Bdelloid rotifer Macrotrachela quadricornifera image by Diego Fontaneto and Giulio Melone

A recent article states that the asexual reproducing organism, Bdelloid rotifer have the ability to engage in horizontal gene transfers (as oppose to vertical gene transfers which arise from human parents to their human offspring) with eubacteria, algae, protists, and fungi. It is thought that the main benefit of asexual reproduction is that the organism is surviving in a constant environment. However, the genetic diversity found in Bdelloid rotifer exceeds that of what should arise in asexual reproduction. It was previously thought that the Bdelloid rotifer mutates its genome significantly enough so it can acquire special traits like withstanding extreme desiccation. This new research overturns current thought that asexual reproducing organism are less likely to endure evolutionary changes than sexually reproducing organisms.

Original research article by C. Boschetti, A. Carr, A. Crisp, I. Eyres, Y. Wang-Koh, E. Lubzens, T. Barraclough, G. Micklem, and A. Tunnacliffe (2012) published on PLOS Genetics can be found here.