sexual and asexual reproduction

• Sexual reproduction


  Involves the fusion of male and female gametes (fertilization)
• Asexual reproduction


  Takes place with only one parent and doesn't involve any gametes
• Organisms that can reproduce through sexual or asexual reproduction

  • Plants
  • Animals
  • Bacteria
• Sexual reproduction


  • Offspring contain a mixture of their parents' genes
  • Introduces lots of variation as each offspring is different
• Gametes


  Cells like sperm and eggs in animals, or pollen and eggs in flowering plants, that only have half the normal genetic material
• Meiosis


  The process by which gametes are formed with half the normal genetic material
• Sexual reproduction doesn't have to involve sex or intercourse, it just refers to the fusion of male and female gametes
• Asexual reproduction


  • No mixing of genetic material
  • All offspring are identical clones
• Mitosis


  The process by which eukaryotic organisms like plants and fungi reproduce asexually
• Binary fission


  The process by which prokaryotic organisms like bacteria reproduce asexually