Sexual selection and the evolution of obligatory sex

Abstract

Background. Among the long-standing conundrums of evolutionary theory, obligatory sex is one of the hardest. Current theory suggests multiple factors that might explain the benefits of sex when compared with complete asexuality, but no satisfactory explanation for the prevalence of obligatory sex in the face of facultative sexual reproduction. Results and Conclusion. We show that when sexual selection is present obligatory sex can evolve and be maintained even against facultative sex, under common scenarios of deleterious mutations and environmental changes. © 2007 Hadany and Beker; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.