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General Education
Lesson 6: Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction is not only found in plants. Many other organisms also reproduce asexually.
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| Image from Science Facts |
1. BUDDING
Budding - the parent organism produces offspring by growing a replica of itself as an outgrowth called a bud. The bud eventually separates and becomes an individual organism.
- Parent remains intact
- Offspring grows from parent's body
- Offspring is genetically identical to parent
- Can happen repeatedly, producing many offspring
Examples:
Hydra - a small freshwater animal that reproduces by budding. A small hydra grows from the side of the parent hydra, then detaches.
Yeast - single-celled fungi that reproduce by budding. A small yeast cell grows from the parent cell, then separates.
Budding is when a parent organism grows a copy of itself on its body. The copy eventually breaks off and becomes a new organism.
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| Image from Science Facts |
2. FRAGMENTATION
Fragmentation - the parent organism breaks into separate pieces. Each piece can develop into a complete new individual organism.
- Parent breaks apart
- Each fragment can become a new organism
- Offspring are genetically identical to parent
- Happens naturally or accidentally
Examples:
Sea star (Starfish) - if a sea star loses an arm, that arm can grow into a complete new sea star. Meanwhile, the original sea star can grow a new arm.
Flatworms - some flatworms can break into pieces, and each piece can grow into a new flatworm.
Fragmentation is when an organism breaks into pieces and each piece becomes a new organism.
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| Image from Science Facts |
3. BINARY FISSION
Binary Fission - a method of asexual reproduction where a single-celled organism divides into two identical cells.
It happens in bacteria - the main way bacteria reproduce
- The parent cell copies its DNA
- The cell grows larger
- The cell divides into two identical daughter cells
- Each daughter cell is genetically identical to the parent
- Quick and efficient reproduction
- Produces identical offspring
- Allows bacteria to reproduce very rapidly
- Can happen every 20 minutes under ideal conditions
Binary fission is when a bacterium splits in half to make two identical bacteria. This is how bacteria reproduce and multiply so quickly.
Asexual Reproduction Quiz: click here
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