Asexual Reproduction
Sohail Awan
Greetings! I am Sohail, a dedicated educator hailing from the vibrant and culturally diverse land of Pakistan.
Reproduction is defined as a biological process in which an organism gives rise to young ones (offspring) similar to itself. The offspring grow, mature and in turn produce new offspring. Thus, there is a cycle of birth, growth and death. Reproduction enables the continuity of the species, generation after generation.??
There is a large diversity in the biological world and each organism has evolved its own mechanism to multiply and produce offspring. The organism’s habitat, its internal physiology and several other factors are collectively responsible for how it reproduces. Based on whether there is participation of one organism or two in the process of reproduction, it is of two types. When offspring is produced by a single parent with or without the involvement of gamete formation, the reproduction is asexual reproduction . When two parents (opposite sex) participate in the reproductive process and also involve fusion of male and female gametes, it is called sexual reproduction.
Asexual Reproduction
In this method, a single individual (parent) is capable of producing offspring. As a result, the offspring that are produced are not only identical to one another but are also exact copies of their parent. Are these offspring likely to be genetically identical or different? The term clone is used to describe such morphologically and genetically similar individuals.
?Cell division in unicellular organism: (a) Budding in yeast; (b) Binary fission in Amoeba
Let us see howwidespreadasexual reproduction is, among different groups of organisms. Asexual reproduction is common among single-celled organisms, and in plants and animals with relatively simpleorganisations. In Protists and Monerans, the organism or the parent cell divides by mitosis into two to give rise to newindividuals. Thus, in these organismscell divisionis itself a mode ofreproduction.
Types of Asexual Reproduction
1-Binary fission
Many single-celled organisms reproduce by binary fission, where a cell divides into two halves and each rapidly grows into an adult (e.g., Amoeba, Paramecium). In yeast, the division is unequal and small buds are produced that remain attached initially to the parent cell which, eventually gets separated and mature into new yeast organisms (cells). Under unfavourable condition the Amoeba withdraws its pseudopodia and secretes a three-layered hard covering or cyst around itself. This phenomenon is termed as encystation.?
When favourable conditions return, the encysted Amoeba divides by multiple fission and produces many minute amoeba or pseudopodiospores; the cyst wall bursts out, and the spores are liberated in the surrounding medium to grow up into many amoebae. This phenomenon is known as sporulation.
Asexual reproductive structures: (a) Zoospores of Chlamydomonas; (b) Conidia of Penicillium; (c) Buds in Hydra; (d) Gemmules in sponge
Members of the Kingdom Fungi and simple plants such as algae reproduce through special asexual reproductive structures. The most common of these structures are zoospores that usually are microscopic motile structures. Other common asexual reproductive structures are conidia (Penicillium), buds (Hydra) and gemmules (sponge).?
2-Vegetative propagation
While in animals and other simple organisms the term asexual reproduction is used unambiguously, in plants, the term vegetative reproduction is frequently used. In plants, the units of vegetative propagation such as runner, rhizome, sucker, tuber, offset, bulb are all capable of giving rise to new offspring . These structures are called vegetative propagules.
Vegetative propagules in angiosperms: (a) Eyes of potato; (b) Rhizome of ginger; (c) Bulbil of Agave; (d) Leaf buds of Bryophyllum; (e) Offset of water hyacinth
3-Fragmentation
Obviously, since the formation of these structures does not involve two parents, the process involved is asexual reproduction . In some organisms, if the body breaks into distinct pieces (fragments) each fragment grows into an adult capable of producing offspring (e.g., Hydra). This is also a mode of asexual reproduction called fragmentation.
You must have heard about the scourge of the water bodies or about the ‘terror of Bengal’. This is nothing but the aquatic plant ‘water hyacinth’ which is one of the most invasive weeds found growing wherever there is standing water. It drains oxygen from the water, which leads to death of fishes.?
?You may find it interesting to know that this plant was introduced in Pakistan because of its beautiful flowers and shape of leaves. Since it can propagate vegetatively at a phenomenal rate and spread all over the water body in a short period of time, it is very difficult to get rid off them.?
Are you aware how plants like potato, sugarcane, banana, ginger, dahlia are cultivated? Have you seen small plants emerging from the buds (called eyes) of the potato tuber, from the rhizomes of banana and ginger? When you carefully try to determine the site of origin of the new plantlets in the plants listed above, you will notice that they invariably arise from the nodes present in the modified stems of these plants. When the nodes come in contact with damp soil or water, they produce roots and new plants. Similarly, adventitious buds arise from the notches present at margins of leaves of Bryophyllum. This ability is fully exploited by gardeners and farmers for commercial propagation of such plants.?
It is interesting to note that asexual reproduction is the common method of reproduction in organisms that have a relatively simple organisation, like algae and fungi and that they shift to sexual method of reproduction just before the onset of adverse conditions. Find out how sexual reproduction enables these organisms to survive during unfavourable conditions? Why is sexual reproduction favoured under such conditions? Asexual (vegetative) as well as sexual modes of reproduction are exhibited by the higher plants. On the other hand, only sexual mode of reproduction is present in most of the animals.?