Appearance of males in a thelytokous strain of Milnesium cf. tardigradum (Tardigrada).
Tardigrades are generally gonochoristic. Many moss-dwelling species propagate by parthenogenesis, but heterogony has not yet been found. Milnesium tardigradum, a carnivorous tardigrade, also has both sexes, but males are usually rare and many populations appear to have only parthenogenetic reproduction. Since 2000, I have maintained a thelytokous strain of Milnesium cf. tardigradum that originated from one female. Individuals of this strain were thought to be all females, but here I report that males have emerged in this strain at a very low frequency. This is the first report of the appearance of males in parthenogenetic tardigrades. On the first pair of legs of some individuals, I observed the modified claws characteristic of males of this species. It is unknown whether these males can actually function in sexual reproduction; however, they might allow some possibility of genetic exchange among clonal populations. No environmental factors that generate males were determined.
Suzuki
Atsushi C
AC
Department of Biology, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama, Japan. chu@hc.cc.keio.ac.jp
D000818:Animals; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010312:Parthenogenesis