associated with drastic differences in the amount of heterozygosity and within-family genetic variation maintained across generations. Our findings show that considerable variation in parthenogenetic mechanisms can exist within populations and suggest that such variation could influence the persistence and evolution of parthenogenetic lineages.

Explore related subjects

evolutionary biologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Miller, S. M., Wilner, D., Boldbaatar, J., Bonduriansky, R.. 2026-04-01. Flexible Asexuality: Naturally occurring variation in mechanisms of parthenogenesis within lineages and individuals of a facultative parthenogen, Megacrania batesii. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.03.30.715418

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Denisovan introgression left differential selection regimes in Humans and Neanderthals on the SLC30A9 gene

Signals of positive selection around the SLC30A9 gene have been reported in human populations outside Africa. Selection likely acted on a highly differentiated single-nucleotide polymorphism, rs1047626, leading to a non-synonymous substitution in the encoded zinc transporter. Because of the striking similarity between the putatively selected SLC30A9 haplotype observed in several current human populations and the Denisovan individual, previous work has proposed adaptive introgression. Yet alternative explanations, including ancient human variation, and the precise archaic source -Neanderthal or Denisovan- remained unresolved. Considering the potentially complex evolution of SLC30A9, we applied Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) algorithms coupled to machine learning to investigate the most plausible evolutionary origin of this substitution. After modelling different evolutionary scenarios with forward-in-time simulations, our results highlight that the most probable scenario is a Denisovan origin of the rs1047626 polymorphism. However, the allele likely introgressed into Neanderthals first and was then passed into non-African modern humans. Moreover, the derived allele frequency for rs1047626 across several African populations is consistent with back-to-Africa migrations. Finally, our ABC analyses indicate strong positive selection in East Asian populations and other out-of-Africa populations, whereas in Neanderthal populations, the selection coefficient was probably neutral or slightly deleterious.

evolutionary biology↗
bioRxiv2026

RELAX does not reproduce its own estimates at default settings, and its output does not show it

Selection-intensity estimates from RELAX are reported as a point value of K with a likelihood-ratio P. We report that, at default settings and on data of ordinary size, the program does not reproduce its own fits. Of 27 enzyme entries refitted under two optimiser configurations, none reproduced its log-likelihood to within 0.01 units; the median change was 103 units, the largest over 3,400, and four verdicts reversed. Eighty null orthologues reproduced none. A byte-identical command returned a distinct likelihood on every repetition, single-threaded, across three releases, and on alignments simulated under the fitted model, where 3.3 per cent of replicates reproduced. The documented random-number seed never reaches the generator when assigned on the command line, yet reads back as the value supplied. PAML localises the cause: its two-ratio model, without site classes, reproduced its log-likelihood for all 288 genes; its site-class models agreed for 27 to 67 per cent. The instability follows the mixture over sites, not the program. The output does not show it: 46 of 410 fits ended with a negative likelihood-ratio statistic, impossible under convergence, and 123 of 410 report a K re-estimated under a domain restriction rather than the unconstrained maximum. Of 234 published studies using RELAX, none reported a seed. Seeding while holding the thread count at one reproduced sixty of sixty runs on twenty genes under two releases; the seed alone reproduced none of five, and no documentation states the second condition. We recommend that fits be repeated and their dispersion published.

evolutionary biology↗
bioRxiv2026

Sequential accumulation of adaptive alleles forms an inversion supergene in deer mice

Supergenes are clusters of co-inherited loci that affect multiple or complex phenotypes. Despite the growing number of chromosomal inversions identified as supergenes in natural populations, their molecular basis and evolutionary history often remain obscure. Here, we identified two candidate genes, Slc45a2 and Npr3, within a 41-Mb inversion supergene in the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) that respectively drive darker coats and longer tails - two traits associated with forest adaptation. Mice homozygous for the inversion (inv/inv) exhibit elevated Slc45a2 expression in melanocytes relative to the congenic standard genotype (std/std), disrupting pheomelanin production. In parallel, downregulation of Npr3 in inv/inv mouse growth plates prolongs postnatal growth of caudal vertebrae, resulting in tail elongation. Population-level analyses further implicate that this supergene arose through the subsequent accumulation of the Npr3 allele within the inversion, rather than by capturing all beneficial mutations at its origin.

evolutionary biology↗