Reproduction Reproduction is the transfer of genetic material from parent to offspring. Genetic material contains information that controls how a new individual will look and function. Sexual Reproduction is the production of a new organism from two parents. Asexual Reproductiont.is the production of an organism from a single parent.

Sexual Reproduction Fertilization the joining of a sperm cell and an egg cell to form a single unit. The new individual will have traits from both the sperm cell and the egg cell. A trait is any characteristic of a living thing. The same two parents will produce different individuals. No two individuals are alike.

Asexual Reproduction Since there is only one parent contributing genetic material, the offspring is identical to the original parent. All bacteria are produced asexually. There are organisms in all six kingdoms that reproduce asexually.

Asexual Reproduction -Several methods of asexual reproduction -No need for mate -identical genetic material Splitting – make a copy of genetic material needed to carry on life processes and then split. Examples-bacteria and most unicellular protists

Asexual Reproduction Budding a small part of the parent’s body grows into a tiny version of the parent. It can break off and grow on its own. or It can stay attached to the parent such as coral Other examples of organisms that can reproduce by budding are cnidarians, sponges and some fungi.

Asexual Reproduction Some animals such as frogs, lizards, fish and insects can have eggs that are not fertilized and yet produce another animal. Vegetative Propagation (VP) is a form of asexual reproduction in plants that produces new plants from roots, stems or leaves. Runners are plant stems that lie on or under the ground and sprout up as new plants Examples of (VP) strawberries, aspens, ferns, and most grasses.

Compare Asexual and Sexual Reproduction Type of Reproduction Number of Parents Sex CellsOffspringMixing of Traits asexual1noIdentical to parent no sexual2yesDifferent from parents yes Asexual reproduction is convenient. Because only one parent is needed, an organism does not depend on another organism to reproduce. An advantage to sexual reproduction is that it promotes variety in a species. If there are environmental changes, offspring with the traits better suited for this change will pass those traits on to their offspring. And the species can survive.