A new hypothesis for the origin of the parthogenetic grasshopper Moraba virgo.
It is proposed that Moraba virgo, the only all-female grasshopper, originated by hybridisation between two extant species P169 and P196. Such an origin accounts for M. virgo's peculiar karyotype and pattern of late replication. The model is predictive and experiments are suggested to test it.
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002875:Chromosomes; D004261:DNA Replication; D005260:Female; D006110:Grasshoppers; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D007621:Karyotyping; D008954:Models, Biological; D010312:Parthenogenesis; D011336:Probability