Haplotype divergence supports long-term asexuality in the oribatid mite Oppiella nova

作者：Alexander Brandt, Patrick Tran Van, Christian Bluhm, Yoann Anselmetti, Zoé Dumas, Emeric Figuet, Clémentine François, Nicolas Galtier, Bastian Heimburger, Kamil S. Jaroň, Marjorie Labédan, Mark Maraun, Darren J. Parker, Marc Robinson‐Rechavi, Ina Schaefer, Paul Simion, Stefan Scheu, Tanja Schwander, Jens Bast · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.2101485118 · 被引用次数：51 · 研究领域：Study of Mite Species、Insect-Plant Interactions and Control、Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny

Significance Putatively ancient asexual species pose a challenge to theory because they appear to escape the predicted negative long-term consequences of asexuality. Although long-term asexuality is difficult to demonstrate, specific signatures of haplotype divergence, called the “Meselson effect,” are regarded as strong support for long-term asexuality. Here, we provide evidence for the Meselson effect in an asexual oribatid mite species, Oppiella nova , and we show that the effect is not caused by hybridization or polyploidization. Our findings provide conclusive evidence for the long-term absence of sex in O. nova and suggest that asexual oribatid mites can escape the dead-end fate usually associated with asexual reproduction.