How did sex ever come into play with evolution? Why would it have been beneficial instead of cell division?

Question

How did sex ever come into play with evolution? Why would it have been beneficial instead of cell division? Do you think that evolution could bring two different cells through different mutations together that would be able to mate together creating a female and male gender? What are the chances of that? I don't understand why mating would be beneficial when cells can just divide and multiply.

Ok, so I have received one answer which makes good since. I understand that it creates more diversity, but what about the other questions?

Answer 1

It increases diversity. If you divide you get a bunch of copies of the original, so if the original had a mutation then it and all of its "offspring" would have it. With mating, there are chances of this covering up. Also, mating brings two good genes together, making a "stronger" individual so then theses good genes get passed on, so the species as a whole gets better. Also there is no truly dividing species. Bacteria can "mate" its weird. Its called conjugation, passing genes from one bacterial cell to another. Finally you ask what are the chances that one species being male and one female, probably about the same as us being able to talk while moneys are in the trees. I am Not saying we are derived from moneys.

Answer 2

Sex allows for recombination of genetic material and therefore greater diversity. Greater diversity means more opportunities to produce offspring that are going to have selective advantages. Therefore, sex itself has a selective advantage.

With asexual reproduction, you basically make a clone of yourself with no possibility for improvement.

An alternate hypothesis is that sex evolved as a mechanism to counteract deleterious mutations that accumulate during asexual reproductions. If you carry a harmful mutation, asexual reproduction will fix it in the genome permanently, whereas sexual reproduction allows your offspring the chance to obtain other alleles that can mask the deleterious ones. There are other theories as well. But the bottom line is that it evolved relatively early on this planet, probably more than once, and in some cases it's probably been lost from parts of the evolutionary tree.

Exchange of genetic material actually happens in bacteria through conjugation, even though they are technically asexual. One bacterium can make a little membrane extenstion called a sex pilus that can then fuse with another cell. The bacteria can then exchange accessory pieces of DNA called plasmids. Someone got the Nobel prize for discovering this. It's a primitive form of recombination, but it's not sex.

The most primitive forms of sex don't have genders. Protists like plasmodium (causes malaria) have parts of their life cycle that are sexual. There's no male and female, just a bunch of gametes looking for another gamete. Exactly how male and female mating types arose is largely a mystery, and I'm not informed enough about it to speculate.

Answer 3

If cells were to just divide for multiplication, there would be no variation in the population of that species. Variation within a population is a positive for evolution. When there is variation, the principle of "survival of the fittest" can come into play. By having two cells combine for multiplication, you get half of teh genetic material from each cell and they can combine to make a new, different offspring. With no sex, only division, there would be no variation, therefore, no evolution!

Answer 4

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Answer 5

dividing and multiplying = exact same offspring

mating = more diverse offspring

1 example that shows its important to have diversity is
- if a there was a deadly disease that was spreading, and everyone was exactly the same, the whole population would be wiped out. Unlike diversity where everyone is different, some may be resistant, allowing some survivors to reproduce sharing this immunity.

Answer 6

By mixing two different sets of genes it decreases the effects of any harmful mutations while increasing the distribution of beneficial ones.

Answer 7

You get access to other DNA besides your own. That may provide additional survival skills and may make your progeny dominant in their niche.

So it is worth the effort to have two sexes, courting, mating, and all the energy required to attract that mate because otherwise you could be the end of your genetic line.

Answer 8

Because there is much more variation and adaptation - usually when something that asexually reproduces is genetically different from its parents, this is not beneficial.

However, a sexually reproducing population enjoys much more variation with few drawbacks.

Answer 9

one word
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