Orive Maria E, Krueger-Hadfield Stacy A
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, KS 66045.
Department of Biology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, 1300 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL 35294.
J Hered. 2021 Mar 12;112(1):1-8. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esaa058.
Organisms across the tree of life have complex life cycles that include both sexual and asexual reproduction or that are obligately asexual. These organisms include ecologically dominant species that structure many terrestrial and marine ecosystems, as well as many pathogens, pests, and invasive species. We must consider both the evolution and maintenance of these various reproductive modes and how these modes shape the genetic diversity, adaptive evolution, and ability to persist in the species that exhibit them. Thus, having a common framework is a key aspect of understanding the biodiversity that shapes our planet. In the 2019 AGA President's Symposium, Sex and Asex: The genetics of complex life cycles, researchers investigating a wide range of taxonomic models and using a variety of modes of investigation coalesced around a common theme-understanding not only how such complex life cycles may evolve, but how they are shaped by the evolutionary and ecological forces around them. In this introduction to the Special Issue from the symposium, we give an overview of some of the key ideas and areas of investigation (a common clonal lexicon, we might say) and introduce the breadth of work submitted by symposium participants.
生命之树上的生物具有复杂的生命周期，包括有性和无性繁殖，或者完全是无性繁殖。这些生物包括在许多陆地和海洋生态系统中占据主导地位的物种，以及许多病原体、害虫和入侵物种。我们必须考虑这些不同繁殖方式的进化和维持，以及这些方式如何塑造表现出这些繁殖方式的物种的遗传多样性、适应性进化和生存能力。因此，拥有一个共同的框架是理解塑造我们星球的生物多样性的关键方面。在2019年美国遗传学会主席研讨会上，“性与无性：复杂生命周期的遗传学”，研究人员研究了广泛的分类模型，并使用了各种研究方法，围绕一个共同的主题——不仅要理解这种复杂的生命周期是如何进化的，还要理解它们是如何受到周围进化和生态力量的影响的。在本次研讨会特刊的引言中，我们概述了一些关键思想和研究领域（我们可以称之为共同的克隆词汇），并介绍了研讨会参与者提交的广泛研究成果。
