Class notes biology

Before we hop on the materialistic train and start digging into

the content, please give me a minute to walk you through
what you should keep in mind as the ‘major highlights’ for this
week’s material.
The inquiry (overarching) question for this week deals with
reproduction and its relationship with evolution, aka. the
continuity of species.
Under the concept of reproduction, we are specifically concerned
about the reproductive mechanisms (how they work) occurring
in animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and protists.
We need to classify reproductive processes as sexual or asexual on
top of how their mechanisms that allow parent(s) producing
and passing genetic materials onto their offsprings.
Out of all types of species, NESA wants us to dive into the land of
mammals (e.g. reindeer and human) and explore how their
reproduction systems work.
We need to understand the process of fertilisation, implantation
and hormonal control during reproduction. These stages of
reproduction help pass on genetics materials from parent(s) to
their offspring.
I am not sure if you are aware but humanity’s scientific
knowledge has advanced a lot over the past century.
So, in the last part of this week’s material, we will turn to some
real life application examples of humans applying scientific
knowledge in genetics and reproduction to create AWESOME
variations in plants and animals!

Learning Objective: Explain

the mechanisms of reproduction that ensure
the continuity of a species, by
 analysing sexual and asexual methods of
reproduction in a variety of organisms.
Did you not knowing or writing out a definition for the main
keyword can cost you a mark in HSC Questions?
Let’s first define reproduction!
Reproduction is the process of creating a new individual or
offspring from their parent(s).
Reproduction means to reproduce = new offspring. They MAY or
MAY NOT be clones of the parent.

Reproduction can be done via natural or artificial means. Hence,

the terms natural and artificial reproduction.
There are two reproductive pathways: sexual and asexual. Some
organisms can do both!
Can you? Let’s find out!

What are sexual and asexual reproduction and how

do they work?
Sexual reproduction: The process of forming a new organism
from the fusion of the offspring’s parents’ (male + female)
gametes. Gametes are sex cells such as sperm and egg cells for
humans. The offspring that is formed from sexual reproduction
has the genetic material that is derived from its parents. However,
in almost* all cases the offspring’s genetic material is NOT
IDENTICAL to their parents (it’s mixed). In humans and many
other mammals such as cows this process of producing gametes is
called meiosis.
 *Note that self pollination involves one plant (parent) and is a
type of sexual reproduction. This is because the plant can
produce both pollen and ovules (male and female plant
gametes). These gametes can combine to produce either a
 genetically identical offspring or genetically different offspring.
Whether the offspring is genetically identical or different, it will
depend of whether the single parent plant is homozygous or
heterozygous for those genes. We will learn about these two
terms when you learn about Punnett Square in Week 4’s notes.
Asexual reproduction: Asexual reproduction is the process of
forming an offspring (usually a cell) from just ONE parent through
cell division. Depending on the cell division process, there may be
many names. For example, in humans and many other mammals,
this cell division process is called mitosis. Thus, the offspring has
genetic materials that is IDENTICAL to that of its single parent –
offspring is a CLONE of the parent.
The most important distinguishing factor between sexual and
asexual reproduction is whether or not the fusion of gametes
occurred. For sexual reproduction, there must be a fusion of
gametes whereas, in asexual reproduction, there is no fusion of
gametes.
How sexual and asexual reproduction processes
allow parents’ genetic information to be passed on to
their offspring, and thus, ensuring the continuity of
the species?
During reproduction, the parents’ genetic information (DNA) is
copied and passed onto the offspring. The offspring’s genetic
material is stored in their cells’ nucleus.
There are two types of cells: somatic and non-somatic (sex) cells.
Since humans and many other mammals cannot produce offspring
via asexual means, all offsprings produced are from non-somatic
cells. Hence, only the parents’ genetic material in non-somatic
cells’ (or sex cells’) genetic material is passed onto the offspring.
Genetic information is passed onto the next
generation (offspring). Thus, ensuring the continuity of the
species.
By week 3’s notes, you will see the importance of creating
variation in offspring’s genetic information (new allele
combinations, increasing variation in the alleles which gametes
can inherit as well as variation in the gametes that are fertilised
during fertilisation). Don’t worry if you don’t know what genes
and alleles are, we will look into their definitions and role in
genetics in Week 2. Essentially, the point is that you will see how
the increased variation in the offspring’s genotype will enhance
the chances of survival of a species’ population and thus
supporting the continuity of the species. In Week 4’s notes, you
will see how mutation (apart from sexual and asexual
reproduction) can also create genetic variation.
A third point is that reproduction would increase the total number
of offsprings in a population, effectively increasing population
size. Thus, supporting the continuity of species.
What is evolution?
Evolution is the change in living organism’s genetic
information, favourable characteristics and
phenotypes (appearance or physical traits) over many
generations.
For now, just know that genetic information contributes to an
organism’s phenotype. In terms of how this works, this will be
comprehensively covered in the upcoming weeks.
But what drives evolution aka. the change in genetic information,
for example, how a rainbow unicorn population can slowly turn
into a pack of green unicorns, over time?
How and where does reproduction fit in Darwin’s
Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection is a popular
and widely accepted modern theory of evolution.
It explains the drivers and consequences of evolution to a
reasonable extent.
It, however, fails to account the origins of life on Earth or any
place in our universe from start to finish.

There are other models that deals with the origin of life and such
as the RNA world hypothesis but they are not complete.

Please keep in mind that these are all theories! Yes, there are
evidence to back them up. However, existing evidence is not
complete to transform these theories into universal laws!

In order, here are the Stages of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by

Natural Selection:
1. There is genetic variation in population, which affects it
phenotype (physical traits). The genetic variation is derived from
a number of factors – from internal biological processes to
external environmental factors. These factors will be
comprehensively covered in later weeks.
2. The majority of the existing population would have the
favourable traits that allow them to survive in the environmental
conditions (temperature, food supply, predators, etc) that they are
exposed to.
3. There is a SUDDEN change in environmental conditions (e.g.
new predator introduced to kill the unicorns, sudden large drop in
temperature, a virus, etc)
4. Those organisms with favourable characteristics, derived
from favourable genes passed on from parents, will
survive and those with less or without favourable characteristics
will decline in numbers.
5. Those organisms with favourable
characteristics will reproduce more successfully and pass on
their favourable genetic information to their
offspring. REPRODUCTION FITS IN HERE!