Video Transcript
Complete the following. Blank reproduction is the method of
reproduction where an individual organism produces offspring that are genetically
identical to itself.
In order to answer this question
correctly, let’s review some methods of reproduction. You might recall that reproduction
itself is the process by which new individuals are produced from existing
individuals. And the newly produced offspring
usually share traits of their parent or parents. This is because reproduction
involves the transfer of genetic information from parent to offspring. In sexual reproduction, two parents
are involved, one biological female and one biological male. This process always utilizes sex
cells, or gametes, which carry half the genetic material of each parent.
In humans, the male gamete is the
sperm cell and the female gamete is an egg cell. Each gamete carries 23 chromosomes,
which is half the amount of chromosomes of a typical body cell. When the sex cells’ genetic
material fuse in a process called fertilization, it forms a zygote with a full set
of 46 chromosomes. The zygote can then develop into an
embryo. We can see that the offspring
resulting from sexual reproduction got genetic information from both parents.
In asexual reproduction, only one
parent is involved. Asexual reproduction primarily
occurs in single-celled organisms such as yeast and bacteria, though there are a few
instances of plants and animals undergoing asexual reproduction. There are different ways that
asexual reproduction can occur. One example is in the reproduction
method of most bacteria, which reproduce through a process called binary
fission. In binary fission, the parent cell
divides into two identical daughter cells by mitosis. Because only one parent is
involved, genetic information is transmitted directly and no recombination
occurs. The offspring are therefore
genetically identical to the parent and to each other.
Now that we’ve reviewed some of the
differences between sexual and asexual reproduction, we are able to answer our
question. The question asks about the
reproductive process that results in identical offspring to the parents. And we know now that this is
describing asexual reproduction.
