Front Microbiol. 2018 Mar 21;9:503. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00503. eCollection 2018.
Frontiers in microbiology
R M Wallen, Michael H Perlin
PMID: 29619017 PMCID: PMC5871698 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00503
Sexual reproduction likely evolved as protection from environmental stresses, specifically, to repair DNA damage, often via homologous recombination. In higher eukaryotes, meiosis and the production of gametes with allelic combinations different from parental type provides the side effect of increased genetic variation. In fungi it appears that while the maintenance of meiosis is paramount for success, outcrossing is not a driving force. In the subkingdom
Keywords: Dikarya; bipolar mating; dimorphic fungi; homeodomain transcription factor; mating type; pheromone/receptor; tetrapolar mating