Hybridogenesis as an intermediate step between sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis in stick insects Brandt, Alexander (VerfasserIn) Lavanchy, Guillaume (VerfasserIn) Mérel, Vincent (VerfasserIn) Soldini, Luca (VerfasserIn) Massy, Morgane (VerfasserIn) Dumas, Zoé (VerfasserIn) Gaudichau, Emelyne (VerfasserIn) Labédan, Marjorie (VerfasserIn) Pasquier Genoud, Falon (VerfasserIn) Bastardot, Marc (VerfasserIn) Schwander, Tanja (VerfasserIn) Text Text 2026 2026 eng electronic resourceremoteComputermedienOnline-Ressource Many organisms reproduce through non-canonical modes such as parthenogenesis or hybridogenesis (clonal transmission of one parent’s chromosomes), but whether these arise abruptly or stepwise from each other remains unclear. We address this in the stick-insect genus Bacillus , which harbors several hybrid lineages with diverse reproductive modes. From haplotype-resolved phylogenies of >500 wild-caught individuals, we infer a single, recent (~8,000 years) origin of all hybrids. The ancestral hybrid reproduced via hybridogenesis, which subsequently diversified into parthenogenesis and, twice independently, into triploid lineages. Laboratory crosses recapitulate this trajectory, where each step facilitated the next. These findings reveal how a single genomic perturbation can act as a catalyst for evolutionary innovation, turning the loss of sex into a driver of diversification rather than a dead end.<eng> Alexander Brandt, Guillaume Lavanchy, Vincent Mérel, Luca Soldini, Morgane Massy, Zoé Dumas, Emelyne Gaudichau, Marjorie Labédan, Falon Pasquier Genoud, Marc Bastardot, Tanja Schwander 570 https://purl.uni-rostock.de/rosdok/id00005578 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)--1091-6490 doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2535700123 urn:nbn:de:gbv:28-rosdok_id00005578-1 doi: 10.18453/rosdok_id00005578 oclc: 1593910836 ppn: (DE-627)197254747X