Not so clonal asexuals: Unraveling the secret sex life of Artemia parthenogenetica

The maintenance of sex is paradoxical as sexual species pay the twofold cost of males and should thus quickly be replaced by asexual mutants reproducing clonally. However, asexuals may not be strictly clonal and engage in cryptic sex, challenging this simple scenario. We study the cryptic sex life of the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica, which has once been termed an ancient asexual and where no genetic differences have ever been observed between parents and offspring. This asexual species rarely produces males, which can hybridize with sexual females of closely related species and transmit asexuality to their offspring. Using such hybrids, we show that recombination occurs in asexual lineages, causing loss-of-heterozygosity and parent-offspring differences. These differences cannot generally be observed in field-sampled asexuals because once heterozygosity is lost, subsequent recombination leaves no footprint. Furthermore, using extensive paternity tests, we show that hybrid females can reproduce both sexually and asexually, and transmit asexuality to both sexually and asexually produced offspring in a dominant fashion. Finally, we show that, contrary to previous reports, field-sampled asexual females also rarely reproduce sexually (rate similar to 2 parts per thousand). Overall, most previously known facts about Artemia asexuality turned out to be erroneous. More generally, our findings suggest that the evidence for strictly clonal reproduction of asexual species needs to be reconsidered, and that rare sex and consequences of nonclonal asexuality, such as gene flow within asexuals, need to be more widely taken into account in more realistic models for the maintenance of sex and the persistence of asexual lineages.

Automated summary

Research on the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica reveals the presence of cryptic sex and hybridization in asexual lineages, leading to genetic differences between parents and offspring. While these differences are not easily observable in field-sampled asexuals, they suggest a need to reconsider the assumption of strictly clonal reproduction in asexual species and to consider rare sexual reproduction and consequences of nonclonal asexuality in models for the maintenance of sex and the persistence of asexual lineages.