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SUCCESS WITHOUT SEXUAL CYCLE. “Thus, these organisms evolved means to generate genomic diversity and compensate for the apparent lack of sexual reproduction.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

PERSISTENT ASEXUAL FUNGUS. “Comparative genomics on Verticillium dahliae, a fungal plant pathogen for which a sexual cycle has never been observed, revealed extensive chromosomal rearrangements that establish lineage-specific genomic regions that are responsible for adaptation to plant hosts and evolution of fungal aggressiveness.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

PROTECTION CAUSES PERSISTENCE. "Lytic viruses were thought to kill the most numerous host (i.e., kill the winner). But persisting viruses/defectives can also protect against viruses, especially in a ubiquitous virosphere. In 1991, Yarmolinsky et al. discovered the addiction modules of P1 phage, in which opposing toxic and protective functions stabilize persistence." https://lnkd.in/dfuhiME View in LinkedIn

PERSISTENT ASEXUAL ROTIFERS. “Bdelloid rotifers are microscopic animals that have persisted for millions of years with an asexual lifestyle, and recent insight in the genome of a bdelloid rotifer confirmed that its genome structure is incompatible with conventional meiosis due to frequent genomic rearrangements.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

ADDICTION MODULES. "Here, I present a general model for the role such viruses play in the evolution of host symbiosis. By considering how virus mixtures can participate in addiction modules, I provide a functional explanation for persistence of virus derived genetic ‘junk’ in their host genomic habitats." https://lnkd.in/d64vzSy View in LinkedIn

ASEXUALITY IS NOT A HANDICAP. “However, several recent observations challenge this view, since some organisms appear to be successful in the absence of sexual reproduction.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

VIRUSES, humans as descendants of these creatures. Interview with Dr Villarreal. https://youtu.be/3Ms04x6MvMY View in LinkedIn

ASEXUAL LINEAGES. “Nevertheless, in a considerable proportion of eukaryotic lineages, no sexual cycle has ever been observed, e.g. in around 20% of all fungi, a kingdom that contains pathogens of animals and plants. Such lineages that lack a sexual cycle have been considered evolutionary dead-ends.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

VIRUS CLASSIFICATION, a lovely chart summarizing the world of viruses. Only 22 families of viruses have been described. Eight are DNA viruses, the remaining 14 are RNA viruses. https://lnkd.in/duMh5jV View in LinkedIn

SEXUAL DRIVERS OF VARIATION. “Before genetic information is transferred to the progeny, meiotic recombination generates novel combinations of existing alleles. It is therefore not surprising that meiotic recombination is considered an important driver for rapid adaptation of pathogens to their hosts.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn