Evidence for meiotic sex in bdelloid rotifers.

Summary In their study of genetic exchange in the bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga , Debortoli et al . [1] conclude that the patchwork pattern of allele sharing among three individuals in the genomic regions they examined is " …unlikely to arise in cases of PTH (Oenothera-like) meiosis since haplotypes are transferred as entire blocks… " and therefore that " Genetic exchange among bdelloid rotifers is more likely due to horizontal gene transfer than to meiotic sex. " This assumes without justification that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bdelloids precludes the sexual transmission of entire haplotypes, for which we have reported evidence in the bdelloid Macrotrachela quadricornifera [2]. And it does not consider the contribution to such a patchwork pattern that would result from conversion and subsequent outcrossing, even in Oenothera -like systems.