Soil contamination is no new phenomenon in any part of the world. Scientists concerned over the effects or stress environmental pollution have on soil organisms for decades, have been trying to track the impact it have on the soil life.
anterior end of acrobeloides nanus 9
In one of such studies, it has been surprisingly tracked that the nematode Acrobeloides nanus -- an asexual species -- can brilliantly adapt genetically to soil contaminants and that too rapidly!
This finding defies the general opinion that asexual species have low adaptive potential. Not just that! It is also known that they adapt to stress comparatively less easily than sexual species, to an extend that these species are used as test organisms in evaluating ecotoxicological risk.
A study on the long-term environmental pollution's effects on soil organisms has revealed this amazing adapting capability of the worms. It is found that the worms from contaminated soil live longer and lay more eggs under polluted conditions, compared to the ones living in unpolluted soil.
Hats off to the Dutch-sponsored researcher Agnieszka Doroszuk for finding this interesting adaptation capability in an asexual species.
This finding would surely revolutionize the use of asexual species in the field of eco-toxicology.
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