Cytology of Asexual Animals

We review the cytological mechanisms underlying asexual reproduction, i.e. reproduction without fertilization, in animals. Asexuality or parthenogenesis has evolved many times and the cytological mechanisms to restore the parental chromosome number can vary between and even within species. In automictic or meiotic parthenogenesis, meiosis takes place but the chromosomal constitution of the mother is restored through one or several different mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms enforce homozygosity at all loci while some other mechanisms pass the genome of the mother intact to the offspring. In apomictic or mitotic parthenogenesis the eggs are formed through what is essentially a set of mitoses. Polyploidy, is in general incompatible with chromosomal sex determination and is a rare condition in animals. However, many asexual and hermaphroditic forms are polyploid to various degrees. Polyploidy is divided into allo- and autopolyploidy. In the former mode the chromosome sets are derived from two or more different species while in autopolyploidy the multiplication has taken place within one species. We discuss the evolutionary consequences of the different cytological mechanisms involved in asexual reproduction.