16.1.

1 Asexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
 Asexual reproduction does not involve sex cells or fertilisation.
 Only one parent is required so there is no fusion of gametes and no mixing of
genetic information.
 As a result, the offspring are genetically identical to the parent and to each
other (clones)
 Asexual reproduction is defined as a process resulting in genetically identical
offspring from one parent.

Examples of Asexual Reproduction

Bacteria produce exact genetic copies of themselves in a type of asexual
reproduction called binary fission:
 Bact
eria produce exact genetic copies of themselves in a type of asexual
reproduction called binary fission.
Plants can reproduce asexually using bulbs and tubers; these are food storage
organs from which budding can occur, producing new plants which are genetically
identical to the parent plant:

Some plants develop underground food storage organs that will develop into
next year’s plants - they can take different forms, such as bulbs or tubers.
Some plants grow side shoots called runners that contain tiny plantlets on them (a
good example of this are strawberry plants. These will grow roots and develop into
separate plants, again being genetically identical to the parent plant:

Some plants grow side shoots called runners that contain tiny plantlets on
them. These will grow roots and develop into separate plants.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Asexual Reproduction: Extended

 Specifically in crop plants, asexual reproduction can be advantageous as it means

that a plant that has good characteristics (high yield, disease-resistant, hardy) can be
made to reproduce asexually, and the entire crop will show the same
characteristics.
16.1.2 Sexual Reproduction
Gametes & Zygotes
Sexual Reproduction

 Sexual reproduction is a process involving the fusion of the nuclei of two

gametes (sex cells) to form a zygote (fertilised egg cell) and the production of
offspring that are genetically different from each other
 Fertilisation is defined as the fusion of gamete nuclei, and as each gamete comes
from a different parent, there is variation in the offspring

Gametes

 A gamete is a sex cell (in animals: sperm and ovum; in plants pollen nucleus and
ovum)
 Gametes differ from normal cells as they contain half the number of
chromosomes found in other body cells - we say they have a haploid nucleus
 This is because they only contain one copy of each chromosome, rather than the
two copies found in other body cells
 In human beings, a normal body cell contains 46 chromosomes but each gamete
contains 23 chromosomes
 When the male and female gametes fuse, they become a zygote (fertilised egg cell)
 This contains the full 46 chromosomes, half of which came from the father and half
from the mother - we say the zygote has a diploid nucleus

Haploid & Diploid Cells: Extended

 The nuclei of gametes are haploid
o They contain half the number of chromosomes of a normal body cell
o In humans, this is 23 chromosomes
 The nucleus of a zygote is diploid
o It contains the same number of chromosomes as a normal body cell
o In humans, this is 23 pairs of chromosomes
o The zygote continues to stay diploid as it grows into a fetus and embryo
during pregnancy
Advantages & Disadvantages of Sexual Reproduction: Extended

 Most crop plants reproduce sexually and this is an advantage as it means variation
is increased and a genetic variant may be produced which is better able to cope
with weather changes, or produces significantly higher yield
 The disadvantage is that the variation may lead to offspring that are less
successful than the parent plant at growing well or producing a good harvest

16.1.3 Sexual Reproduction in Plants

Insect-Pollinated Flowers
 Flowers are the reproductive organ of the plant
 They usually contain both male and female reproductive parts
 Plants produce pollen which contains a nucleus inside that is the male gamete
 Unlike the male gamete in humans (sperm), pollen is not capable of
locomotion (moving from one place to another)
 This means plants have to have mechanisms in place to transfer pollen from the
anther to the stigma
 This process is known as pollination and there are two main mechanisms by which
it occurs: transferred by insects (or other animals like birds) or transferred by wind
  The structure of insect and wind-pollinated flowers are slightly different as each is
adapted for their specific function

Parts of the flower

General flower structure

Structure of a flower
Features of an insect-pollinated flower
Wind-Pollinated Flowers
Features of a wind-pollinated flower

 The pollen produced by insect and wind-pollinated flowers is also different:

 o Insect pollinated flowers produce smaller amounts of larger, heavier pollen
grains that often contain spikes or hooks on the outside so they are better
able to stick to insects
o Wind pollinated flowers produce large amounts of small, lightweight pollen
grains that are usually smooth

Here is an example of a multiple-choice question asking students to use their

knowledge to identify types of pollen grain:

A multiple-choice question asking students to use their knowledge to identify

types of pollen grain

Pollination & Fertilisation

Pollination

 Pollination is discussed above as the ways in which pollen grains can be transferred
from an anther to a stigma

Fertilisation

 Fertilisation occurs when a pollen nucleus fuses with an ovum nucleus in the
ovule
 As the pollen has no ‘tail’ to swim to the ovary of a plant, in order to reach the
‘female’ nucleus in the ovary it has to grow a pollen tube
 This only happens if the pollen grain has landed on the right kind of stigma (i.e. of the
same species as the flower the pollen came from)
 The nucleus inside the pollen grain slips down the tube as it grows down the style
towards the ovary
 The ovary contains one or more ovules which each contain an ovum with a female
nucleus that a male pollen nucleus can fuse with
 Once the nuclei (pl) have joined together, that ovule has been fertilised and
a zygote has been formed
 The zygote will start to divide and eventually form a seed within the ovule
 As different plants have different numbers of ovules, this explains why different fruits
(which develop from the ovary) have different numbers of seeds (which develop from
the ovules)

Growth of a pollen tube

 Fertilisation in a flowering plant

Factors Affecting Germination of Seeds

 Germination is the start of growth in the seed
 Three factors are required for successful germination:
o Water - allows the seed to swell up and the enzymes in the embryo to start
working so that growth can occur
o Oxygen - so that energy can be released for germination
o Warmth - germination improves as temperature rises (up to a maximum) as
the reactions which take place are controlled by enzymes
 As carbon dioxide is not necessary for germination but also does not inhibit it, it
makes no difference whether it is present or not

Investigating Germination

 Set up 4 boiling tubes each containing 10 cress seeds on cotton wool

 Set each test tube as shown in diagram below
 Leave tubes in set environment for a period of time: A, B and C incubated at 20°C; D
placed in a fridge at 4°C
 Compare results and see which tube has the greatest number of germinated seeds
 Conditions required for germination

Conditions required for germination - results:

Self- & Cross-Pollination: Extended

Self- & Cross-Pollination: Extended

 Cross-pollination occurs when the pollen from one plant is transferred to the stigma
of another plant of the same species
 This is the way most plants carry out pollination as it improves genetic variation
 Occasionally, the pollen from a flower can land on its own stigma or on the stigma
of another flower on the same plant - this is known as self-pollination
 Self-pollination reduces genetic variety of the offspring as all the gametes come
from the same parent (and are therefore genetically identical)
 Lack of variation in the offspring is a disadvantage if environmental conditions
change, as it is less likely that any offspring will have adaptations that suit the
new conditions well
 On the other hand, cross-pollination relies completely on the presence
of pollinators and this can be a problem if those pollinators are missing (eg the
 reduction in bee numbers is of great importance to humans as bees pollinate a large
number of food crops) - this doesn’t apply to wind-pollinated plants

Growth of the pollen tube and its entry into the ovule followed by fertilisation
16.1.5 Sexual Hormones in Humans
Secondary Sexual Characteristics
 Primary sexual characteristics are present during development in the uterus and are
the differences in reproductive organs etc between males and females
 Secondary sexual characteristics are the changes that occur during puberty as
children become adolescents
 They are controlled by the release of hormones - oestrogen in girls
and testosterone in boys

Human secondary sexual characteristics

Female secondary sexual characteristics:

Male secondary sexual characteristics:

  Some changes occur to both boys and girls, including growth of sexual
organs and growth of body hair
 Emotional changes also occur due to the increased levels of hormones in the body
 These include more interest in sex and increased mood swings

The Menstrual Cycle

 Starts in early adolescence in girls (around age 12) and is controlled by hormones.
 The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long.
 Ovulation (the release of an egg) occurs about halfway through the cycle (day 14)
and the egg then travels down the oviduct to the uterus.
 Failure to fertilise the egg causes menstruation (commonly called a period) to occur
- this is caused by the breakdown of the thickened lining of the uterus.
 Menstruation lasts around 5 - 7 days and signals the beginning of the next cycle.
 After menstruation finishes, the lining of the uterus starts to thicken again in
preparation for possible implantation in the next cycle.

Changes in the lining of the uterus during the menstrual cycle

Hormones of the Menstrual Cycle: Extended
 The menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones released from the ovary and
the pituitary gland in the brain.
The roles of FSH and LH

Changes in the levels of the pituitary hormones FSH and LH in the blood during the
menstrual cycle
 FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) is released by the pituitary gland and causes
an egg to start maturing in the ovary.
 It also stimulates the ovaries to start releasing oestrogen.
 The pituitary gland is stimulated to release luteinising hormone (LH)
when oestrogen levels have reached their peak.
 LH causes ovulation to occur and also stimulates the ovary to
produce progesterone.
 The roles of oestrogen and progesterone

Changes in the levels of oestrogen and progesterone in the blood during the
menstrual cycle
 Oestrogen levels rise from day 1 to peak just before day 14.
 This causes the uterine wall to start thickening and the egg to mature.
 The peak in oestrogen occurs just before the egg is released.
 Progesterone stays low from day 1 – 14 and starts to rise once ovulation has
occurred.
 The increasing levels cause the uterine lining to thicken further; a fall in
progesterone levels causes the uterine lining to break down (menstruation /
‘period’)
Interaction between all four of the menstrual cycle hormones
 The pituitary gland produces FSH which stimulates the development of a follicle in
the ovary.
 An egg develops inside the follicle and the follicle produces the hormone oestrogen.
 Oestrogen causes growth and repair of the lining of the uterus wall and inhibits
production of FSH.
 When oestrogen rises to a high enough level it stimulates the release of LH from the
pituitary gland which causes ovulation (usually around day 14 of the cycle)
 The follicle becomes the corpus luteum and starts producing progesterone.
 Progesterone maintains the uterus lining (the thickness of the uterus wall)
 If the ovum is not fertilised, the corpus luteum breaks down and progesterone levels
drop.
 This causes menstruation, where the uterus lining breaks down and is removed
through the vagina - commonly known as having a period.
 If pregnancy does occur the corpus luteum continues to produce progesterone,
preventing the uterus lining from breaking down and aborting the pregnancy.
 It does this until the placenta has developed, at which point it starts secreting
progesterone and continues to do so throughout the pregnancy.
Where hormones involved in the menstrual cycle are made and act
16.1.4 Sexual Reproduction in Humans
The Male Reproduction System

T
he male reproductive system

Male reproductive structures and their function:

The Female Reproduction System

The female reproductive system

Female reproductive structures and their function:

Gametes & Fertilisation
 Fertilisation is the fusion of the nuclei from a male gamete (sperm cell) and a
female gamete (egg cell)
 It occurs in the oviducts.
 Gametes have adaptations to increase the chances of fertilisation and successful
development of an embryo.

Comparing sperm and egg cells

Adaptations of Gametes

Comparison of Male & Female Gametes

Pregnancy: Growth & Development of the Foetus

 After fertilisation in the oviduct, the zygote travels towards the uterus
 This takes about 3 days, during which time the zygote will divide several times to
form a ball of cells known as an embryo.
 In the uterus, the embryo embeds itself in the thick lining (implantation) and
continues to grow and develop.
 The gestation period for humans is 9 months.
 Major development of organs takes place within the first 12 weeks, during which
time the embryo gets nutrients from the mother by diffusion through the uterus
lining.
  After this point the organs are all in place, the placenta has formed, and the embryo
is now called a foetus.
 The foetus uses the remaining gestation time to grow bigger in size.

The foetus in the uterus

 The foetus is surrounded by an amniotic sac which contains amniotic fluid (made
from the mother’s blood plasma)
 This protects the foetus during development by cushioning it from bumps to the
mother’s abdomen.
 The umbilical cord joins the foetus’s blood supply to the placenta for exchange of
nutrients and removal of waste products.

The Placenta & Umbilical Cord: Extended

 During the gestation period the foetus develops and grows by gaining the glucose,
amino acids, fats, water and oxygen it needs from the mother’s blood.
 The bloods run opposite each other, never mixing, in the placenta.
 The foetus’s blood connects to and from the placenta by the umbilical cord.
  The mother’s blood also absorbs the waste from the foetus’s blood in the placenta;
substances like carbon dioxide and urea are removed from the foetus’s blood so
that they do not build up to dangerous levels.
 Movement of all molecules across the placenta occurs by diffusion due
to difference in concentration gradients.
 The placenta is adapted for this diffusion by having a large surface area and a thin
wall for efficient diffusion.
 The placenta acts as a barrier to prevent toxins and pathogens getting into the
foetus’s blood.
 Not all toxin molecules or pathogenic organisms (such as viruses, egg rubella)
are stopped from passing through the placenta (this usually depends on the size of
the molecule)
 This is why pregnant women are advised not to smoke during pregnancy as
molecules like nicotine can pass across the placenta.
 After the baby has been born, the umbilical cord is cut – this does not hurt as there
are no nerves in it, just two blood vessels.
 It is tied off to prevent bleeding and shrivels up and falls off after a few days leaving
the belly button behind.
 The placenta detaches from the uterus wall shortly after birth and is pushed out due
to contractions in the muscular wall of the uterus - known as the afterbirth.

The placenta

16.1.6 Sexually Transmitted Infections

STIs & HIV/AIDS
 Unprotected sexual intercourse can lead to the transfer of pathogens via exchange of
body fluids
 Infections passed on in this way are known as sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
 An example of an STI is HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that usually
leads to the development of acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS)
 HIV can also be spread via sharing needles with an infected person, blood
transfusions with infected blood and from mother to fetus through the placenta and
mother to baby via breastfeeding

How HIV Affects the Immune System

 Immediately after infection, people often suffer mild flu-like symptoms
 These symptoms pass and for a period of time infected people might not know
they are infected
 The virus infects a certain type of lymphocyte of the body's immune system
 Normally lymphocytes seek out and destroy pathogens that enter the body,
producing antibodies that attach to pathogens, enhancing phagocytic activity
 However HIV avoids being recognised and destroyed by lymphocytes by
repeatedly changing its protein coat
 It then infects a certain type of lymphocyte and uses the cells’ machinery to
multiply
 This reduces the number of lymphocytes of the immune system, and also the
number of antibodies that can be made
 This decreases the body’s ability to fight off infections, eventually leading to AIDS
(Acquired immunodeficiency)
 How HIV affects lymphocytes

Controlling the Spread of STIs

 The spread of STIs such as HIV are best controlled by:
o Limiting the number of sexual partners an individual has
o Not having unprotected sex, but making sure to always use a condom
o Getting tested if unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners has occurred
o Raising awareness by education programmes