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Reprrroduct

Reproduction ensures the continuity of life through hereditary transmission from parents to offspring. It occurs through either asexual or sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction involves a single parent and reproduction through binary fission, budding or spore formation. Sexual reproduction requires two parents and male and female gametes that fuse during fertilization to produce offspring with genetic variation from both parents. In flowering plants, sexual reproduction involves pollination of the stigma by pollen grains, followed by fertilization and the development of seeds containing embryos.

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30 views7 pages

Reprrroduct

Reproduction ensures the continuity of life through hereditary transmission from parents to offspring. It occurs through either asexual or sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction involves a single parent and reproduction through binary fission, budding or spore formation. Sexual reproduction requires two parents and male and female gametes that fuse during fertilization to produce offspring with genetic variation from both parents. In flowering plants, sexual reproduction involves pollination of the stigma by pollen grains, followed by fertilization and the development of seeds containing embryos.

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Siddhartha
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Reproduction

Reproduction: It is the process by which living organisms produce


new individuals similar to themselves.

 Reproduction ensured continuity of life on earth.


 It is a bridge to hereditary transmission.
 It involves a continuation of characters from the parents to
daughter cells by copying of DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid)
molecules present in the chromosomes of the cell.

Asexual Reproduction

 It involves only one parent.


 There is no formation and fusion of gametes.
 The young ones formed are almost identical to each other as
well as to the parent cell.
 Asexual reproduction generally occurs during favourable
environmental conditions and when there is an abundance of
food.
 It is a faster method of reproduction.

Types of Asexual Reproduction is Unicellular Organism

(i) Binary Fission: Seen in bacteria, protozoa like Amoeba,


Paramecium. (In these first pseudopodia withdrawn (karyokinesis)
the nucleus of the parent cell divides and then the cytoplasm divides
(cytokinesis) resulting in the formation of two daughter cells). It
occurs during highly favourable conditions. The cell division can
occur in any plane as in case of Amoeba. However, organisms like
Leishmania. (Cause Kala-azar), which have a whip like flagella at one
end, binary fission occurs in a definite orientation in relation to the
flagellum.
Cytokinesis: Division of cytoplasm.
Karyokinesis: Division of Nucleus.

(ii) Multiple Fission: Seen in Plasmodium, (a malarial parasite). In this


during unfavourable conditions, the parent cell develops a thick
resistant wall around itself forming a cyst. Within the wall, the
cytoplasm divides many times to form many plasmodia. When
conditions become favourable, the cyst wall breaks and the
Plasmodium are released.

(iii) Budding: Seen in Yeast (a fungus). The parent yeast cell develops
a protrusion or an outgrowth at its upper end. The nucleus of the
parent cell divides and one of them moves into the outgrowth which
grows bigger and finally separates from the parent cell to lead an
independent existence. Very often if the conditions are highly
favourable, a chain of buds is formed.

Types of Asexual Reproduction in Multicellular Organisms:

(i) Fragmentation: Seen in multicellular organisms which have a


relatively simple body organisation like Spirogyra. Spirogyra has a
filamentous body. (If it breaks into smaller pieces or fragments). Each
fragment has the capacity to form a new individual.
However, all multicellular organisms cannot show cell-by-cell division
as cells from tissues which form organs. These organs are placed at
definite positions in the body. Hence, they need to use more
complex methods of reproduction.

(ii) Regeneration: It is the ability of organisms to develop their lost


parts. Some organisms show have high regenerative capacity it is
also a means of reproduction for example; Planaria. (Regeneration is
carried out by specialized cells which redivide to form a mass of cells
from which different cells undergo changes to become different cell
types and tissues. These changes occur in an organized sequence
known as development).

(iii) Budding: Seen in Hydra. Parent Hydra develops a bud at its lower
end. This grows in size and finally breaks off to live independently.

(iv) Spore Formation: Seen in Rhizopus (a fungus). Rhizopus body is


made up of thread-like structures called hyphae. The erect hyphae
bear sporangia inside which reproductive structures called spores are
formed. Spores are asexually reproducing bodies having a thick
protective wall. They are produced during unfavourable times and
help to tide over the unfavourable environmental conditions. When
the spores fall on a suitable medium, each one forms a new
individual.

(v) Vegetative Propagation: Method by which plants reproduce by


their vegetative parts such as roots, stems, and leaves.

Types of Vegetative Propagation: It is two types

 Natural vegetative propagation.


 Artificial vegetative propagation (Tissue culture).

Mint reproduces naturally by roots. Sugarcane, jasmine by stems and


Bryophyllum by leaves. In bryophyllum buds are produced in the
notches along the leaf margins and when they fall on the soil, they
develop into new plants.

Importance of Vegetative Propagation


 Plants can bear flowers and fruits earlier.
 Plants which have lost the ability to produce viable seeds can
also reproduce by vegetative propagation.
 All plants are genetically almost similar to the parent plant.
 Seedless varieties can be obtained.
 The property of vegetative propagation is used by horticulturists
in developing methods like layering, grafting to grow many
plants like sugarcane, roses, or grapes.

Tissue Culture: The technique of developing new plants from a cell or


tissue in a nutrient medium under aseptic conditions. The cell or
tissue is placed in a nutrient medium where it forms a mass of cells
called callus. This callus is then transferred to another nutrient
medium where it differentiates and forms a new plant.

Sexual Reproduction: The mode of reproduction that takes place


with the involvement of two individuals of two different sexes i.e.
male and female.
During sexual reproduction, male organism having male sex organs
produces male gametes i.e. sperms which are small and motile and
the female organism having female sex organs produces ova which
are generally large and store food. Male and female gametes fuse to
form a zygote that grows into a new organism.

Significance of Sexual Reproduction:

 Sexual reproduction involves DNA as well as cellular apparatus


of two different organisms which promotes diversity of
characters in the offspring.
 Since gametes are derived from two different organisms, it
results in a new combination of genes which increases the
chances of genetic variations.
 Sexual reproduction results in the origin of new species.
 Sexual reproduction involves division in the sex organs that
reduces the DNA matter to half so that the zygote formed after
fusion has the same amount of DNA as the parents it maintains
DNA in a species.

Limitation of Sexual Reproduction: Sexual reproduction involves the


process of combining DNA from two different organisms which may
bring some undesirable features also.

Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

 The reproductive parts are present in the flower.


 The parts of the flower are sepals, petals, stamens and carpels.
 Sepals are green structures that protect the inner parts when
the flower is in bud stage.
 Petals are colourful and attract the insects for pollination.
 Stamens are male reproductive parts and produce pollen grains
that contain male gametes. Each stamen has two parts—
 Filament i.e. stalk and Anther i.e. swollen top part which has
large number of pollen grains.

The carpel is the female reproductive part and produces ovules that
contain female gametes. It has three parts—Stigma which is top
sticky part and receives pollen grains during pollination. Style which
is the middle long part and ovary which is the swollen part and
contains ovules. Each ovule has an egg cell i.e. female gamete.

The flowers may be bisexual i.e. having both stamens and carpels for
example; Mustard China Rose (Hibiscus).
The flower may be unisexual i.e. paving either stamens or carpels for
example; Papaya, Watermelon.

Pollination: The process of transfer of pollen grains from an anther to


the stigma of the flower is pollination. Two types of pollination are:
(i) Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen grains from the anther to
the stigma of the same flower or another flower of the same plant.
(ii) Cross-pollination: The transfer of pollen grains from the anther to
the stigma of another flower or another flower of a different plant of
the same species. It generally takes place with the help of some
agents like insects, birds, wind and water.

Fertilization: Fertilization is the process of fusion of male and female


gamete to form a zygote during sexual reproduction. Pollination is
followed by fertilisation in plants. The events are
Pollen grains land on the stigma of the ovary.
Pollen tubes grow out of the pollen grains, travel through the style
and reach the ovary, through micropyle.
Pollen tube has two male germ cells. Each ovule has two polar nuclei
and a female germ cell (egg).

Pollen tube releases two male germ cells inside the ovule, one of
them fuses with female germ cell and forms a zygote which grows
into the baby plant i.e. embryo, the fusion is known as syngamy. The
other male germ cell fuses with two polar nuclei, the process is
known as triple fusion. So in flowering plants two fusions take place
during fertilisation. It is called double fertilisation.

Post-fertilisation changes: After fertilisation the following changes


takes place in the flower.
Zygote divides several times and forms an embryo inside the ovule.

 The ovule develops a tough coat and changes into the seed.
 The ovary grows rapidly and ripens to form a fruit.
 Petals, sepals, stamens, style and stigma shrivel and fall off.

Seed and its parts: The advantage of seed is that it protects the
future plant i.e. embryo.

Seed has two parts: Cotyledons and Embryo Cotyledons store food
for the future plant.
Embryo has two parts: plumule and radicle. Plumule develops into
shoot and radicle develops into root.
The process of development of a seedling from the embryo under
appropriate conditions is known as germination.

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