Comments on: All Dad http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/ A blog about life, past and future. Written by DISCOVER contributing editor and columnist Carl Zimmer. Sat, 26 May 2012 01:25:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Christopher Mims http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6148 Christopher Mims Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:07:51 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6148 Truly astonishing. And while it might provide a route to invasion, I wonder how it could remain stable in the population long enough to even enable colonization of another species. Anything this lop-sided in terms of genetic fairness -- all the dad's genes and none of the mom's, even though she's doing the incubation? -- suggests to me that these clams have other means of reproduction, as well. Maybe they just switch this on when the time is right... (Alternately, maybe they are truly parasitic and in their native habitat are maintained at bearable levels by some other mechanism...) Truly astonishing. And while it might provide a route to invasion, I wonder how it could remain stable in the population long enough to even enable colonization of another species.

Anything this lop-sided in terms of genetic fairness — all the dad’s genes and none of the mom’s, even though she’s doing the incubation? — suggests to me that these clams have other means of reproduction, as well. Maybe they just switch this on when the time is right… (Alternately, maybe they are truly parasitic and in their native habitat are maintained at bearable levels by some other mechanism…)

]]> By: David Marjanović http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6147 David Marjanović Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:08:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6147 They are hermaphrodites, so each individual can take both the male and the female part, right? Do all do both at the same time, like snails? They are hermaphrodites, so each individual can take both the male and the female part, right? Do all do both at the same time, like snails?

]]> By: D.M. Hayes http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6146 D.M. Hayes Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:42:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6146 Mr. vun Kannon, Did you read the article? Zimmer does not state or even imply that androgenesis plays any role in the successful invasion of Corbicula. The article was about androgenesis and the evolutionary implications of sustaining such a reproductive system and NOT about how androgenesis has helped Corbicula susccessfully invade the US. Your comment that the success of Corbicula is due to invading a new environment is true, but not relevant to the post. Zimmer states "The huge success of Asian clams in the US is proof that androgenesis is not a one-way ticket to oblivion." Here, Zimmer is speaking in terms of evolutionary persistance. One could also argue that the persistance of this mode of reproduction in thier native range is also proof that androgenesis is not a one-way ticket to oblivion. Additionally, I would be interested in how you propose this aspect of thier life cycle will aid in the extermination of Corbicula. Thousands of conservation biologists and aquatic resource managers await your suggestion. Mr. vun Kannon,
Did you read the article? Zimmer does not state or even imply that androgenesis plays any role in the successful invasion of Corbicula. The article was about androgenesis and the evolutionary implications of sustaining such a reproductive system and NOT about how androgenesis has helped Corbicula susccessfully invade the US. Your comment that the success of Corbicula is due to invading a new environment is true, but not relevant to the post.

Zimmer states “The huge success of Asian clams in the US is proof that androgenesis is not a one-way ticket to oblivion.” Here, Zimmer is speaking in terms of evolutionary persistance. One could also argue that the persistance of this mode of reproduction in thier native range is also proof that androgenesis is not a one-way ticket to oblivion.

Additionally, I would be interested in how you propose this aspect of thier life cycle will aid in the extermination of Corbicula. Thousands of conservation biologists and aquatic resource managers await your suggestion.

]]> By: David vun Kannon, FCD http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6145 David vun Kannon, FCD Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:39:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6145 Their wild success has nothing to do with androgenesis and everything to do with invading a new ecology. You could probably argue that we will find it easier to eliminate this pest (than, say, zebra mussels) exactly because of this aspect of their life cycle. You usually write better than this. Their wild success has nothing to do with androgenesis and everything to do with invading a new ecology. You could probably argue that we will find it easier to eliminate this pest (than, say, zebra mussels) exactly because of this aspect of their life cycle. You usually write better than this.

]]> By: D.M. Hayes http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6144 D.M. Hayes Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:10:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6144 Speaking of clams, some mussels, including marine and freswater mussels exhibit Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI) where males will inherit mitochondrial DNA from the father and the mother but the paternal mtDNA is only found in the gonads of the males. Somatic tissue gets mom's mtDNA. So, in males, you get two different mtDNA while in female offspring, the mtDNA is all mom's. Recently, a published paper in Evolution suggests that the DUI mode of inheritance may have implications for sperm motility. <a href="http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00262.x" rel="nofollow">http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00262.x</a> Speaking of clams, some mussels, including marine and freswater mussels exhibit Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI) where males will inherit mitochondrial DNA from the father and the mother but the paternal mtDNA is only found in the gonads of the males. Somatic tissue gets mom’s mtDNA. So, in males, you get two different mtDNA while in female offspring, the mtDNA is all mom’s. Recently, a published paper in Evolution suggests that the DUI mode of inheritance may have implications for sperm motility.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00262.x

]]> By: Gerdien de Jong http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6143 Gerdien de Jong Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:34:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6143 Poeciliopsis fish do some odd reproduction too. Ask Robert Vrijenhoek. Poeciliopsis fish do some odd reproduction too. Ask Robert Vrijenhoek.

]]> By: Agria difficilis http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6142 Agria difficilis Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:00:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6142 Also occurs in little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata (linked in nick), and in fish the Squalius alburnoides <a href="http://eobasileus.blogspot.com/2008/03/male-chauvinist-minnows-form-all-male.html" rel="nofollow">http://eobasileus.blogspot.com/2008/03/male-chauvinist-minnows-form-all-male.html</a> Also occurs in little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata (linked in nick), and in fish the Squalius alburnoides
http://eobasileus.blogspot.com/2008/03/male-chauvinist-minnows-form-all-male.html

]]> By: Ron http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/comment-page-1/#comment-6141 Ron Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:08:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/04/01/all-dad/#comment-6141 Reproductive cloning is demonstrated to be a completely natural process.... Reproductive cloning is demonstrated to be a completely natural process….

]]>