Virgin birth stories, where young people are born without fertilization, have been told throughout history. Mars, an ancient Roman god, Horus, an ancient Egyptian god, and Qi from ancient Chinese mythology were born of virgins. But virgin births actually happen in the natural world.

The first evidence of virgin birth in alligators was found in the American alligator. Crocodylus acuteusHe was held in captivity for 16 years at a zoo in Costa Rica. He had a clutch of 14 eggs, seven of which were live and artificially hatched. The eggs did not hatch and the contents of six of them could not be understood. But one contained a fully formed fetus that was genetically identical to its mother and showed no evidence of any male influence. This is not the first case of a virgin birth in the animal kingdom. Birds, including baby lizards, snakes, sharks, and California condor, have been documented to hatch from unfertilized eggs.

How to explain virgin birth?

Species can reproduce sexually or asexually by combining the genetic material of the two parents. Our ancient ancestors were asexual and essentially created clones of themselves. Plants reproduce similarly, including by division, budding, and fragmentation.

However, this creates many genetically identical organisms, and the lack of genetic diversity means individuals cannot adapt to changing conditions. If the environment is bad for one member of the species, it is bad for all and can lead to extinction.

For sexual reproduction in species such as humans, sperm are required to fertilize eggs and form an embryo. From an evolutionary perspective, sexually reproducing species are considered more advanced because their offspring are genetically diverse and have unique combinations of their parents’ genes. This diversity can be important if a species has to adapt. It also reduces the negative genetic mutations often associated with inbreeding (when close relatives mate).

Virgin birth is a form of asexual reproduction as it does not require genetic information from the sperm. However, unlike other forms of asexual reproduction, they need an egg. Unfertilized eggs are usually produced by females – perhaps you ate unfertilized eggs from a domestic chicken for breakfast this morning – and if the unfertilized eggs are not eaten, they eventually die. But there is an exception. Virgin birth, known as parthenogenesis, happens when an unfertilized egg develops into an embryo.

While it doesn’t have to be genetically identical to the mother, it depends on how the egg develops. The parthenogenic offspring can be a full or half clone of the mother. Half-clones are formed when embryonic cells divide in half before reproduction. Complete clones are created when an embryo regenerates all cells.

Therefore, half clones have even less genetic diversity than full clones. Not only do they lack the genetic diversity of organisms produced by sexual reproduction, they also inherit only half of their mother’s genetic diversity.

Some species, called facultative parthenogenes, alternate between sexual and asexual reproduction. They mainly rely on sexual reproduction, but can use asexual reproduction if necessary.

It is believed to be triggered in a number of circumstances by virgin birth, which usually results in a female birth. For example, when there are several men around. This is often reported in captive animals, including hooded sharks, where the animals are kept in single-sex enclosures.

gene transfer

Females can use parthenogenesis even when males are around. For example, last year, researchers were surprised when a female zebra shark hatched several offspring whose DNA did not match any of the males at the Chicago Aquarium, where she lives. Maybe the man didn’t like the men he lived with.

If environmental conditions are poor, asexual reproduction requires less effort than sexual reproduction because the male does not have to spend time and energy looking for a mate. For example, many cases of parthenogenesis have been found in lizards, snakes and lizards living in dry and harsh climates such as high altitudes.

Females can also reproduce asexually to take advantage of a favorable change in conditions. The spiny crayfish comes from the United States, but was introduced to Europe where the climate was milder. It invaded many European waterways through asexual reproduction. Although most invasive species are larger and stronger than native species, parthenogenesis is another factor that can contribute to their success.

Genetic testing technology, which can more easily identify parthenogenesis, is helping researchers discover that more and more species are capable of virgin birth. The discovery of parthenogenesis in the American alligator suggests a common ancestral link between archaeosaurs or ruling reptiles, including dinosaurs, pterosaurs (flying reptiles), birds, and crocodiles. Since parthenogenesis occurs in birds and crocodiles, it is possible for dinosaurs to be born virgins as well.

The virgin mother crocodile is eerily reminiscent of the scene in Jurassic Park where scientists claimed that there was nothing to worry about, that they could control the park’s population by ensuring that all dinosaurs were born female so that the offspring would not be born naturally. . But chaos theory expert Dr. According to Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum), “life finds a way.” Source