Sexual vs.

Asexual
Reproduction
Compare the results of uniform or diverse offspring
from sexual or asexual reproduction
Uniform offspring
Diverse offspring
Sexual reproduction
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
 Sexual Reproduction

Sexual reproduction produces a greater

chance of variation within a species than
asexual reproduction would.
This variation improves the chances that a
species will adapt to his environment and
survive.
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.
What is sexual reproduction?

Requiring 2 parents
male and female (egg & sperm)
The egg and sperm join (zygote) to form
an entirely new organism
Offspring are different from the parent
organism because
Sexual Reproduction:
Requiring 2 parents (egg & sperm)
Combining different genetic material
Methods of sexual reproduction:

Pollination
External Fertilization
Internal Fertilization
 External Fertilization

External fertilization usually requires a medium

such as water, which the sperms can use to swim
towards the egg cell. External fertilization usually
occur in fish and amphibians.
The females lay the eggs in the water and the
male squirts the sperm in the same area.
 Internal
Fertilization
Fertilization occurs within the female.
Internal fertilization occurs in mammals,
insects, birds, reptiles.
Mammals (gorillas, lions, elephants, rats,
zebras, and dolphins have live births)
Insects, birds, reptiles lay eggs
Sexual Reproduction
in Animals

involves specialized sex cells called gametes

the union of a male and female gamete results in
the formation of a zygote that develops into a new
individual
 Pollen is produced in the
male organs of the Sexual Reproduction in
flowers - anthers. Flowering Plants
Pollination occurs when
pollen is transferred from
the anthers to the female
organs by wind or by
animals. If the female
stigma is receptive to a
pollen grain, the pollen
produces a pollen tube,
which grows through the
female tissue to the egg,
where fertilization takes
place by the sperm
nucleus.
 Sexual Reproduction in
Plants
Female Parts

Male Parts

(Pistil)

pollen (male) + ovule (female) → single-celled zygote → multi-celled embryo (contained in a

seed) → new individual
 Some Organisms do Both

sponges and hydra

most plants that produce
seeds (sexual reproduction)
can also reproduce asexually
mosses
by things like cuttings or
runners
this gives them an advantage
for survival
Examples: Sexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
:
requires only 1 parent and
the offspring are an exact
copy of the parent---a clone
Asexual Reproduction:
Organisms that reproduce
asexually cannot develop much
variety, because they are
“copying” the original organism
exactly.
 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
 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.
 Activity:

Create a creature that reproduces asexually.

Draw the creature
Describe how the creature reproduces asexually
Describe 1 advantage of reproducing this way
Describe 1 disadvantage of reproducing this way
Name your creature
How the uniform offspring of your creature
Methods of asexual reproduction:

Binary fission
Budding
Fragmentation
Parthenogenesis
Examples: Asexual Reproduction
 Binary fission

Single-celled organisms (Amoeba,

paramecium, euglena) which use
asexual reproduction can do so
simply by dividing into two equal
halves.
This is called binary fission.
 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
 Examples: bacteria, Ecoli, pond critters
Binary Fission

Rod-Shaped Bacterium,
hemorrhagic E. coli
2 daughter cells are identical to parent
 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
Budding
Budding

In yeasts the cell

does not divide
equally in two halves;
instead, there is a
large mother cell and
a smaller daughter
cell.
Yeast - budding
Budding- an offspring grows out of the
body of the parent.

offspring

Hydra Budding

Cactus Budding
 Spore Formation
Fern

Fungi
When conditions are good, such as plenty of
water, food, right temperatures, etc., binary
fission is a very effective way of producing
many, many offspring.
For example, the cell of a Paramecium can
divide, grow, and divide again in the space of 8
hours.
 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
Fragmentation
In this form, the body of the parent breaks into distinct
pieces, each of which can produce an offspring.

Pieces of coral broken off in storms A new starfish can grow from
can grow into new colonies. one detached arm.
Vegetative
Reproduction
Fragmentation- plant cuttings

Some plants can grow from cutting them up and replanting them.
 Green plants are quite sophisticated in their
methods of asexual reproduction. Offspring may
be produced by runners, bulbs, rhizomes or
tubers.
 Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction in

which females produce eggs that develop without
fertilization. Parthenogenesis is seen to occur naturally
in some invertebrates, along with several fish,
amphibians, and reptiles as well as in many plants.
There are no known cases of parthenogenesis in
mammals.
 Which is Better?
It depends!
Sexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
advantages
advantages
does not require special cells or
lots of variation within a
a lot of energy species
can produce offspring quickly able to live in a variety of
in a stable environment creates environmental settings
large, thriving population able to adapt to changes
disadvantages in the environment
limited ability to adapt disadvantages
face massive die-off if needs time & energy
environment changes
produce small populations
Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction results in offspring that

are genetically identical to the parent
organism.
Sexual reproduction results in offspring that
are genetically different from the parent
organisms.
Sexual Reproduction Summary
Male Female Type of Result of Final Result
Gamete Gamete Union Union

Plants pollen ovule (egg) pollination single cell multi-cell

zygote embryo
(in seed)

Animals sperm egg fertilization single cell multi-cell

zygote embryo