Evolution of sex and asex



Table of Contents

1.Introduction1

2.Discussion1

2.1. Sexual Reproduction2

2.2. Asexual Reproduction3

2.3. Hypotheses highlighting the sexual genetic system predominance4

2.4. Advantages of Sexual reproduction over the asexual10

3.Conclusion10

4.References12

Evolution of sex and asex

Introduction

From a biological viewpoint, the purpose of life is to reproduce and pass genes on to the next generation. Organisms have evolved many different strategies to maximize their probability of doing this. But there are just two basic methods of reproduction: sexual and asexual. A much difficulty exists in order to differentiate the natural selection from that of the sexual selection. As explained by one of the Evolutionary Psychologist that “Natural selection is about living long enough to reproduce; sexual selection is about convincing others to mate with you.” (Miller, 2010). This assignment is based on the analysis to highlight the evolution of sexual and asexual reproduction by reflecting the literature produced for the explanation of the concept along with the advantages and costs that are associated with each of the reproduction process.

Discussion

In order for natural selection to occur the following three conditions require to be met; there must be genetic variation, the variation must be heritable, and finally, these peculiarities must influence the number of offspring of an individual (thinking of competition) (Weismann, 1889). It is about one and a half million years that the organised diploid sex has been around. A lot of dispute on the topic of the importance of the sexual and asexual reproductive system exists, so to understand the evolution of the sex and asex, there is a need to first understand both concepts, and the context in which the two are important.

2.1. Sexual Reproduction

A number of scientific hypotheses of competing nature exist in order to explain the evolution of the sexual reproduction. A single celled eukaryotic species is the one that is the main elements from which all sexually reproducing organisms are supposed to be derived (Letunic & Bork, 2007; Letunic & Bork, 2011). Multicellular plants, animals and fungi along with a number of protists have an ability to be produced sexually. Some kinds of plants such as the parthenocarpic and Bdelloidea are unfortunately the one who are secondarily been deprived of this characteristic. The two distinctive themes that are related to the evolution of sex include its origination and the maintenance. However, a lot of difficult exist in testing experimentally the hypothesis that relates to the origin of sex, and thus the current work has been best focused on maintaining the sexual production concept.

It has been proved by the theories that the fitness quality has been improved with the help of the sexual cycle maintenance despite the fact that it is related to the reduction of the overall number of off spring, an element discussed in the two-fold cost of sex. The evolution for sex will only be advantageous if it is marked with a significant association with the expansion in the offspring fitness. Genetic variation provides with the most important explanation in the context of advantages associated with the sexual ...