New paper on the many ways sex is used in biology: no wonder there is such confusion!

Diagram of the 7 conceptualization of sex used in biology.

In this paper, members of our network took a deep dive into the literature on how sex is used in biology. They identified 7 different conceptualizations of sex ranging from horizontal gene transfer to the actions individuals take to bring compatible gametes together to non-reproductive behaviors derived from these actions.

This paper helps readers understand the relationships between these different conceptualizations and the variation that exists even within each!

Possible classroom use: The diagram above comes from the article and could be used in a biology course to help students picture the variation in how sex is used and some of the organisms in each category. Using the ideas from this paper in class could help students understand why the idea of a universal definition of sex isn’t so simple and all the ways sex is used in biology.