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Synergy from reproductive division of labor and genetic complexity drive the evolution of sex

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Abstract

Computer experiments that mirror the evolutionary dynamics of sexual and asexual organisms as they occur in nature were used to test features proposed to explain the evolution of sexual recombination. Results show that this evolution is better described as a network of interactions between possible sexual forms, including diploidy, thelytoky, facultative sex, assortation, bisexuality, and division of labor between the sexes, rather than a simple transition from parthenogenesis to sexual recombination. Diploidy was shown to be fundamental for the evolution of sex; bisexual reproduction emerged only among anisogamic diploids with a synergistic division of reproductive labor; and facultative sex was more likely to evolve among haploids practicing assortative mating. Looking at the evolution of sex as a complex system through individual-based simulations explains better the diversity of sexual strategies known to exist in nature, compared to classical analytical models.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Adam Russell of DARPA for his enthusiastic promotion of a social-supercollider, first proposed by Duncan Watts, which influenced the organization of this paper, Guy Hoelzer for encouragement and for reminding me of Atmar’s paper, Cristina Sainz and Zuleyma Tang-Martinez for helping improve the readability of the paper, and to the late John Maynard Smith and William Hamilton for illuminating discussions. I profited from the constructive comments of several referees. Sonya Bahar did excellent editorial work.

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  1. Universidad Simón Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela

    Klaus Jaffe

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Correspondence to Klaus Jaffe.

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Author summary

Computer experiments that mirror the evolutionary dynamics of sexual and asexual organisms showed:

1- Evolution is better described as a network of interactions between possible sexual forms, including diploidy, thelytoky, facultative sex, assortation, bisexuality, and division of labor between the sexes, rather than a simple transition from parthenogenesis to sexual recombination.

2- Diploidy was shown to be fundamental for the evolution of sex.

3- Bisexual reproduction emerged only among anisogamic diploids with a synergistic division of reproductive labor.

4- Facultative sex was more likely to evolve among haploids practicing assortative mating.

Looking at the evolution of sex as a complex system through individual-based simulations explains better the diversity of sexual strategies known to exist in nature, compared to classical analytical models.

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Jaffe, K. Synergy from reproductive division of labor and genetic complexity drive the evolution of sex. J Biol Phys 44, 317–329 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10867-018-9485-8

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