In this nematode species, males are needed for reproduction, but not because of their genes

Publication from LBMC, IBENS and Isyeb in Science on March 15, 2019. In the Mesorhabditis belari roundworm, the sole purpose of males is to help females produce clones of themselves. This unique form of reproduction was recently described by researchers from the CNRS, l'ENS de Lyon, l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in an article published on 15 March 2019 . (Image: Two specimens of In 1949, the young biologist Victor Nigon described the reproduction of various species of nematodes, small roundworms that live in the soil in its doctoral thesis. These include Mesorhabditis belari , whose rare male specimens are required for reproduction, even though the genetic material found in sperm is rarely used by eggs. The resulting embryo produces a female, who is a clone of its mother. Seventy years later, this worm has once again drawn interest, this time from an international team led by researchers from the CNRS, l'ENS de Lyon, l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle1.