When fruit flies get sick, their offspring become more diverse

Thursday, August 13, 2015 - 15:20 in Biology & Nature

When fruit flies are attacked by parasites or bacteria they respond by producing offspring with greater genetic variability, new research shows. This extra genetic variability may give the offspring an increased chance of survival when faced with the same pathogens. These findings demonstrate that parents may purposefully alter the genotypes of their offspring.

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