Reproductive Strategies

The course will focus on sexual and asexual reproduction in land plants. In particular, the students will acquire competence on the genetics mechanism controlling reproductive strategies in Angiosperm. In particular, sex determination, self-incompatibility and fertilization control in Angiosperm will be discussed.
The course will also provide information on the diversity and evolution of reproductive strategies of animals, focusing on sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction, and on alternative mechanisms of sexual reproduction (meta-sexuality). This will allow students to obtain competences on the complex interactions between breeding strategies and evolutionary dynamics. The course will also provide information on the evolution of complex breeding cycles, on alternative mechanisms of sex determination, and on the evolution of viviparity with a special focus on vertebrates.

For animal reproduction, students will be able to identify the major pros and cons of sexual and asexual reproduction, to discuss the mechanisms leading to the evolution of different strategies, and to identify the evolutionary and ecological impact of these processes in animals and plants.