A Short-Term Advantage for Syngamy in the Origin of Eukaryotic Sex: Effects of Cell Fusion on Cell Cycle Duration and Other Effects Related to the Duration of the Cell Cycle—Relationship between Cell Growth Curve and the Optimal Size of the Species, and Circadian Cell Cycle in Photosynthetic Unicellular Organisms

Figure 8

Hypothetical sexual cell cycle involving two different-size cells. (a) Cell sizes at 1/5 and 4/5 of the G1 phase (asexual cell cycle). (b), (c) Small and large cell cycles, respectively. Both sexual cell cycles (black line) are compared to asexual one (dashed grey line). The sexual cycle of the small cell is shorter than the asexual cycle (green arrow). The sexual cycle of the large cell is longer than the asexual cycle (red arrow).