A conjugating pair of Paramecium cells visualized by confocal microscopy: the mating-type O cell was transformed to express fluorescent-labelled ciliary protein (shown in yellow), and both O and E ...

Paramecium are ciliates, members of a phylum of protists that possess both germline and somatic genomes housed in functionally distinct nuclei — the micronucleus and macronucleus, respectively. During ...

A new article suggests that the molecular mechanisms underlying sex and the stress response may be more tightly coupled than previously appreciated, providing a new explanation for the widespread ...

The mating process is one of the most important mechanisms for maintaining genetic variation in natural populations. The emergence of sexual reproduction turned out to be the most important ...

Why is sex so popular? The question of why so many organisms reproduce sexually has mystified evolutionary biologists since before Darwin, who wrote that "The whole subject is as yet hidden in ...

Conjugation (or mating) of ciliates is a unique phenomenon among living beings. They have sex not for reproduction or pleasure — they seek to increase genetic variation. Scientists from St Petersburg ...