Asexual Reproduction - Advanced

[Figure1]
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One parent or two?

That is the main difference between sexual and asexual reproduction. Sexual
reproduction is combining genetic material from two parents, usually from
two gametes. How the two cells combine may take many forms, but does not
necessarily involve physical contact. Sexual reproduction produces offspring
that are genetically distinct from other offspring and from their parents.
Asexual reproduction produces offspring from just one parent. These
offspring are genetically identical to that one parent.

Reproduction
Some organisms look and act exactly like their parent. Others share many
similar traits, but they are definitely unique individuals. Some species have
two parents, whereas others have just one. How an organism reproduces
determines the amount of similarity the organism will have to its parent.
Reproduction is the process by which organisms give rise to offspring. It is
one of the defining characteristics of living things. There are two basic types
of reproduction: asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. Each of these
processes ensures that the parental generation gives genetic material, DNA,
to its offspring.
The process of cell division is how multicellular organisms grow and repair
themselves. It is also how many organisms produce offspring. For many
single-celled organisms, asexual reproduction is a similar process. The
parent cell simply divides to form two daughter cells that are identical to the
parent. Asexual reproduction produces offspring that are genetically identical

to the parent, whereas sexual reproduction produces a similar, but

genetically unique offspring. In sexual reproduction, meiosis produces
haploid gametes that fuse during fertilization to produce a diploid zygote
(Figure below). In other words, a child inherits half of the genetic material
from each parent. Look at the family in Figure below. The children resemble
their parents, but they are not identical to them. Instead, each has a unique
combination of characteristics inherited from both parents. The children, of
course, result from sexual reproduction.

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Fertilization of an egg cell by a sperm cell. In sexual reproduction, haploid

gametes fuse to produce a diploid zygote.[Figure2]

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Family Portrait: Mother, Daughter, Father, and Son. Children resemble their
parents, but they are never identical to them. Do you know why this is the
case?[Figure3]

Asexual Reproduction

Credit: Dale Harvey

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Do animals always have two parents?[Figure4]

No, not all animals have two parents. Sometimes animals can be made from
just one parent. This Komodo dragon, for example, only has a mother and
reproduces by parthenogenesis. Asexual reproduction is the process of
creating offspring from just one parent.
Are there male and female bacteria? How could you tell? Remember,
bacteria have just one chromosome; they do not have an X or Y
chromosome. So they probably have a very simplified form of reproduction.
Asexual reproduction, the simplest and most primitive method of
reproduction, involves a single parent and produces a clone, an organism

that is genetically identical to the parent. Haploid gametes are not involved
in asexual reproduction. A parent passes all of its genetic material to the
next generation. All prokaryotic and some eukaryotic organisms reproduce
asexually.
Asexual reproduction can be very rapid. This is an advantage for many
organisms. It allows these organisms to crowd out other organisms that
reproduce more slowly. Bacteria, for example, may divide several times per
hour. Under ideal conditions, 100 bacteria can divide to produce millions of
bacterial cells in just a few hours. However, most bacteria do not live under
ideal conditions. If they did, the entire surface of the planet would soon be
covered with them. Instead, their reproduction is kept in check by limited
resources, predators, and their own wastes. This is true of most other
organisms as well.
There are a number of types of asexual reproduction including fission,
fragmentation, budding, vegetative reproduction, spore formation and
agamogenesis. Spore formation occurs in plants, and some algae and fungi,
and will be discussed in additional concepts.

Credit: Mariana Ruiz Villarreal (LadyofHats) for CK-12 Foundation

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Binary Fission in various single-celled organisms (left). Cell division is a

relatively simple process in many single-celled organisms. Eventually the
parent cell will pinch apart to form two identical daughter cells. In multiple
fission (right), a multinucleated cell can divide to form more than one
daughter cell. Multiple fission is more often observed among protists.
[Figure5]

Fission
In fission (or binary fission), a parent separates into two or more individuals
of about equal size. This type of reproduction is common among single-celled
organisms including bacteria, archaea, and unicellular eukaryotes, such as
protists and some fungi. The single cell divides into two daughter cells.

Fragmentation
In fragmentation, a body breaks into several fragments, which later
develop into complete organisms. For example, a new starfish (Figure
below) can develop from a single ray, or arm. In addition to starfish, this type
of reproduction is common among some worms, fungi and plants. Many of
these organisms are also capable of sexual reproduction. Most lichens, which
form from a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and photosynthetic
algae or bacteria, reproduce through fragmentation. This ensures that new
individuals contain both symbionts.

Budding
In budding, organisms reproduce by having new individuals split off from
existing ones, which results in genetically identical parent and daughter
organisms. The bud may stay attached or break free from the parent.
Eukaryotic organisms, such as the single cell yeast and multicellular hydra,
undergo budding (Figure below).

Credit: Starfish: Flickr:ShyViolet09; Yeast: Zappy's

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CK-12 Foundation
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Starfish reproduce by fragmentation and yeasts reproduce by budding. Both

are types of asexual reproduction.[Figure6]

Vegetative Reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a type of asexual reproduction found in plants.
This type of reproduction occurs when new individuals are formed without
the production of seeds or spores. The formation of new plants out of
rhizomes or stolons is an example of vegetative reproductive, such as in the
strawberry plant. Other plants use this type of reproduction to reproduce
through bulbs or tubers, or shoots and suckers that form along lateral roots.
See the Plant Biology concepts for additional information.

Credit: James Lee

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These strawberry plants reproduce by vegetative reproduction. New

strawberries grow out of stolons, a specialized type of horizontal aboveground shoot.[Figure7]

Agamogenesis
Agamogenesis is any form of reproduction that does not involve a male
gamete. These include are parthenogenesis and apomixis.
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction where growth and
development of embryos occur without fertilization. Parthenogenesis occurs
naturally in aphids, rotifers, nematodes and some other invertebrates, as
well as in many plants and certain lizards, such as the Komodo dragon.
Apomixis is asexual reproduction, without fertilization, in plants.

Asexual Reproduction Summary

Asexual Reproduction Summary

Type

Description

Example
Organisms

Fission

Occurs when a parent cell splits into two identical

daughter cells of the same size.

Bacteria, Protists,
Unicellular Fungi

Fragmentation

Occurs when a parent organism breaks into fragments,

or pieces, and each fragment develops into a new
organism.

Starfish, some
worms, fungi,
plants, lichens

Budding

Occurs when a parent cell forms a bubble-like bud.

The bud stays attached to the parent cell while it grows
and develops. When the bud is fully developed, it
breaks away from the parent cell and forms a new
organism.

Yeast, Hydra

Vegetative
Reproduction

Occurs when new individuals are formed without the

production of seeds or spores.

Plants

Agamogenesis

Any form of reproduction that does not involve a male

gamete.

Many plants and

some animals.

Vocabulary

agamogenesis: Any form of reproduction that does not involve a male

gamete.
asexual reproduction: Reproduction involving only one parent;
occurs without a fusion of gametes; produces offspring that are all
genetically identical to the parent.
budding: A form of asexual reproduction in which a new organism
develops from an outgrowth or bud on another one; the bud may stay
attached or break free from the parent.
clone: A genetically identical copy; may be a gene, a cell or an
organism; an organism that is genetically identical to its parent.
diploid: The state of a cell containing two sets of chromosomes; in
human somatic cells, two sets is 46 (23 pairs) chromosomes, 2n.
fission: Asexual reproduction in which a parent separates into two or
more individuals of about equal size.

fragmentation: Asexual reproduction in which the body breaks into

several fragments, which later develop into complete organisms.
gamete: A sexually reproducing organisms reproductive cells, such as
sperm and egg cells.
haploid: The state of a cell containing one set of chromosomes; in human
gametes, one set is 23 chromosomes, n.
meiosis: A type of cell division that halves the number of chromosomes
and forms gametes.
parthenogenesis: A form of asexual reproduction where growth and
development of embryos occur without fertilization.
reproduction: Process by which living organisms give rise to
offspring; making the next generation.
sexual reproduction: Reproduction involving the joining of haploid
gametes, producing genetically diverse individuals.
spore: A haploid reproductive cell, found in plants, algae and some
protists; can fully develop without fusing with another cell.
vegetative reproduction: A type of asexual reproduction found in
plants where new individuals are formed without the production of seeds or
spores.
zygote: A fertilized egg; the first cell of a new organism.

Summary

Asexual reproduction involves one parent and produces offspring that

are genetically identical to each other and to the parent.
Numerous types of asexual reproduction exist, including fission,
fragmentation and budding.
Bacteria and single-celled eukaryotic organisms must reproduce
asexually, however, numerous multi celled organisms also reproduce
asexually.

Review
1.
2.
3.

What is reproduction?
Describe three types of asexual reproduction?
Define gamete and zygote. What number of chromosomes does each
have?
4.
Compare and contrast asexual and sexual reproduction.