I have seen people most of the times writing why sex evolved but this is the first time I came across how sex evolved.
Sex is a boon to evolution;(no doubt about that) it allows genetic material from parents to recombine, giving rise to a unique new genome. But how did sex itself evolve?
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have found clues to one part of this complex question in ongoing studies of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Researchers have identified a key family of genes and proteins that help bring C. elegans chromosomes together during meiosis. This specialized cell division produces gametes, or sex cells, each of which has only one copy of each chromosome instead of the two copies most cells carry. For meiosis to work properly, corresponding chromosomes must first identify each other, then line up accurately and stay together during the recombination process.
Different organisms use different methods for these critical steps; in C. elegans, the job is initiated by regions called Pairing Centers, which are found near one end of each of the worm’s six chromosome. Dernburg’s lab has been studying the role of these special regions.
When it comes to the evolution of sex in C. elegans and its relatives, researchers haven’t yet figured out what makes each chromosome unique, but the evidence is strong that the answer, as far as the worm is concerned, lies on the chromosomes’ Pairing Centers.
Via: Sciencedaily
