CHAPTER 8 - HOW DO ORGANISMS REPRODUCE?

Introduction, Asexual mode of reproduction and Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

REPRODUCTION
Reproduction is an integral feature of all living beings. The biological process by which a living being
produces young ones similar to themselves or its own kind belonging to the same species is called
reproduction. Reproduction is the phenomenon which involves the production of an offspring by a particular
individual or individuals to propagate their species.

IMPORTANCE OF REPRODUCTION:

 Reproduction is important for each species, because this is the only way for a living being to
continue its lineage, maintaining the existence of species on the earth.
 Reproduction is also important in increasing the population of the species.
 Reproduction is also important for the whole ecosystem. Reproduction helps in maintaining a proper
balance among various biotic constituents of the ecosystem.
 Reproduction also facilitates evolution because variations come through reproduction; over several
generations, by transmitting favourable variations from one generation to another.

Do organisms create exact copies of themselves?

Reproduction gives an opportunity to an organism to create an individual similar to itself in basic body
design. The new individuals produced after reproduction resemble their parents because during reproduction
information is transferred from parents to offspring’s which decide the body design, through the genetic
material -DNA or RNA contained in their chromosomes present inside the nucleus of a cell.

Chromosomes in the nucleus of a cell contain information for inheritance of features from parents to the next
generation in the form of DNA molecules. DNA has the information source for making proteins. If the
information is changed, different proteins will be made. Different proteins will eventually lead to altered body
designs. Therefore, a basic and important event in reproduction is the creation of a DNA copy in which
organisms transfer their body features to their offspring’s.

DNA copying makes similar multiples or blue prints through DNA copying also referred to as DNA
replication or duplication. DNA copying results in the production of two copies of DNA by making use of
cellular machinery. DNA copying is accompanied by the creation of an additional cellular apparatus and then
the DNA copies separate each with its own cellular apparatus. Effectively a body cell divides to give rise to
two cells.

The process of copying the DNA will have some variations each time. As a result the DNA copies generated
will be similar but may not be identical to the original. Some of these variations might be so drastic that the
new DNA copy cannot work with the cellular apparatus it inherits. Such a new-born cell will simply die. On
the other hand, there could still be many other variations in the DNA copies that would not lead to such a
drastic outcome. Thus, the surviving cells are similar to, but subtly different from each other. The process of
reproduction has an inbuilt tendency for variation which is the basis for evolution.

The importance of variation

The consistency in DNA copying during reproduction is important for the maintenance of body design
features that allow the organism to adapt to a particular niche. Reproduction is therefore linked to the stability
of populations of species.

Variations are more beneficial to the species than individual because sometimes for a species, the
environmental conditions change so drastically that their survival becomes difficult. For example, if the
temperature of water increases suddenly then most of the bacteria living in that water would die. Only a few
variants resistant to heat would survive and grow further. However, if these variants were not there then the
entire species of bacteria would have been destroyed. Variation is this useful for the survival of species over
time.
(More to know: Types of Cell division: Mitosis and Meiosis)

Types of reproduction
Reproduction can be of two different types, namely, asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction.

• Asexual mode of reproduction: It is a mode of reproduction in which a single individual is responsible for
creating a new generation of species. When a single parent is involved and no gamete formation takes
place; the method is called asexual reproduction. No meiosis happens during asexual reproduction.

• Sexual mode of reproduction: It is a mode of reproduction in which two individuals are responsible for
creating a new generation of species. When two parents are involved and gamete formation takes; the
method is called sexual reproduction. Meiosis happens during gamete formation; which is an important
step of sexual reproduction.

Reproduction in unicellular organisms is different from that of the reproduction in multicellular organisms.
Most often unicellular organisms reproduce asexually. Some of them can also exhibit sexual mode of
reproduction. Some organisms reproduce asexually through fission, fragmentation, regeneration, budding,
vegetative propagation and spore formation.

Modes of reproduction used by single organisms

Fission:
For unicellular organisms, cell division, or fission leads to the creation of new individuals. Fission can be
transverse binary fission or longitudinal binary fission or multiple fission. Organisms reproduce by binary
fission; especially when conditions are favourable, i.e. adequate amount of food and moisture is available.

Binary fission:
The mother cell divides into two daughter cells; and each daughter cell begins its life like a new individual.
The parent generation ceases to exist, after binary fission. Amoeba is a very good example of the organism
which reproduces by binary fission.
During this process, at maturity the nucleus of the cell elongates and then divides into two equal halves
(karyokinesis). It is followed by division of cytoplasm into two parts around each nucleus (cytokinesis). As
a result two daughter cells are formed which grow into adult organisms similar to their parent. It can occur
in any plane in case of amoeba.

Transverse binary fission is the splitting of the cells across the plane during division. The plane of division
coincides with the transverse axis of the individual. e.g. Paramecium.

Longitudinal binary fission is the division occurring in a definite orientation in relation to the whip-like
structures located at one end of the cell. E.g. Leishmania, Euglena.

Multiple fission
Multiple Division is the division of a mother cell into many daughter cells simultaneously. It generally
takes place during unfavourable conditions when the organism forms a cyst (protective wall) around them
e.g. Plasmodium- the malarial parasite. Inside a cyst, the nucleus of the cell splits several times to form
many daughter nuclei, then cytoplasm gather around each nucleus to form daughter cells. Thus, many
daughter cells are formed within the cyst. When favourable conditions arrive, the cyst bursts open and
release the daughter individuals, each forming a new organism.

Fragmentation:
Fragmentation is the breaking of a multicellular organism. Some multicellular organisms with simple body
design like filamentous algae- Spirogyra reproduce by breaking their bodies into two or more parts after
maturation. Each piece called a fragment grows into a new individual.
Regeneration:
Regeneration is the ability of living organisms to repair themselves or restore their body parts lost in an
accident.
Many fully differentiated organisms have the ability to give rise to new individual organisms from their body
parts. That is, if the individual is somehow cut or broken up into many pieces, many of these pieces grow into
separate individuals. For example, simple animals like Hydra and Planaria can be cut into any number of
pieces and each piece grows into a complete organism. This is known as regeneration. Regeneration is carried
out by specialised cells-Regenerative cells/ proliferative cells. These cells proliferate and make large numbers
of cells. From this mass of cells, different cells undergo changes to become various cell types and tissues.
Take place in an organised sequence referred to as development. However, regeneration is not the same as
reproduction, since most organisms would not normally depend on being cut up to be able to reproduce. It
occurs as part of the process of growth and development, where the cells at cut body parts divide rapidly and
form a ball of cells. Later the cells differentiate i.e., cells change their shape and become specialized to form
different tissues, forming different body parts.

Budding:
A protuberance like outgrowth called bud grows and detaches from the parent to develop into a separate
organism. Each bud develops into a tiny individual. E.g. Hydra. Yeast.

Organisms such as Hydra use regenerative cells for reproduction in the process of budding. In Hydra, a
bud develops as an outgrowth due to repeated cell division at one specific site. These buds develop into
tiny individuals and when fully mature, detach from the parent body and become new independent
individuals.

Yeast is tiny, microscopic unicellular saprophytic fungus. Bud appears on the outside of the cell wall.
Nucleus divides into two, one of the nucleus moves into the bud. The bud separates from the parent body
and grows as a new cell. It often takes place so fast that the first bud starts forming its own buds and all of
them remain attached to the parent yeast cell forming a chain of yeast cells. Later, yeast cells of the chain
separate and grow as an individual new yeast cell.

Spore formation:
Spores are microscopic reproductive bodies covered by a protective coat, which enables them to survive
under unfavourable conditions. Under favourable conditions spores grow/germinate to produce new cells.

Rhizopus or bread mould have fine, thread-like projections called hyphae which is a non-reproductive part.
Knob like structures called sporangia/ sporangium bearing hundreds of minute spores are the reproductive
part of Rhizopus. Sporangia bursts dispersing spores into air. Under favourable conditions spores grow/
germinate to produce new cells.

Rhizopus produces hundreds of spores. When the spore case (also called sporangium) bursts, the spores
spreads into air. These air-borne spores land on food or soil, under favourable conditions like damp and warm
conditions, they germinate and produce new individuals. Most of the fungi like Rhizopus, Mucor etc. Bacteria
and non-flowering plants such as ferns and mosses reproduce by the method of spore formation.

Vegetative propagation
Vegetative propagation is the ability of plants to reproduce by bringing forth new plants from existing
vegetative structures without sexual reproduction. Some examples of vegetative propagation are given
below.
Eg: Tuber of Potato: The potato tuber is a modified stem. Many notches can be seen on the surface of potato.
These are called ‘eyes’ of potato. Each ‘eye’ of a potato can give rise to a new potato plant. Farmers utilize
this capability of potatoes to grow potato more quickly; which is not possible by using the seeds of potato.
Eg: Modified roots of Carrot and Sweet Potato: Carrot and sweet potato are
examples of modifications of roots; for food storage. These roots can give rise
to new plants; when kept under the soil.
Eg: Rhizomes of Ginger and Turmeric: Rhizomes are examples of modified, horizontal, underground plant
stems with shoots and roots serving as reproductive structures underground stems for food storage. These
contain nodes, internodes and scaly leaves. When buried under the soil, the rhizomes produce new plants.
Eg: Leaves of bryophyllum have notches on the margin. If a leaf is put under the soil, small saplings grow
from the notches on the leaf margin

Artificial Vegetative Propagation: Man has used artificial vegetative propagation to grow many plants. This
has enabled farmers and horticulturists to grow many plants in shorter duration and has helped them to earn
more profit. Artificial vegetative propagation has also helped in developing many new varieties of plants.
Stem cutting, layering and grafting are the preferred means of artificial vegetative propagation.

Vegetative propagation is the mode by which plants reproduce asexually. It involves the production of new
plants from the vegetative parts of an existing plant. Different methods of vegetative propagation in plants
include stem cutting, layering and grafting.

• Grafting involves fusion of tissues of one plant with those of another plant. Grafting is a vegetative method
of propagation for apples and roses.
• Leaf buds can grow as young plants in Bryophyllum. When the leaf touches moist soil, each bud grows
into a new plantlet.

Advantages:
Plants raised by vegetative propagation can bear flowers and fruits earlier than those produced from seeds.
All plants produced are genetically similar enough to the parent plant to have all its characteristics.

ADVANTAGES OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

 The organism does not have to depend on another organism for carrying out reproduction; because a
single parent is needed.
 It takes less time than sexual reproduction and hence more number of offspring can be produced in
shorter time.
 The offspring are exact clones of their parents.
 Desirable characteristics can be easily incorporated into plants with artificial vegetative propagation.

DISADVANTAGES OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION:

As a single parent is involved, so there is negligible chance of variation.
In most of the cases in simple organisms, the parent generation ceases to exist after asexual reproduction.
Asexual reproduction cannot give rise to biodiversity which is important for a healthy ecosystem.
 Sexual Reproduction:
Why the sexual mode of Reproduction?
Sexual reproduction involves two organisms, the male and the female in the process of producing the
offspring. Sexual reproduction provides greater variations in the DNA thereby making the offspring adapt to
the environment for better survival. Sexual reproduction ensures a mixing of the gene pool of the species. Due
to genetic recombination, variations occur in the process of sexual reproduction.

During Sexual reproduction the combination of DNA from two parents would result in the offspring having
twice the amount of DNA. To solve this problem, sexually reproducing individuals have special germ cells
(gametes or sex cells) which are haploid with only one set of normal number of chromosomes and, therefore
half the amount of DNA compared to the other cells of the body. When such germ cells from two individuals
unite during sexual reproduction the normal chromosome number and DNA content are restored.

In multicellular organisms body designs become more complex, the germ cells also specialized. One germ
cell is large and contains the food stores while the other is smaller and likely to be motile. The motile germ
cell is called the male gamete and the germ cell containing the stored food is called the female gamete.

Sexual Reproduction in flowering plants

Plants reproduce sexually by producing male gametes in the form of pollen and the female gametes in the
form of eggs. The reproductive parts of angiosperms are located in the flower. A flower comprises calyx-
sepals, corolla-petals, androecium-stamens and gynoecium-carpels. Stamen and carpels are the reproductive
parts of a flower which contain germ cells.
• A unisexual flower contains either stamens or carpels. For example, papaya and watermelon are unisexual
flowers
• A bisexual flower contains stamens as well as carpels. For example, hibiscus and mustard flowers are
bisexual.

Androecium is a group of stamens. Each Stamen consists of a stalk called the filament and a small bilobed
structure called the anther at the tip. The pollen grains are contained in the anther within the pollen sacs.

Gynoecium is the female part of the flower and consists of the carpels or ovary. Gynoecium has three parts 1)
Stigma 2) Style and 3) Ovary. The ovary contains the ovules and each ovule carries within it an embryo sac,
within which lies the egg cell or the female gamete.

The sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves

1. Pollination 2.Germination of pollen grain and Fertilization

POLLINATION
Transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma is called pollination. Pollen grains are transferred
mainly by wind, water and insects. They are called as pollinating agents. Pollination is the first and important
event in the development of the fruit and seed. Pollination is followed by germination of pollen grain and
fertilization.
Pollination is of two types. They are
a) Self-pollination b) Cross pollination

SELF POLLINATION
Self-pollination is also referred to as autogamy/geitonogamy. The transfer of pollen grains from the anther of
a flower to the stigma of the same flower-autogamy or another flower of the same plant- geitonogamy is
known as self-pollination

ADVANTAGES OF SELF POLLINATION

Self-pollination is certain/sure in bisexual flowers when carpels and anthers mature at the same time
Flowers need not depend on agents of pollination.
There is no wastage of pollen grains. Even a small quantity will suffice.
Parental characteristics are definitely maintained. Does not yield new varieties.
The flowers need not be large and showy. Scent and nectar need not be produced by flowers.

DISADVANTAGES OF SELF POLLINATION

The seeds are less in number.
Endosperm is minute. Therefore, the seeds produce weak plants.
New varieties of plants cannot be produced resulting in the degradation of the plant. The genetic traits of the
same plant with no change and without any intermixing are passed onto the next generation. There is little or
no chance for accumulation of variation, thus there is little chance for improvement in the next generation.

CROSS POLLINATION (ALLOGAMY)

The transfer of pollen grains from the anthers of a flower to the stigma of another flower of a different
plant of the same species is called cross pollination or allogamy.

ADVANTAGES OF CROSS POLLINATION

· New varieties are produced as it involves two different varieties of the same species.
· The seeds produced as a result of cross pollination develop, germinate properly and grow into better
plants, i.e., cross pollination leads to the production of new varieties due to accumulation of variations
· More viable seeds are produced in abundant
· Offspring’s are healthier

DISADVANTAGES OF CROSS POLLINATION

· The pollination is not always certain as it requires a pollinating agent which may or may not be available
at the proper time.
· The pollen which are produced in large quantity to ensure chances of pollination which means a lot of
wastage of pollen.
· The process is uneconomical for the plant because the flowers have to be large, coloured, scented and
have to produce nectar for attracting pollinating agents.

AGENTS OF CROSS POLLINATION

In order to bring about cross pollination, it is necessary that the pollen should be carried from one flower to
another of a different plant. This takes place through agency of animals, insects, wind and water.
Pollination by birds (Ornithophily)
Pollination by insects and animals

Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma. Each pollen grain has protective walls
called exine and intine. The outer wall exine is thick and it has small pores called germination pores. The inner
wall is thin and elastic. It has two nucleus- vegetative cell or tube nucleus and generative cell or generative
nucleus.

ARTIFICIAL POLLINATION:
When a man himself transfers pollen to the stigma, it is called artificial pollination. In modern times artificial
pollination is a standard practice adopted by plant breeders and scientists in their efforts to evolve new
varieties. They remove anthers from the young flowers – process is called as emasculation and cover these
flowers with plastic bags to avoid pollination from undesirable pollen grains. Later they pollinate such flowers
with the pollen of a desired variety.

GERMINATION OF POLLEN GRAIN AND DOUBLE FERTILIZATION

If pollen grain falls on a suitable stigma, it starts germinating.

A mature pollen consists of two cells. The pollen grain on
falling onto the stigma is stimulated to germinate due to the
secretion of sugars by the stigma. Through a point in the
exine a pollen tube grows out of the pollen grain, carrying at
its tip the generative nucleus and tube nucleus, generative
nucleus divides into two nuclei- male nuclei also called as sperm nuclei. Thus there are three nuclei which are
separated by cell walls sharing a common cytoplasm.
The pollen tube grows through stigma, style by dissolving the tissues with the help of enzymes and reaches
the ovary. There, it pushes through the micropyle and reaches the embryo sac. The tube nucleus which had
directed the growth of the pollen tube now, disintegrates.
Now pollen tube enters one synergids and releases its two sperm nuclei. Of these, one sperm nucleus fuses
with egg cell to form zygote while the other sperm nucleus moves towards the two polar nuclei[secondary
nucleus] in the central cell and fuses with them, forming endosperm [three nuclei fuse-triple fusion to form
endosperm nucleus]. All together two fertilizations have occurred and hence termed as double fertilization.
The fusion of a male nucleus with female nucleus is known as fertilization. The fertilized egg is known as
zygote which develops into embryo.

Endosperm is a nutritive tissue meant for the development of the embryo. The process of fusion of a male
gamete with egg and the other gamete with secondary nucleus is known as double fertilization.

POST FERTILIZATION CHANGES:

The ovule develops into seed.

The integuments of the ovule develop into seed coats called testa and tegmen.
The ovary enlarges and develops into fruit.

Germination of seed:
Germination is a process of formation of seedling developed from the embryo. Water, suitable temperature
and oxygen are necessary for germination

Seed inside the fruit encloses the embryo, the future plant. The seed contain the future plant or embryo which
develops into a seedling under appropriate condition. This process is known as germination. Seed has an
embryo protected by reserved food materials in the form of cotyledons and also an outer covering called as
seed coat.

A dicot seed consists of two cotyledons which stores food and a tiny embryo attached to one of the cotyledons.
The embryo consists of two parts- the radicle which later forms roots and plumule which later forms the shoot.