Chapter 16

Reproduction
 Reproduction is one of the characteristics of living organisms.

 Each kind of organism has its own method of reproducing; either asexual reproduction
or sexual reproduction.

 In reproduction, each new organism obtains a set of chromosomes from its parent or
parents.

 Asexual reproduction involves just one parent. And the offspring is genetically identical
to the single parent.
 Bacteria reproduce asexually using binary fission.
 Many plants also reproduce asexually.

Recall sources and sinks!

 A tiny animal called Hydra, that lives in fresh
water, reproduces asexually by growing a 'bud‘
 which develops into a young Hydra before
breaking away from the parent
Advantages
 Only one parent is required (no need to find a mate)
 A large number of organisms can be produced in a short time.
 The offspring produced is identical, so it can survive well in the conditions in which the
parent lives

Disadvantages:
 The lack of variation in offspring, which means that any change in the external
conditions will affect all equally. And the population isn’t able to change locations
 Parent organisms produce sex cells called gametes.

 In the process of fertilization, the nuclei of two gametes fuse together and form a
zygote.

 The zygote divides multiple times to finally produce an organism.

 The offspring is genetically different from the parents.

meiosis
Advantages
 Variety in the offspring as the genetic information comes from two parents (higher
chance of adaptability and survival)

Disadvantages:
 Requires a second parent for fertilization (can be time and energy consuming)
 Takes a longer time than asexual reproduction
 The offspring can be less successful than parents in terms of growing well and
producing a good harvest in plants.
 On the outside of the flower are the
sepals. They protect the flower and are
normally green.

 Just inside the sepals are the petals these

are often brightly colored and they attract
insects to the flower.
 Some petals are shaped to guide insects
to a particular part of the flower.
 The female part of the flower is in the
center with consists of one or more
carpels.
 A carpel contains an ovary. Which
contains ovules (inside the ovules are the
female gametes)
 At the top of the ovary is the style with a
stigma at the tip.
 The function of the stigma is the catch
pollen grains
 Inside the petals are the stamens these
are the male parts of the flower.
 Each is made of a long filament with an
anther at the top.
 The anthers contain pollen grains which
contain the male gametes
 The anthers contain pollen grains which contain the male gametes
 As a pollen grain matures, it develops a thick outer wall to protect the delicate male gametes.
 Once all pollen grains in the anther are mature, it busts open to release them
 The transfer of pollen grains from the male anther to the female stigma is called
pollination

 Pollination can occur by wind or through insects.

 Features of flowers differ according to the method of pollination.

 Cross-pollination occurs when the pollen grains from an anther of one plant transfer to
a stigma of a different plant of the same species.

 Self-pollination is when a pollen grain from a flower pollinates the stigma of the same
plant.
 Self pollination leads to limited genetic variation.
 This can be a disadvantage if the environmental conditions change, because the
offspring won’t have adaptations to suit the new conditions.

 In cross pollination, there is a higher chance of genetic variation, but it depends on the
presence of a suitable pollinator, which can be limiting.
 Fertilisation occurs when the nucleus from a pollen grain fuses with an egg cell
nucleus in an ovule.
 In order for the pollen grain to get from the tip of the stigma to the ovule, the pollen
grain produces a thin tube called a pollen tube.
 If the pollen grain has landed on the right kind of
stigma, it begins to grow a tube.

 The pollen tube grows down through the style

towards the ovule.

 It secretes enzymes to digest a pathway through

the style.

 The male gamete enters through the micropyle, a

hole in the layers that protect the egg sac
 After the ovules have been fertilized, the sepals, petals, and stamens wither, die , and
fall off.
 Each ovule now contains a zygote, which divides by mitosis to a form an embryo
plant. And at that point the ovule is a seed.

 It contains very little water, and almost no metabolic reactions can go inside it. It’s
dormant.
 A seed must be in certain conditions before it begins to germinate.
 Germination is when the seed coat breaks open and the embryo starts to grow and
develop into a new plant.
 Environmental conditions needed for germination:
 Temperature
Seeds remain dormant during cold weather, and start to grow as it warms up.

 Water
Water is needed for activation of hormones and enzymes
Transport of materials used for respiration and growth, breakdown of storage
compounds (conversion of starch to glucose)

 Oxygen
Needed for aerobic respiration
Reproduction
Chapter 16
meiosis
The flagellum propels
the sperm to the egg
for fertilization
 The sperm is among the smallest cells in the human body.
 Measures about 45 micrometers long.
 Over 100 million sperm cells are produced daily.
 Sperm cells are motile, as they can move on their own,
 A human male has two testes, in which sperm is
produced.

 The testes are supported outside the body in the

scrotum. Which keeps them cooler, as fewer
sperm are produced at higher temperatures.

 Sperm ducts carry the sperm from the testes to

the penis.
 The sperm is stored in the epididymis prior to Seminal
vesicle
exiting through sperm duct
 The prostate gland with the seminal vesicle
produce semen, a fluid rich in sugars which
sperm can swim in.
Seminal
 The semen then travels along the sperm ducts to vesicle
the urethra to exit the body.
 The urethra can carry both semen and urine at
different times.
 The egg is among the largest cells in the human body.
 Measures about 0.2mm in diameter.
 Only one egg is released from the ovaries each month at ovulation. (The ovary may
contain thousands of egg cells)
 It cannot move on its own, rather it’s wafted along by cilia. They’re mobile, as in they
can move but not on their own
 After penetration, the jelly coat changes to an impermeable barrier, that prevents other
sperm nuclei to enter the egg cell.
 The two ovaries produce egg cells.

 They are either side of the uterus and joined to it by

the oviducts (sometimes called the fallopian tubes)
 The uterus has thick muscular walls.

 At the lower end of the uterus is an opening called the

cervix.

 The cervix leads to the vagina, which leads to the

outside of the body
 The menstrual cycle is a sequence of changes that occur in a woman’s body every
month.
 The average cycle is 28 days long, but it varies among women.
 Eggs develop in small structures called follicles, in the
ovaries.

 After puberty, one egg is usually released from a

follicle into the oviduct every month.

 Before the egg cell is released, the lining of the uterus

becomes thick and spongy, so that it’s ready to receive
a zygote.

 If the egg is not fertilized, the lining of the uterus sheds

(menstruation). That’s considered the first day of the
menstrual cycle.
 The recurring events of the menstrual cycle are
controlled by four hormones:

1. Estrogen
2. Progesterone
-Secreted by the ovaries

3. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)

4. Luteinising hormone (LH)
-Secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain
 Following menstruation, FSH and LH are produced by the pituitary gland.
 FSH causes a follicle to develop inside the ovary, with a developing egg inside of it.
 The developing follicle secretes estrogen which causes the lining of the uterus to
become thicker and better supplied with blood
 When the follicle is fully developed, more estrogen is released, which causes a surge
in the production of LH, which causes ovulation (around day 14)
 After ovulation, the estrogen levels start to fall.
 The follicle from which the egg has been released develops into a corpus luteum.
 The corpus luteum secretes progesterone, which keeps the uterus lining thick and
spongy, and also inhibits the pituitary gland, decreasing the production of LH and FSH
 If the egg is not fertilized, the corpus luteum breaks down, so the secretion of
progesterone drops, and menstruation occurs.
 The levels of FSH and LH start to increase, as they are not inhibited by progesterone,
and the cycle runs through again.
 If the egg is fertilized, progesterone levels remain high (secreted by the corpus
luteum)
 Progesterone helps to maintain the thick lining of the uterus, so that the embryo can
implant into it.
 The high levels of progesterone during pregnancy inhibit the secretion of FSH by the
pituitary gland, so no more follicles develop in the ovary.
Reproduction
Chapter 16
 Testosterone is the male sex hormone, it’s secreted by the testes.
 At puberty, increased secretion of testosterone leads to the development of secondary
sexual characteristics in males:
1) An increase in the rate of growth.
2) Growth of body hair
3) Growth and development of the penis testes and scrotum.
4) Deepening of voice
5) Increased muscle development
6) Sperm Production
 Estrogen is the female sex hormone, it’s secreted by the ovaries.
 At puberty, increased secretion of estrogen leads to the development of secondary
sexual characteristics in females:
1) An increase in the rate of growth.
2) Growth of body hair in pubic and underarm areas
3) Growth and development of the breasts
4) Vagina, oviducts and uterus development
5) Start of menstrual cycles
6) Hips widening
 After ovulation, the egg travels through the oviduct to the uterus very slowly.
 The cilia lining the oviduct help to sweep it along.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLmg4wSHdxQ

 Muscles in the wall of the oviduct also help to move it,

by producing gentle rippling movement
(muscle contraction).

 If the eggs is not fertilized within 8-24 hours

after ovulation, it dies. And it gets flushed
from the uterus during the monthly period.
 During sexual intercourse, the sperm gets
deposited near the cervix.
 In order to do that, the penis erects to make it
possible for the man to insert it into the
vagina.
 To cause erection, at time of sexual
excitement, large spaces in the penis fill with
blood, causing the penis to become larger
and stiffer.
 At the same time a sphincter muscle at the
top of the urethra contracts, preventing urine
from entering the urethra from the bladder.
 Rapid contraction of muscles in the walls of
the tubes containing the sperm during
ejaculation send the sperm shooting up the
vagina and towards the cervix.

 The wave of contractions begins in the

testes, travels along the sperm duct and into
the penis
 After ejaculation the sperm gets deposited near the cervix and into the uterus,
and then along the oviduct to the egg.
 The cervix produces mucus which changes during the menstrual cycle.
 This allows sperm to pass at some times and not others.
 It also keeps the developing baby secure until birth
 Many sperm fail to make the journey,
but some will be successful.

 When a sperm cells contacts the jelly

coat surrounding an egg cell, the
acrosome is activated, releasing
digestive enzymes. Allowing the head
of the sperm to get into the cytoplasm
of the egg.
 Fertilisation takes place in the oviduct.
 The nucleus of one sperm fuses with the nucleus of the egg, to form a zygote.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5OvgQW6FG4
 The zygote then travels towards the uterus, this takes about 3 days.
 During that time, the zygote divides several times to form a ball of 64 cells, and is now
called an embryo.

 In the uterus, the embryo embeds in the thickening lining in a process called
implantation.
 Cell division and growth continues.
 During the first 3 months, the embryo gets nutrients from the mother by diffusion
through the uterus lining.
 By the end of the first 3 months, the placenta has developed, and the embryo has
become a fetus, in which all the main organs of the body can be identified.
 The placenta is the embryo's life support system.
 It’s produced by the growing fetus, and it grows as the fetus
grows.
 Is soft, dark red, and has villi, which fit closely into the uterus
wall
 It’s where substances are exchanged between the mother’s
blood and the embryo’s blood
 Placenta is joined to the fetus by the umbilical cord
 After the formation of the placenta, it takes over the
production of progesterone for the rest of the pregnancy
 Gestation is the development of the fetus in the uterus and in humans, it lasts about
40 weeks.
 The rapid growth in the uterus depends on a good supply of oxygen and nutrients,
provided by he mother.
 The fetus develops inside a bag of fluid, this fluid is
called the amniotic fluid and it’s produced from the
amniotic membrane that forms the outer layer of the
bag (amniotic sac)

 The amniotic fluid protects the fetus from physical

damage and reduces the effect of temperature
variations on the fetus.

 The amniotic sac prevents entry of pathogens from

the vagina
 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be transmitted through sexual contact and
may lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
 Transmitted through body fluids
Infection with HIV can be prevented through :

 Abstinence from sex

 Limiting sexual partners
 Using barrier methods such as a condom or a femidom