在这里，研究人员在经典的孤雌生殖，二倍体蝗虫Warramaba virgo中测试并否定了这两种假设。遗传数据揭示了至少25万年前的单一杂交交配起源的蝗虫，对其14种生理和生活史特征的比较分析显示，没有证据表明与同一性别的同类相比，杂交起源的孤雌蝗虫适应性发生了改变。他们的研究结果表明，孤雌生殖的稀有是由于对起源的限制，而不是由于快速灭绝。
据介绍，孤雌生殖物种的罕见通常归因于伴随无性别而来的遗传变异的减少，然而自然的孤雌生殖可以令人惊讶地成功。生态成功通常被认为来自于杂交，通过重复起源增强遗传多样性或杂种优势增强表型宽度。
附：英文原文
Title: Parthenogenesis without costs in a grasshopper with hybrid origins
Author: Michael R. Kearney, Moshe E. Jasper, Vanessa L. White, Ian J. Aitkenhead, Mark J. Blacket, Jacinta D. Kong, Steven L. Chown, Ary A. Hoffmann
Issue&Volume: 2022-06-03
Abstract: The rarity of parthenogenetic species is typically attributed to the reduced genetic variability that accompanies the absence of sex, yet natural parthenogens can be surprisingly successful. Ecological success is often proposed to derive from hybridization through enhanced genetic diversity from repetitive origins or enhanced phenotypic breadth from heterosis. Here, we tested and rejected both hypotheses in a classic parthenogen, the diploid grasshopper Warramaba virgo. Genetic data revealed a single hybrid mating origin at least 0.25 million years ago, and comparative analyses of 14 physiological and life history traits showed no evidence for altered fitness relative to its sexual progenitors. Our findings imply that the rarity of parthenogenesis is due to constraints on origin rather than to rapid extinction.
DOI: abm1072
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm1072