Sexual vs.
Asexual
Reproduction
Sexual Reproduction
A type of reproduction in which the genetic materials
from two different cells combine, producing an offspring
The cells that combine are called sex cells
Female – egg
Male – sperm
Fertilization: an egg cell and a sperm cell join together
A new cell is formed and is called a zygote
Advantages: Sexual Reproduction
Diverse offspring: genetic variation among offspring
Half of the DNA comes from mom
Half of the DNA comes from dad
Due to genetic variation, individuals within a
population have slight differences
Plants – resist diseases
Traits can develop to resist harsh environments that
allows an organism survive
Advantages: Sexual Reproduction
Selective Breeding
Used to develop many types of
plants and animals that have
desirable traits
Agriculture/Farming: better
plants, larger animals
Desirable pets
Disadvantages: Sexual Reproduction
Time and Energy
Organisms have to grow and develop until they are old
enough to produce sex cells
Search and find a mate
Searching can expose individuals to predators, diseases, or
harsh environmental conditions
Fertilization cannot take place during pregnancy, which can
last as long as 2 years for some mammals.
Examples: Sexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
One parent: organism produces
offspring without fertilization
Uniform offspring:
Because offspring inherit all of their
DNA from one parent, they are
genetically identical to each other
and to their parent
Fission: Asexual Reproduction
Fission: Cell division in prokaryotes that forms two
“genetically” identical cells
DNA is copied
The cell begins to grow longer, pulling the two copies
apart
The cell membrane pinches inward in the middle of the
cell
Cell splits to form two new uniform, identical offspring
Not all the DNA is the same after division. Plasmids
aren’t equally distribuited.
Examples: bacteria, Ecoli, pond critters
Budding: Asexual Reproduction
Budding: a new organism grows by mitosis and cell
division on the body of its parent
The bud, or offspring is identical to the parent
The bud, when large enough, can break off of the
parent and live on its own
Offspring may remain attached and form a
colony
Examples: Yeast, Hydra, cactus
Regeneration: Asexual Reproduction
Regeneration: occurs when an offspring grows
from a piece of its parent.
Producing new organisms: Sea Stars
Sea urchins, sea cucumber, sponges,
and planarians
Producing new body parts: Gecko
Newts, tadpoles, crabs, hydra, and zebra
fish
Vegetative Propagation: Asexual
Vegetative Propagation: uniform offspring
grow from a part of a parent plant
Parent plants sends out runners
Where the runner touches the ground, roots can
grow
A new plant is produced even if the runner is
broken apart
Each new plant is uniform and identical to the
parent.
Examples: strawberries, potatoes, ivy, crabgrass
Advantages: Asexual Reproduction
Enables organisms to reproduce
without a mate
No wasted time and energy
Enables some organisms to rapidly
reproduce a large number of
uniform offspring
Disadvantages: Asexual Reproduction
Because their offspring are identical, there is
no genetic variation that can give an
organism a better chance for survival
Example: If a weed killer can kill the parent, it
will also kill the offspring
A whole species can be wiped out from a
disease
Dangerous mutations in DNA – if the parent
has the mutation in their DNA, the offspring will
have it too.
Examples: Asexual Reproduction
