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Molecular evolution

Sex accelerates adaptation

Nature volume 531, pages 176–177 (2016)Cite this article

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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

When compared with the asexual alternative of simple cloning, sex seems like a complicated way of reproducing. The need for fast and efficient reproduction lies at the heart of Darwinian natural selection, so why sex exists is a conundrum that has fascinated biologists for more than 100 years1. In this issue, McDonald et al.2 (page 233) directly confirm the long-held theory that the advantage of sex lies in its ability to expose individual mutations to the actions of natural selection.

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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

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  1. Matthew R. Goddard
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Correspondence to Matthew R. Goddard.

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

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