Asexual Reproduction 

Key Terms and Concepts

asexual reproduction -reproduction that requires only one parent and produces offspring that are genetic copies of the parent                               

• occurs naturally in living things through a variety of methods, including: binary fission, budding, fragmentation, vegetative reproduction, and spore formation

clone -identical genetic copy of its parent 

unicellular -organisms that are one celled

binary fission -form of asexual reproduction in which a single parent cell replicates its genetic material and divides into two equal parts

• how one celled eukaryotic organism like the amoeba reproduce
• only method of reproduction for some types of bacteria which does not have a nucleus as they don’t go through Mitosis
• term comes from the Latin words binarius, meaning two together, and fissio, meaning to split
• mutation may happen when errors occur during DNA replication or when chromosomes fail to move into new cell
• the DNA in bacteria can mutate rapidly leading bacteria to be resistant towards antibiotics

budding -form of asexual reproduction in which areas of an individual may undergo repeated mitosis and cell division and can develop into an identical organism

• advantageous for animals such as sponges
• occurs in multicellular organisms such as hydra
• occurs in unicellular organisms like yeast

fragmentation -from of asexual reproduction in which each fragment of an organism develops in clone of its parent

• if an organism breaks apart as a result of injury, each fragment then develops into a cline of its parent 
• some animals, such as certain species of sea stars, can reproduce asexually from fragments
• plants can also reproduce by fragmentation provided that their environment stays static and have enough nutrients 

vegetative reproduction -reproduction in which special cell divide repeatedly to form structures that will eventually develop into a plant identical to the parent

• usually in plant stems and plant roots,
• humans  benefits to vegetative reproduction
• asexual reproduction of plants has benefitted humans for centuries
• provides crops for people

spore formation                                                                                                                                                                                                                         spore producers rely on water or wind to carry the spores away from the parent                                                 

spores -reproductive cells that grow into new individuals by mitosis                             

human-assisted cloning   

• each sell has the potential to grow into an identical plant, researchers can clone plants from cuttings 
• less complex animals like sponges, hydras, and worms can clone themselves by asexual methods             
• used to save genetic information from endangered animal species or to mass-produce an organism with a desired trait 

reproductive cloning

• also called DNA cloning
• purposed to produce a genetic duplicate of an existing or previously existing organism with desirable qualities

therapeutic cloning

• used to correct health problems
• to produce specialized tissues or organs for transplants
• both human embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells can be used for this purpose

stem cells -cells that have the potential to become many different types of cells

•  two types of stem cells are embryonic cells and adult stem cells
• adult stem cells are not as adaptable
• embryonic cells are used in therapeutic cloning
• can be used to regenerate nerves and heart tissues to treat diabetes

embryonic stem cells -cells that can become any one of a sexually reproducing organism’s body cells                                                                        

• often used in therapeutic cloning   
• being able to use adult stem cells would eliminate concerns about the use of embryonic stem cells