GENERAL BIOLOGY 2

REPRODUCTION (ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS AND

ANIMALS)

REPRODUCTION

→ Is the biological process by which “offspring” are produced from their “parent”
or parents.
→ It can be sexual or asexual reproduction.

TWO TYPES OF REPRODUCTION

 SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
→ Use of sex cells (gametes)
→ Involves the fusion of male and female to form zygote.
→ Genetic variability.

 ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
→ Does not involve gametes, instead parts of mature organism may
develop to new individuals.
→ Offspring is genetically identical to the parents.

TYPES OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN ANIMALS

 BINARY FISSION
→ A single cell divides into two identical daughter cells.
→ Common form of reproduction in prokaryotic organisms, such as
bacteria and archaea.
→ It is also found in some eukaryotic organisms, such as some
protists and unicellular fungi.

EXAMPLES:
 Amoeba
 Bacteria
 Paramecium
 Euglena
 Some protists

 BUDDING
 → A new organism develops from as outgrowth from the parent body
knows as a bud at one particular site.
→ Once grown, the new organism detached from the parent body.

EXAMPLES:
 Hydra
 Yeast

 FRAGMENTATION
→ Organism splits into fragments, and each fragment develops into a
new individual.

EXAMPLES:
 Planarian
 Sea star
 Sponges
 Polychaete worm (annelida)
 Flukes
 Echinoderms

 PARTHENOGENESIS
→ Unfertilized egg cell develops into a new individual without the
need for fertilization by a sperm cell.
→ The term “parthenogenesis” comes from the Greek words
“parthenos” meaning “virgin” and “genesis” meaning “creation”.

EXAMPLES:
 Water fleas
 Nematodes
 Aphids
 Bees
 Lizards
 Invertebrates

TYPES OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS

VEGETATIVE REPRODUCTION

 NATURAL
 Runner
 Corm
  Rhizome
 Bulb
 Tuber

 ARTIFICIAL (VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION)

 Cutting
 Grafting
 Layering
 Tissue Culture

NATURAL

 RUNNER OR STOLON
→ A runner, also known as a stolon, is a horizontal stem that grows along the
ground and produces roots and new plants and its nodes.

EXAMPLES:
o Strawberries
o Bermuda grass

 CORM
→ A corm is a short, thickened, underground stem that sores food and
nutrients for the plant.

EXAMPLES:
o Taro
o Crocus

 RHIZOME
→ A rhizome is a horizontal underground stem that stores food and nutrients
for the plant.

EXAMPLES:
o Ginger
o Bamboo

 BULB
→ Bulbs are also underground stems, but they are typically larger and more
elongated than corms.
→ They have a central bud, or apex, surrounded by fleshy scales. These
scales are modified leaves that stores food and nutrients for the plant.
 EXAMPLES:
o Onion
o Lilies
o Tulip
o Daffodils

 TUBER
→ Are swollen underground stems that store food and nutrients for the
plant.
→ They are solid, with no internal chambers.
→ Tubers have eyes, which are adventitious buds, on their surface. These
eyes can develop into new shoots and roots, forming independent plants.

EXAMPLES:
o Potato
o Sweet potato
o Yam

FEATURE RUNNER CORM RHIZOME TUBER BULB

STRUCTU Slender, Thickened, Thickened, Swollen, Undergroun

RE elongated undergroun horizontal fleshy, d storage
stem that d stem base. or vertical undergroun organ
grows along undergroun d storage composed of
the ground. d stem. organ. modified
leaves and a
basal plate.

APPEARA Often has Solid, pear- Can be scaly Can be Layers of

NCE nodes and shaped or or smooth. knobby or modified
roots at round smooth. leaves.
interval structure.
along its
length.
FUNCTION Propagates Stores food Stores food Stores food Stores food
new plants and and and and
nutrients nutrients nutrients nutrients for
for the for the for the the plants.
plants. plants. plants.

EXAMPLE Strawberry, Crocus, Iris, ginger Potato, Onion, tulip

spider plant gladiolus dahlia

ARTIFICIAL (VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION)

 CUTTING
→ Also known as vegetative propagation, is a method of asexual
reproduction in plants where a piece of a plant is taken and used to grow
new plant.
→ Cuttings can be taken from stems, roots, or leaves.

 GRAFTING
→ Involves joining together two or more plants to form a single plant.
→ The upper part of the plant, called the scion, is typically grafted onto the
root system of another plant called the rootstock.
→ The goal of grafting is to combine the desirable traits of two or more
plants into a single plant.

THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANTS THAT CAN

BE GRAFTEED, BUT SOME OF THE MOST COMMON INCLUDE:
o FRUIT TREES
→ Apple, apricot, cherry, citrus, peach, pear, plum

o NUT TREES
→ Almond, pecan, walnut

o ORNAMENTAL TREES
→ Dogwood, maple, oak, willow

o VEGETABLES
→ Tomato, eggplant, pepper

o HERBS
→ Basil, mint, rosemary, sage
 o FLOWERS
→ Rose, hydrangea, lilac

o CONIFERS
→ Pine, spruce, fir

 LAYERING
→ Is a technique of asexual propagation in plants that involves encouraging
the formation of roots on a stem while it is still attached to the parent
plant.
→ This allows the new plant to grow and develop for a period of time before
being separated from the parent plant.

 TISSUE CULTURE
→ Also known as micropropagation, is a technique used to propagate plants
from small pieces of plant tissue, called explants.
→ The explants are placed on a sterile nutrient medium that contains all of
the nutrients and hormones that the plant needs to grow.

ADVANTAGES OF VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION

1. GENETIC UNIFORMITY
→ This means that new plants will have the same characteristics, such as
flower color, disease resistance, and yield, as the parent plant.

2. SPEED AND EFFICIENCY

→ Vegetative propagation can be done relatively quickly and easily, compared
to sexual reproduction, which requires the production of seeds and the
germination of seedlings.

3. SUITABILITY FOR DIFFICULT-TO-REPRODUCE PLANTS

→ Some plants are difficult to propagate from seed, vegetative propagation
can be more a reliable method for these plants, as it does not rely on
pollination and seed production.

4. PROPAGATION OF RARE OR ENDANGERED PLANTS

→ Vegetative propagation can be used to produce disease-free plants, as the
plants are grown in a controlled environment and are not exposed to pests
or diseases.

5. SUITABILITY FOR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR CULTIVATION

→ Vegetative propagation techniques can be used to propagate plants for both
indoor and outdoor cultivation. This makes them versatile tools for
gardeners and growers alike.