Reproductive Strategies in Evolutionary Biology

Reproductive strategies among eukaryotes span a continuum from obligate sexual reproduction—where genetic material is reshuffled each generation—to strict asexuality, in which offspring are clonal copies of a single parent. Between these extremes lie facultative systems, hermaphroditism and diverse forms of parthenogenesis. Sexual reproduction, by promoting recombination, can accelerate adaptation and purge deleterious mutations, yet it entails costs such as the production of non‐reproductive sexes and the breakup of advantageous gene combinations. Asexual strategies afford rapid population growth and transmission of well‐adapted genotypes but may suffer from mutational accumulation and reduced capacity to respond to environmental change. Facultative modes allow organisms to switch between sexual and asexual reproduction, balancing the short‐term gains of clonal propagation against the long‐term benefits of genetic diversity. Across taxa, shifts in reproductive mode are shaped by ecological pressures, demographic history and genomic architecture, illustrating the dynamic interplay between selection, mutation and life‐history trade‐offs.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Analyses of a facultatively asexual aquatic plant have revealed how demographic history and the frequency of asexual reproduction jointly determine genomic diversity and DNA methylation patterns, with natural selection acting on stress‐response, flowering and embryogenesis genes during range expansion. This work demonstrates that selection can actively shape the balance between sexual and asexual propagation, influencing both genetic and epigenetic frameworks. In a seemingly anciently asexual microinvertebrate, genome‐wide surveys uncovered patterns of genotype proportions, haplotype incongruence and linkage equilibrium incompatible with strict clonality, providing robust evidence for ongoing genetic exchange. These findings challenge long‐standing assumptions about the inevitability of mutational decay in prolonged asexual lineages and underscore the surprising resilience of certain “ancient asexuals.”

Reproductive Strategies in Evolutionary Biology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in reproductive strategies in evolutionary biology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Facultative asexuality: Ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually depending on environmental or internal cues.

Parthenogenesis: Form of asexual reproduction in which embryos develop from unfertilised eggs.

Meiosis: Cell division that halves chromosome number, enabling genetic recombination and haploid gamete formation.

Recombination: Exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes during meiosis, generating novel allele combinations.

Purifying selection: Process by which deleterious mutations are removed from a population, maintaining functional integrity of genes.

References

1. Population genomics and epigenomics of Spirodela polyrhiza provide insights into the evolution of facultative asexuality. Communications Biology (2024).
2. Genomic signatures of recombination in a natural population of the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga. Nature Communications (2020).
3. Clonal ants reveal a potentially hidden meiotic feature. Trends in Genetics (2024).
4. A genetic basis for facultative parthenogenesis in Drosophila. Current Biology (2023).