Month: September 2022

SO ENDS this consideration of the most abundant protein fold in nature. It is also one of the most functionally flexible. It is a case study of how nature borrows from the existing toolbox of molecular and genetic options to elaborate innovative structures, continually modifying an existing template to find new functionality. Viruses are at the cutting edge of lifestyle innovation, and their promiscuous gene sharing has led to an abundance of their tools in other kingdoms. View in LinkedIn

GENETS BEGET RAMETS. "The commonest type of asexual reproduction is clonal growth (vegetative propagation) in which parental genotypes (genets) produce vegetative modules (ramets) that are capable of independent growth, reproduction, and often dispersal." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

PLURAL RAMETS = GENET. "Ramet "and “genet” refer to the unit or module of clonal growth (shoot) and the entire clone or genotype, respectively. A genet is therefore a collection of ramets descended from a single seedling arising from sexual reproduction. The ramets of a clone may or may not be physically separated and physiologically autonomous, depending on the type of clonal strategy." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

QUITE DISTINCT. "In plants, clonal growth and selfing result from entirely different structures and processes, and the selective forces responsible for their respective origins and maintenance are quite distinct." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

RANGE OF STRATEGIES. "Biological reproduction is the production of offspring by sexual or asexual processes. Among most groups of organisms are species that produce sexual and asexual offspring (e.g., bacteria, fungi, invertebrates), but flowering plants (angiosperms) display the widest range of strategies for achieving both reproductive modes." https://lnkd.in/dWczCFf View in LinkedIn

OUTCROSSING DEFINITION. “Out-crossing or out-breeding is the practice of introducing unrelated genetic material into a breeding line. It increases genetic diversity, thus reducing the probability of an individual being subject to disease or genetic abnormalities.” https://lnkd.in/dyxbktg View in LinkedIn

OUTCROSSING. "Clonal growth leads to an expansion in the size of genets and increased fitness because large floral displays increase fertility and opportunities for outcrossing. Moreover, the clonal dispersal of vegetative propagules can assist “mate finding,” particularly in aquatic plants." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

CONFLICT. "There are ecological circumstances in which functional antagonism between sexual and asexual reproductive modes can negatively affect the fitness of clonal plants." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. "Extensive clonal growth and vegetative dispersal can disrupt the functioning of these sexual polymorphisms, resulting in biased morph ratios and populations with a single mating group, with consequences for fertility and mating." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn

LOSS OF FUNCTION. "In populations in which clonal propagation predominates, mutations reducing fertility may lead to sexual dysfunction and even the loss of sex." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/29/8859.full View in LinkedIn