Digest: Going solo: Self-fertilization in haploid algae may not lead to evolutionary decline

摘要

Sexual reproduction strategies have consequences for the persistence of a species. In dioecious species, male and female gametes are typically produced in genetically different individuals to produce offspring with two parents, a process known as outcrossing. In contrast, in monoecious species, male and female gametes are produced by the same individual and, in some cases, can selffertilize. Self-fertilization allows an organism to pass on all of its genes to its offspring, rather than half. From an individual’s fitness perspective, selfing is better than outcrossing, not only because it passes on twice as many of the parents' alleles, but also because it confers the ability to reproduce without the costs of acquiring a breeding partner.