GENETIC HOMOGENEITY AND SPECIATION IN THE PARTHENOGENETIC LIZARDS CNEMIDOPHORUS VELOX AND C. NEOMEXICANUS: EVIDENCE FROM INTRASPECIFIC HISTOCOMPATIBILITY

Laboratory synthesis of an independently reproducing vertebrate species

Speciation in animals commonly involves an extrinsic barrier to genetic exchange followed by the accumulation of sufficient genetic variation to impede subsequent productive interbreeding. All-female species of whiptail lizards, which originated by interspecific hybridization between sexual progenitors, are an exception to this rule. Here, the arising species instantaneously acquires a novel genotype combining distinctive alleles from two different species, and reproduction by parthenogenesis constitutes an effective intrinsic barrier to genetic exchange. Fertilization of diploid parthenogenetic females by males of sexual species has produced several triploid species, but these instantaneous speciation events have neither been observed in nature nor have they been reconstituted in the laboratory. Here we report the generation of four self-sustaining clonal lineages of a tetraploid species resulting from fertilization of triploid oocytes from a parthenogenetic Aspidoscelis exsanguis with haploid sperm from Aspidoscelis inornata. Molecular and cytological analysis confirmed the genetic identity of the hybrids and revealed that the females retain the capability of parthenogenetic reproduction characteristic of their triploid mothers. The tetraploid females have established self-perpetuating clonal lineages which are now in the third generation. Our results confirm the hypothesis that secondary hybridization events can lead to asexual lineages of increased ploidy when favorable combinations of parental genomes are assembled. We anticipate that these animals will be a critical tool in understanding the mechanisms underlying the origin and subsequent evolution of asexual amniotes.

Genetic homogeneity based on skin histocompatibility and the evolution and systematics of parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus laredoensis (Sauria: Teiidae)

The parthenogenetic whiptail lizard Cnemidophorus laredoensis of Texas and México was derived from one or more hybrids between the gonochoristic species Cnemidophorus gularis and Cnemidophorus sexlineatus. We analyzed clonal structure in C. laredoensis on the basis of histocompatibility reactions to reciprocal skin grafting. Individuals of C. laredoensis rejected skin grafts from both parental species and from a hybrid between C. gularis and an undescribed parthenogenetic species. One lizard initially identified as C. laredoensis was found to be a triploid C. laredoensis × C. gularis hybrid, based on its histocompatibility reactions. The hybrid accepted grafts from individuals of C. laredoensis; however, C. laredoensis rejected grafts from this and a second hybrid. Seventeen individuals of C. laredoensis from six sites located throughout the range of the species in Texas were fully histocompatible, based on a large number of reciprocal skin grafts. Only three individuals of C. laredoensis from three sites donated grafts to other individuals of the species, but they were unable to host all or most of the reciprocal grafts. The skin histo compatibility among 17 individuals of C. laredoensis from six widely separated geographic sites points to a high level of genetic homogeneity in the species due to clonal descent from one parthenogenetic C. gularis × C. sexlineatus hybrid. Unidirectional rejection of skin grafts by three lizards could be a result of postformational mutations within this lineage, though this suggestion is open to question. The name C. laredoensis should be restricted to populations in Texas and México that are diagnostically identical with the parthenogenetic species described from two sites in Laredo, Webb County, Texas, in 1973.

Parthenogenetic lizards as vertebrate systems

Unisexual (all-female) lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus are well suited for research in oogenesis, embryogenesis, nutrition, immunology, sex determination, genetics and the effects of aging and exposure to pathogens and chemicals, in addition to evolutionary biology. Individuals produce clones by means of parthenogenesis, and both diploid and triploid parthenogens exist. In addition, there are closely related bisexual (gonochoristic) species of Cnemidophorus. Advantages and disadvantages of maintaining laboratory colonies of Cnemidophorus are discussed.

Coexistence of Clones in a Heterogeneous Environment

Two genetically distinct clones of the asexual triploid fish Poeciliopsis 2 monacha-lucida inhabit the Rio del Fuerte of northwestern Mexico. Their coexistence apparently depends on feeding specializations that result in partitioning of the limited food resources in the desert streams. The findings suggest that these asexual organisms have sufficient clonal diversity to occupy a broad, heterogeneous, adaptive zone.

Animal parthenogenesis

The available evidence on the ecological factors favoring the existence and origin of natural parthenogenesis is evaluated. Analysis of the geographical distributions of the well-known cases of animal parthenogenesis in nature reveals (i) that most of these species exist in natural disclimax communities and (ii) that within these communities they exist in isolation from closely related congeneric species. Parthenogenesis can only evolve in areas devoid of the generating bisexual species, because such species would prevent newly formed unisexuals from establishing clones due either to hybridization or competition. Furthermore, the two unique features allowing parthenogenetic species to invade and occupy open habitats faster than bisexuals are (i) a double intrinsic rate of increase and (ii) the ability of one individual to establish a new colony.

Intraclonal histocompatibility in a parthenogenetic lizard: evidence of genetic homogeneity

A total of 175 skin grafts were transplanted among 20 individuals belonging to two separate populations of the parthenogenetic lizard Cnemidophorus uniparens. Of these, 98.8 percent were permanently accepted, which indicates that all individuals of each population may be genetically identical. These results further suggest that large populations or the entire species may consist of one clone derived from a single individual.