Parthenogenesis, reproduction without male sperm, fascinates me. This natural form of asexual reproduction occurs in a wide range of plants and animals, including some species of insects, spiders, snails, crayfish, brine shrimp, sharks, amphibians, reptiles, and birds.
Parthenogenetic offspring can be full clones of the mother with the same genes. If the mother’s egg divides, the offspring gets only a fraction of the mother's alleles since DNA mixes during meiosis, creating genetic variation.
Parthenogenetic offspring can be full clones of the mother with the same genes. If the mother’s egg divides, the offspring gets only a fraction of the mother's alleles since DNA mixes during meiosis, creating genetic variation.
 | A famous example of an all-parthenogenetic species is the New Mexico whiptail lizard of the US Southwest. These all-female lesbian lizards engage in butch-femme “pseudocopulation” with one lizard mimicking a male to stimulate ovulation in the other female. |
I have a short story in the works, Pargensia, exploring the implications for inheritance and cultural stability of a human-like species reproducing by parthenogenesis. What happens when a child in this monolithic culture turns away from her inheritance--something no one has ever done before?
Some species (such as cockroaches) flip between sexual and asexual (parthenogenetic) reproduction depending on their circumstances. This factoid is a key element in my short story Captain Palaio’s Twilight Flight, which explores space-faring folk who’ve reproduced by parthenogenesis for generations and their response when they meet breeding males on an alien planet.
Some species (such as cockroaches) flip between sexual and asexual (parthenogenetic) reproduction depending on their circumstances. This factoid is a key element in my short story Captain Palaio’s Twilight Flight, which explores space-faring folk who’ve reproduced by parthenogenesis for generations and their response when they meet breeding males on an alien planet.
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