A Model of Asexuality and Clonal Diversity: Cloning the Red Queen

Given benefits of sexual reproduction, the long term persistence of asexual lineages is hard to explain. The Red Queen—which states that sex is maintained by coevolutionary interactions between hosts and their harmful parasites—is one theory that can account for both the prevalence of sexual reproduction and the occasional persistence of long-term asexual reproduction. In this paper, I present a model to analyse the population structures of asexual populations under the Red Queen. The results of the model show that the long-term persistence of asexuality results in two distinct (and genetically diverse) population structures. These may be useful in predicting patterns of dispersal of ancient asexual organisms. Further, the results show in detail how it is that the long-term persistence of asexuality is compatible with the Red Queen theory of the maintenance of sexual reproduction in populations.