Research2 sources
Life-cycle plasticity enables conditional asexual reproduction in a kelp
PLOS ·
The Brief · written from 2 sources
- Kelp can switch between sexual and asexual reproduction depending on whether potential mates are nearby.
- The study was led by Daniel Liesner at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany, with colleagues.
- The paper, published Nov. 12 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, describes life-cycle plasticity as enabling conditional asexual reproduction in a kelp.
Why it matters
It shows that a kelp's reproductive mode can respond to the local availability of mates, which helps explain how seaweeds may reproduce when populations are sparse.
Who’s affected
- biologists studying algae and seaweed reproduction
- researchers in evolution and life-cycle plasticity
- #kelp
- #seaweed
- #reproduction
- #evolution
- #life-cycle
by Daniel Liesner, Rémy Luthringer, Lineekela Kandjengo, John J. Bolton, Mark D. Rothman, Myriam Valero, Fabian B. Haas, Susana M. Coelho Many organisms alternate between distinct life stages and can reproduce either sexually or asexually, yet the mechanisms coordinating these…
Timeline
Full coverage · 2 sources
- 2h ago ↗
Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology
Seaweeds can switch to asexual reproduction when there are no mates nearby - 7h ago ↗
PLOS Biology
Life-cycle plasticity enables conditional asexual reproduction in a kelp