The evolutionary role of males in C. elegans.
Although the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans reproduces primarily as a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite, males are maintained in natural populations at low frequency. In this commentary, I discuss the evolutionary forces that maintain males and the role males might play in this mating system.
Department of Mathematics; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Jeffrey R
JR
Chasnov
Caenorhabditis elegans; androdioecy; evolution of sex; hermaphroditism; sexual conflict