Asexual reproduction, its features and forms

Asexual reproduction is the reproduction of organisms in which there is no participation of another individual, and reproduction of oneself occurs through the separation of several or one cell from the mother organism. In this process, the only parent takes part. The cells formed as a result of mitosis fully correspond to the original maternal cell.

Asexual reproduction is extremely simple. This is due to the fact that the organization of the structure of unicellular organisms is also relatively simple. Organisms with this method of reproduction reproduce themselves very quickly. Under favorable conditions, the number of such cells doubles every hour. Such a process can continue indefinitely, until there is an accidental change in the genetic code, the so-called mutation.

In nature, this reproduction occurs in plants and in unicellular animals.

Asexual reproduction of organisms

Simple division is observed in unicellular plants and animals, for example, in infusoria, amoebae and some algae. First, the nucleus in the cell is divided by mitosis in half, and then a constriction is formed, and the parent is divided into two parts, which are the daughter organisms.

In animals, asexual reproduction was preserved only in some forms: sponges, coelenterates, flatworms, shells. In these organisms, a new individual is obtained as a result of budding or dividing, after which it detaches itself from the parental organism and completes the whole. In some cases, the ability to develop into a separate organism in animals has parts of the body. A whole hydra, for example, can develop from a two-hundredth part. In asexual reproduction, newly created individuals originate from several cells or one through mitotic divisions, obtaining the same hereditary information that the cell of the mother's body possessed.

Asexual reproduction of plants

This way of propagation in the plant world is widespread. There are a number of plants that reproduce well with tubers, layers, cuttings and even leaves, which makes it possible to use the vegetative organs of the parent plant to grow new organisms. This kind of asexual reproduction is called vegetative, and it is inherent in highly organized plants. An example of such reproduction can be considered the one that occurs with mustaches, for example, in strawberries.

Spore formation is asexual reproduction occurring in many plants, for example, algae, ferns, mosses, fungi at some stage of development. In this case, special cells often participate in the mechanism of reproduction, often covered with a dense shell, which protects them from the adverse effects of the external environment: overheating, cold, drying out. As soon as favorable conditions arise, the spore shell bursts, the cell starts to divide many times, giving life to a new organism.

A breeding method is called budding, when a small part of the body separates from the parent, from which the child's body is later formed.

The totality of individuals that originated from one common ancestor by this type of reproduction is called clones in biology.

Asexual reproduction is widely used in agriculture for the purpose of obtaining plants with a set of necessary features useful for human life. Long "mustache", shoots spread strawberries, fruit bushes and trees - cuttings. Scientists investigate the mechanisms of reproduction to learn how to control them and manage their development. The cell cultures of the desired hereditary information are first multiplied, and then the necessary whole plant is grown from them.