Video Transcript
How does asexual reproduction in
yeast differ from asexual reproduction in bacteria? (A) In yeast, mitosis does not
occur during the fission process. (B) In yeast, daughter cells are
formed by parthenogenesis. (C) In yeast, the process generates
multicellular offspring. (D) In yeast, there is no growth
and separation of a cell wall. Or (E) in yeast, the daughter cell
forms from a small outgrowth in the original cell.
This question asks us about two
single-celled organisms that undergo asexual reproduction: yeast and bacteria. Can you remember what asexual
reproduction is? Asexual reproduction is the process
whereby only one parent produces offspring that are genetically identical to the
parent that produced them. Therefore, asexual reproduction
always involves the duplication of parental DNA in order to transmit a complete copy
to each daughter cell.
Bacterial DNA is found in the form
of a circular chromosome and small loops of plasmid DNA. Yeast are single-celled eukaryotic
fungi, so their DNA is found within a membrane-bound nucleus. There are a few ways that parental
cells can split to divide their genetic information into two cells through asexual
reproduction. Bacteria usually reproduce
asexually through a process called binary fission. This occurs when the cell becomes
elongated as it duplicates its DNA. Eventually, the cytoplasm is split
along the middle through a process called cytokinesis, producing two genetically
identical daughter cells.
Yeast can reproduce through a
different asexual process called budding. Budding occurs when a small
outgrowth on the parent cell begins to grow larger and larger. Eventually, the parent cell will
duplicate its genetic information and partition one nucleus to the small
outgrowth. This outgrowth, or bud, will
eventually separate itself from the parent cell, producing two yeast cells with
identical genetic material.
After reviewing how these two
different organisms can reproduce asexually, we should be able to answer our
question correctly. The way that asexual reproduction
in yeast differs from asexual reproduction in bacteria is (E). In yeast, the daughter cell forms
from a small outgrowth in the original cell.
