New Clues to How Sex Evolves

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The millimeter-long transparent nematode C. elegans (left) is ideal for observing the development of sex cells inside the wormss two large gonads (partial view center). Antibodies label zinc-finger proteins in Pairing Centers attached to the nuclear  ...
The millimeter-long, transparent nematode C. elegans (left) is ideal for observing the development of sex cells inside the worms's two large gonads (partial view, center). Antibodies label zinc-finger proteins in Pairing Centers attached to the nuclear periphery during the pairing process (red, right). Credit: Berkeley Lab

Sex is a boon to evolution; it allows genetic material from parents to recombine, giving rise to a unique new genome. But how did sex itself evolve? Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have found clues to one part of this complex question in ongoing studies of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.


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