Sexual and asexual reproduction

• Sexual reproduction is reproduction, using male and female gametes
• During sexual reproduction in plants, pollen and egg cells fuse together
• Sexual reproduction results in genetically unique offspring
• A sperm cell is haploid as it only has half the normal number of chromosomes
• Fertilisation is the fusion, of male and female gametes
• Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction, using a single parent
• Asexual reproduction, results in genetic identical offspring
• Fungi mostly reproduce via asexual reproduction
• Both sexual and asexual reproduction are common in plants
• Sexual reproduction is most common in animals
• Bacteria, mostly reproduce via asexual reproduction
• The process by which bacteria reproduce is called binary fission
• Asexual, reproduction in plants uses mitosis
• 3 advantages of sexual reproduction:

  • produces variation in offspring
  • If the environment changes, the variation will allow the species to adapt by natural selection
  • Humans can speed up natural selection via selective breeding to gain certain benefits
• 3 disadvantages of sexual reproduction

  • requires two parents
  • Requires large amounts of time and energy
  • Many species spend resources impressing their mates, even though it doesn’t aid survival
• 4 advantages of asexual reproduction

  • only one parent is needed
  • More time, efficient
  • Faster than sexually reproduction
  • Many identical offspring can be produced when conditions are favourable
• 2 disadvantages of asexual reproduction

  • Low genetic variation
  • Population would have smaller chance of adapting to new conditions