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Sex without crossovers mimics clonal reproduction in Rhynchospora tenuis

Nature Plant Genetics Meng Zhang, Marco Castellani, Stefan Steckenborn, Maciej Majka, Georgios Tsipas, Thiago Nascimento, Ulla Neumann, Gokilavani Thangavel, Laura A. Robledillo, Thomas Lux, Lorraine Deberón, Ursula Pfordt, José A. Campoy, Athul Vijayan, Ton Timmers, Nafiseh Sargheini, Magdalena Marek, Hequan Sun, Paulo G. Hofstatter, Bruno Huettel, Steven Dreissig, Klaus F. X. Mayer, Duarte D. Figueiredo, André L. L. Vanzela, Korbinian Schneeberger, André Marques 2026-09-16

TL;DR - A Nature study reports that the plant Rhynchospora tenuis undergoes obligate, genome-wide meiosis without crossovers in both sexes. This makes sexual reproduction genetically resemble clonal reproduction by limiting recombination.

  • Achiasmy occurs during both male and female meiosis.
  • The absence of crossovers applies across the entire genome.
  • The finding challenges the usual association between sexual reproduction and meiotic genetic reshuffling.
  • The provided abstract snippet does not describe the underlying mechanism or broader evolutionary consequences.

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