Unit A Lesson 6:  Asexual Reproduction

 Learning Targets

Inquiry Question: Is there more than one type of asexual reproduction?
Not all reproduction involves males and females mating. Asexual reproduction occurs when new individuals form without mating.

At the end of this inquiry, you should be able to answer the following questions:

  • What is asexual reproduction?
  • What is binary fission?
  • What is budding?
  • What is spore production?
  • What is vegetative reproduction?
Pages 30 and 31 in your textbook will help you answer these questions about asexual reproduction.


Watch

Asexual reproduction involves only one parent. All offspring inherit identical characteristics because the adult makes an exact replica of itself, meaning that no new genetic material is introduced.  The offspring are exact genetic reproductions of the parent. 

There are four types of asexual reproduction. To learn about them, watch the video "Asexual Reproduction". Pages 30 and 31 in your textbook also explain the four types of asexual reproduction.


Try It!

Practice Worksheet: Asexual Reproduction

  1. DOWNLOAD this practice worksheet (S9_UA_S2_L6_asexual_reproduction). If you prefer to use a Google Drive or PDF version of the worksheet, click here.

  2. As you work through the lesson, write your own definition and an example for each of the four types of asexual reproduction. You can use drawings or key words to help you complete the task. Include at least two examples in each box. Ensure that you use different examples for cuttings, tubers or bulbs, and runners or suckers in the vegetative reproduction category.

  3. When you are finished the worksheet and you are satisfied with your responses you can check your work by clicking on the "SUGGESTED ANSWERS" at the bottom of this lesson.

    4. Wait! Don't view the suggested answers first. This practice work is not for marks, it is meant to help you check your understanding. Check the answers AFTER doing the questions! Keep the practice worksheet for study purposes. If you don't understand something, contact your teacher!

The Four Types of Asexual Reproduction

  1. Binary Fission is common among one-celled organisms such as bacteria, amoebas, and some algae.  Binary fission produces two identical cells from one parent cell. Organisms that undergo binary fission can multiply very quickly.  How quickly, you might ask? 

Watch the video “Escherichia coli”. Imagine you were eating meat tainted with E. coli and see how fast E. coli can replicate.  How soon after you eat it might you feel sick?

 
 
  1. Budding occurs in hydra and yeast.  In budding, the parent produces a smaller version of itself and the bud falls off or can remain attached to the parent.  The bud is a “mini-me” of the parent.

To review budding, watch the video "Budding in Yeast and Hydra".

 
 
  1. Spore production is common among fungi (mushrooms), moulds, and non-flowering plants such as ferns. One mushroom produces millions of spores, and each spore can develop into a new individual mushroom.  Why would a mushroom benefit from producing millions of spores?  Spores are very tiny and can be destroyed easily by elements in nature such as rain and animals. To review spore production, watch the video "Spore Rain".

 
 
  1. Vegetative Reproduction is the reproduction of plants that do not involve seeds.  Plants can undergo vegetative reproduction in several ways.

    a) Cuttings: You can grow a plant by taking a cutting and putting it in water to establish new roots and then re-plant it in soil.  It will become a plant identical to its parent.  This video shows some of the major types of vegetative reproduction.

    b) Tubers or bulbs: The potatoes under a potato plant are tubers; daffodils and tulips grow from bulbs.  Tubers or bulbs can be taken from the original plant and planted separately to produce new plants. Watch the video “Planting Tulips and Daffodils” to learn more about this type of vegetative reproduction. Watch the videos "How to save seed from tubers" and " How to grow potatoes" to learn more about potato reproduction.

    c) Runners or Suckers: Runners and suckers are produced from plants such as the strawberry plant and the aspen tree.  The plants produce long branches that eventually grow into the soil and break off into a new plant (offspring) of its own.

     
     

    You now have enough information to complete your Try It! activity "Summarizing Asexual Reproduction". When you're finished filling in your answers, watch "How to Grow or Make Free Strawberry Plants" to learn how asexual reproduction can get you free food!

    Parthenogenesis

    A unique method of asexual reproduction is parthenogenesis, which means “virgin birth”.  It is quite a unique situation. View the video "Parthenogenic Komodo Dragons" and learn how the Komodo dragon undergoes parthenogenesis.
     

    Try It! - Answers

    1. Binary Fission The process involves only one-celled organisms:  a cell splits exactly into two identical daughter cells.

      Examples:  amoebas, algae and bacteria

    2. Budding The parent produces a small bud or smaller version of itself that may or may not detach itself.  The new individual is identical to the parent.

      Examples:  hydra, yeast, and coral

    3. Spores Spores are similar to seeds, but they are produced by the division of cells of the parent.  Many spores are produced, and each spore can become a new individual.

      Examples: fungi (mushrooms), green algae, moulds, and ferns

    4. Vegetative Reproduction

        Cuttings:  A cutting is taken from the stem or root of a plant and grown in water; then, it is planted to grow into a new plant.

        Examples:  coleus, geranium

        Tubers and Bulbs:  The bulb or tuber buried in the soil grows into a new plant.

        Examples:  potato, onion, tulip, and daffodil

        Runners or Suckers:  Shoots that grow from the plant grow into new plants when they go under soil.

        Examples:  strawberries, spider plants, aspen and poplar trees, quack grass, many shrubs