Timeline for Russian Dolls - How do they reproduce?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
17 events
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| Feb 7, 2019 at 21:32 | comment | added | Liam Proven | @p.s.w.g Great question -- upvoted! The thing is that the cells in a volvox are interlinked because they grew together. They are all descendants of a single progenitor cell. (Like, for example, a human.) They can't integrate extra members later. Comparison: a human chimera, formed from 2 merged embryos, contains 2 dissimilar genomes... but add another individual's cells & that person must be on immunity-suppressants for the rest of their life. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics) | |
| Feb 6, 2019 at 18:44 | comment | added | p.s.w.g | @LiamProven I wasn't thinking about the mother cells being eaten by daughters (although I did mention that possibility in the case of the Russian dolls), so much as the mother cells joining the intercellular matrix of daughter colonies. However, I have been unable to find anything directly stating if this is even possible or if they simply die. I've asked about this specific point over on bio.SE and I welcome your input! | |
| Feb 6, 2019 at 16:34 | comment | added | Liam Proven | @p.s.w.g Not for a moment saying that you should have to participate! My position is basically that Volvox are very much plants. They don't eat as such. They absorb CO₂ and other trace nutrients and they photosynthesize and that's all. So the ruptured "mother" ball's cells can't be eaten and can't become parts of other colonies. Colonies grow by cell division, not incorporating outsiders. They can't. After the ball ruptures, it can't swim any more, so that's it. It dies. | |
| Feb 6, 2019 at 15:52 | comment | added | p.s.w.g | @Baldrickk Yes and aphids also have a dual reproductive system (sexual during lean times / winter, parthenogenic during warm periods to capitalize on available food as quickly as possible while it lasts). My reading about the volvox suggests it's dual reproductive system evolved for the same purpose (heat shock stimulates sexual reproduction, likely in preparation for a drought). There are definitely some parallels. | |
| Feb 6, 2019 at 15:42 | comment | added | Baldrickk | I was thinking aphids - they are born with eggs already formed inside of them. | |
| Feb 5, 2019 at 15:27 | comment | added | p.s.w.g | @LiamProven Thanks for your reply. I don't have a biology degree. I vaguely remembered this from some book I read that described the volvox life cycle. IIRC the were described as somewhat similar to sponges in that individual cells could be separated from the colony and reintegrated later. I might be entirely wrong on this point though. I'll do some searching later today and see if I can substantiate that particular claim. | |
| Feb 5, 2019 at 11:20 | comment | added | Liam Proven | Although my biology degree is some 30y ago now, I have to question this bit: > The cells that formrly composed the mother sphere don't simply die, however. Most of them are absorbed by one of the daughter spheres. | |
| Feb 2, 2019 at 15:39 | comment | added | p.s.w.g | @Sparhawk I wasn't all that familiar with it before, but, indeed, diatom reproduction does share a bit in common with the Russian dolls. Thanks for the link. | |
| Feb 2, 2019 at 11:44 | comment | added | Sparhawk | Funny, the first things I thought of were diatoms, with some equally weird algal reproduction. | |
| Feb 1, 2019 at 17:49 | comment | added | p.s.w.g | @JeopardyTempest I had to do a bit of digging around the internet to confirm, but yes, that's possible. See my update. | |
| Feb 1, 2019 at 17:48 | history | edited | p.s.w.g | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
typos, more details
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| Feb 1, 2019 at 17:28 | comment | added | JeopardyTempest | Any idea if the growth process is so slow that sometimes the daughter spheres themselves can start growing grandaughter spheres before breakout? | |
| Feb 1, 2019 at 14:54 | comment | added | called2voyage | @T.Sar It's Rule 34 of reality: If you can think of a reproductive scheme, nature's done it somewhere. | |
| Feb 1, 2019 at 10:33 | comment | added | Mermaker | Damn you, nature! Stop stealing our ideas! | |
| Jan 31, 2019 at 22:43 | history | edited | p.s.w.g | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 100 characters in body
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| Jan 31, 2019 at 21:35 | review | First posts | |||
| Jan 31, 2019 at 21:38 | |||||
| Jan 31, 2019 at 21:32 | history | answered | p.s.w.g | CC BY-SA 4.0 |