Amoeba - Reproduction of amoeba

Reproduction of amoeba

Asexuality (reproduction by binary fission) is often thought to be a defining characteristic of amoebae. However, analysis of 71 isolates of amoeba from the same geographical area along a river indicated that sex must be occurring in that particular lineage. Recently, Lahr et al. proposed that the majority of amoeboid lineages are, contrary to popular belief, at least anciently sexual, and that most current asexual groups have probably arisen recently and independently. In addition, recent evidence also indicates that several other single-celled eukaryotes that were previously regarded as asexual are, or were in the past, capable of sexual reproduction. These findings have led to the idea that sex was present in the earliest common ancestor of all eukaryotes.