Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis (/ˌpɑːrθɪnoʊˈdʒɛnɪsɪs, -θɪnə-/; from the Greek παρθένος, parthenos, 'virgin' + γένεσις, genesis, 'creation') is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. In plants parthenogenesis is a component process of apomixis. Parthenogenesis (/ˌpɑːrθɪnoʊˈdʒɛnɪsɪs, -θɪnə-/; from the Greek παρθένος, parthenos, 'virgin' + γένεσις, genesis, 'creation') is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. In plants parthenogenesis is a component process of apomixis. Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in some plants, some invertebrate animal species (including nematodes, water fleas, some scorpions, aphids, some mites, some bees, some Phasmida and parasitic wasps) and a few vertebrates (such as some fish, amphibians, reptiles and very rarely birds). This type of reproduction has been induced artificially in a few species including fish and amphibians. Normal egg cells form after meiosis and are haploid, with half as many chromosomes as their mother's body cells. Haploid individuals, however, are usually non-viable, and parthenogenetic offspring usually have the diploid chromosome number. Depending on the mechanism involved in restoring the diploid number of chromosomes, parthenogenetic offspring may have anywhere between all and half of the mother's alleles. The offspring having all of the mother's genetic material are called full clones and those having only half are called half clones. Full clones are usually formed without meiosis. If meiosis occurs, the offspring will get only a fraction of the mother's alleles since crossing over of DNA takes place during meiosis, creating variation. Parthenogenetic offspring in species that use either the XY or the X0 sex-determination system have two X chromosomes and are female. In species that use the ZW sex-determination system, they have either two Z chromosomes (male) or two W chromosomes (mostly non-viable but rarely a female), or they could have one Z and one W chromosome (female). Some species reproduce exclusively by parthenogenesis (such as the bdelloid rotifers), while others can switch between sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis. This is called facultative parthenogenesis (other terms are cyclical parthenogenesis, heterogamy or heterogony). The switch between sexuality and parthenogenesis in such species may be triggered by the season (aphid, some gall wasps), or by a lack of males or by conditions that favour rapid population growth (rotifers and cladocerans like Daphnia). In these species asexual reproduction occurs either in summer (aphids) or as long as conditions are favourable. This is because in asexual reproduction a successful genotype can spread quickly without being modified by sex or wasting resources on male offspring who won't give birth. In times of stress, offspring produced by sexual reproduction may be fitter as they have new, possibly beneficial gene combinations. In addition, sexual reproduction provides the benefit of meiotic recombination between non-sister chromosomes, a process associated with repair of DNA double-strand breaks and other DNA damages that may be induced by stressful conditions. (See also: Origin and function of meiosis.)