This unique female, although interesting, is not the first species to exhibit this bizarre form of childbirth. In 2006, scientists discovered that two Komodo Dragons had the ability to lay fertilized eggs that had not technically been fertilized. In 2007 a team also found that captive female Hammerhead Sharks can do the same. So what makes this Boa unique? She was not cut off from males, in fact she was housed with a number of males. But, try as they might none won her affections, probably because she did not need them. Another unique feature of this Boa is that her offspring were all female and contained only half of her DNA. Furthermore, they all had a rare caramel coloring that is highly recessive in this species. Lastly, the offspring contained chromosomes that have never been seen in other baby snakes. As Bio lovers we are all familiar with chromosomes i.e. X and Y for humans. Snakes have a similar genetic makeup, however, instead of X and Y they have Z and W. In all snakes, ZZ produces males and ZW produces females. All of the virgin Boa's children were WW; an astonishing and new chromosome pairing.
I found this article to be quite interesting and it made me think a lot. If all animals had this ability would males become obsolete? Also, why is that captive animals are beginning to evolve the trait of virgin birth? This is definitely an article I will follow up on in the future.
Posted by Meesha Sharma (3)
Wow, that's really unusual! Do you know how likely the offspring are to survive if they only have half of her DNA? Do you think that this same phenomenon will also occur when the offspring are capable of reproducing?
ReplyDeletePosted by Katie Kalutkiewicz
REALLY interesting! Especially since the boa was housed with plenty of males to choose from. Do you know if the offspring of the virgin birth act any differently from the "normal" male and female? Like the lizards that only consist of females, do they hold any leftover traits? Also, is it possible then this can turn into a business, since the snakes have unique color… although there's the possibility of sterility or fertility… Are the offspring fertile?
ReplyDeletePosted by Leona Chan
Fascinating information! Do you know if the offspring are born with abnormalities that they either die from or live with? Also, I am curious to know if scientists have found other boas that also have this form of reproduction? Can the offspring reproduce in this way in the wild or are there any boas that do reproduce like this in the wild? Great topic! I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeletePosted by Shyla Morsbach
Do you know what the mothers chromosome pair was? Im not an expert on genetics but perhaps in the rare event that an individual is born as WW, that some how codes for coning abilities within the individual? But what would drive her to produce offspring? Is it something like whiptail lizards where they still need to perform a copulating behavior? I know in some insects the females still use the males sperm to fertilize her eggs but then "kick out" the males genes, leaving copies of herself. Weird stuff...
ReplyDelete-Meghan Nichols
Wow this is quite interesting!! It makes me wonder what the male to female ratio is in the boa species. I would imagine it to be quite low since the males do not have any reproductive advantages!! Does the article mention anything about the offspring needing any male attention or caring? What roles do the males play in their population?
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that the offspring were all WW, does this chromosome paring make them super females? Do we know if all boa species born by parthenogenesis have some offspring with WW chromosomes or was it just this particular one? Also, does this mean parthenogenic species eventually do not have any males in their population? This article definitely got me thinking a lot.
Loba Alam
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow guys thanks for all the feedback!
ReplyDeleteI'll try to address all the questions as best as I can :)
-Do you think that this same phenomenon will also occur when the offspring are capable of reproducing?
I think there is a strong correlation between being housed in captivity and this phenomenon. It makes me think of Jurassic Park. I wonder if any of you guys thought that too? But if the offspring are housed in captivity I don't see why at least a percentage of them wouldn't exhibit this reproductive ability.
-Do you know if the offspring of the virgin birth act any differently from the "normal" male and female?
I think they are hoping to observe the babies to see if they can produce viable offspring and how well they survive. They are truly an enigma because the birth of WW babies was previously thought impossible.
-Will they become a commodity?
The article does mention that boas and snakes are kept as pets worldwide. As humans we seem to always want things that we deem "rare" and this does seem to apply to these snakes. I would hope that they are only used for research on the effects of captivity on the biology of animals, but you do bring up a good point...they may be exploited for a quick buck :(
-Can the offspring reproduce in this way in the wild or are there any boas that do reproduce like this in the wild?
The female boa was born and raised in captivity and is the only known boa to have virgin births. I think there is a huge correlation between captivity and this happening.
-Do I know the mother's genetic makeup?
I am unaware of her makeup, but I do know that scientists would not conclude her babies to be WW from her genetic makeup. The article states, "In such species, all known examples of babies that are the product of parthenogenesis are male, carrying a ZZ chromosomal arrangement."
-But what would drive her to produce offspring?
The article does say that some male interaction is needed but it is unknown why she won't utilize sperm. As far as what drives her, I'd just say her most prominent biological need to have children. What makes her discriminate against the whole male species, that's the great question at hand...
-Does this chromosome paring make them super females?
I like that term. From my novice perspective that's how they appear to be
-Do we know if all boa species born by parthenogenesis have some offspring with WW chromosomes or was it just this particular one?
"All offspring are female. The offspring share only half the mother's genetic make-up" And all were WW.
-Also, does this mean parthenogenic species eventually do not have any males in their population?
That's what I imply. Although, one must factor in that this was a direct result of the females being born in captivity. But it may mean all boas in captivity will eventually become female. A lot of Jurassic Park/Feminist thoughts ran through my mind when I read this article...
Thank again for all your feedback. Glad you enjoyed the article :)
-Meesha Sharma