Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1991 Jun 15;88(12):5129-33.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.12.5129.

Are eukaryotic microorganisms clonal or sexual? A population genetics vantage

M Tibayrenc  1 , F Kjellberg, J Arnaud, B Oury, S F Brenière, M L Dardé, F J Ayala
Affiliations

Are eukaryotic microorganisms clonal or sexual? A population genetics vantage

M Tibayrenc et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

We argue that the mode of reproduction of microorganisms in nature can only be decided by population genetic information. The evidence available indicates that many parasitic protozoa and unicellular fungi have clonal rather than sexual population structures, which has major consequences for medical research and practice. Plasmodium falciparum, the agent of malaria, is a special case: the scarce evidence available is contradictory, some suggesting that uniparental lineages may exist in nature. This is puzzling (because P. falciparum is known to have a sexual stage) and poses a challenge that can be readily settled by ascertaining the frequency distribution of genotypes in natural populations.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1975;69(4):371-6 - PubMed
    1. Genetics. 1987 Feb;115(2):265-70 - PubMed
    1. Microbiol Rev. 1990 Sep;54(3):226-41 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Apr;87(7):2414-8 - PubMed
    1. Parasitology. 1990 Apr;100 Pt 2:219-33 - PubMed