Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Molecular evolution

Sex accelerates adaptation

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

An analysis confirms the long-standing theory that sex increases the rate of adaptive evolution by accelerating the speed at which beneficial mutations sweep through sexual, as opposed to asexual, populations. See Letter p.233

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1: Picking rubies from the rubbish.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Burt, A. Evolution 54, 337–351 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. McDonald, M. J., Rice, D. P & Desai, M. M. Nature 531, 233–236 (2016).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Fisher, R. A. The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection (HardPress, 2013).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Muller, H. J. Am. Nat. 66, 118–138 (1932).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Peck, J. R. Genetics 137, 597–606 (1994).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Colegrave, N. Nature 420, 664–666 (2002).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Goddard, M. R., Godfray, H. C. J. & Burt, A. Nature 434, 636–640 (2005).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Morran, L. T., Schmidt, O. G., Gelarden, I. A., Parrish, R. C. 2nd & Lively, C. M. Science 333, 216–218 (2011).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Gray, J. C. & Goddard, M. R. BMC Evol. Biol. 12, 43 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Gray, J. C. & Goddard, M. R. Ecol. Lett. 15, 955–962 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hickey, D. A. & Rose, M. R. in The Evolution of Sex: An Examination of Current Ideas (eds Michod, R. E. & Levin, B. R.) 161–193 (Sinauer, 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Giraldo-Perez, P. & Goddard, M. R. A Proc. R. Soc. B 280, 20131875 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Matthew R. Goddard is at the School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK, and at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand.,

    Matthew R. Goddard

Authors
  1. Matthew R. Goddard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew R. Goddard.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Systems biology: Network evolution hinges on history

Molecular evolution: Hidden diversity sparks adaptation

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Goddard, M. Sex accelerates adaptation. Nature 531, 176–177 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17304

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17304

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation