What is it about?
Asexual organisms are thought to evolve very slowly or not. We show that the gynogenetic Amazon molly evolves to be different from females of one of the two host species they use. We propose that they tap into a generalized preference for novelty in livebearing fishes.
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Why is it important?
This is the first study to provide strong support for evolution in the asexual Amazon molly, despite it's lack of recombination and clonal inheritance of its genome.
Perspectives
This paper shows nicely, how collaborative efforts can move a field forward. Our study started with an honors thesis using old photographs from a field campaign many years ago. We asked if Amazon mollies would look differently based on which of two host species they would use - either Poecilia latipinna or P. mexicana. I predicted they would mimic their local host, but the opposite was true. SO much for gut feeling predictions................
Dr. Ingo Schlupp
University of Oklahoma
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Converging or diverging? Shape coevolution between a sperm-dependent asexual and its sexual hosts, Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, July 2025, Royal Society Publishing,
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0432.
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