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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1990 Apr;87(7):2424–2427. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.7.2424

Antibiotics cause parthenogenetic Trichogramma (Hymenoptera/Trichogrammatidae) to revert to sex.

R Stouthamer 1, R F Luck 1, W D Hamilton 1
PMCID: PMC53701  PMID: 11607070

Abstract

Completely parthenogenetic Trichogramma wasps can be rendered permanently bisexual by treatment with three different antibiotics or high temperatures. The evidence strongly suggests that maternally inherited microorganisms cause parthenogenesis in these wasps. Theories predict female-biased sex ratio in offspring under the influence of maternally inherited symbionts, but extreme sex ratios of 100% females were never considered because the lack of males would prevent the host's reproduction.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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