Unit 1 Module 3

Ms. R. Boodram

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
S.O. 1.8 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction is the production of offspring from a single organism without the production of
gametes. The offspring are identical to the parent. There is no exchange of genetic material since
meiosis does not take place. Identical offspring from a single parent are produced from mitosis and
are referred to as a clone. Members of a clone only differ genetically as a result of random mutation.

TYPES OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Binary fission

Many prokaryotes reproduce asexually by means of a process called binary fission. This is where two
cells arise from one cell, but is different from mitosis since bacterial DNA is circular and do not
produce spindle fibres. In prokaryotes, an individual cell grows and then divides to give two cells.
Firstly, the bacterium elongates or increases in size to approximately twice its length. A partition
then forms that separates the cell into two daughter bacteria. The partition is called a septum. The
septum is a result of the cytoplasmic membrane and the bacterial cell wall growing inward from
opposite directions until the two daughter bacterium separate.

The circular DNA in the bacterial cells replicates semi-conservatively. In some bacteria, the two DNA
circles become attached to two polymer brushes that form at opposite ends of the cell and pull the
two DNA molecules apart. In other bacteria, a protein polymer forms between the two DNA
molecules at the division line and pushes the DNA apart.

In preparation for binary fission, the bacterium increases its cellular constituents (e.g. proteins,
enzymes and the circular bacterial chromosome). This ensures that each daughter bacterium has the
components it requires. The replicated circular bacterial chromosome remains attached to the
bacterial plasma membrane so that it can be properly separated at cell division.

Stages of binary fission:

1. Attachment of chromosome to a special plasma membrane site indicates that this bacterium
is about to divide.

2. The cell is preparing for binary fission by enlarging its cell wall, plasma membrane and
cytoplasm.

3. DNA replication has produced two identical chromosomes. Cell wall and plasma membrane
begin to grow inward to form the septum.

4. As the cell elongates, the chromosomes are pulled apart. Cytoplasm is being distributed
evenly.

5. New cell wall and plasma membrane has divided the daughter cells.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Budding

Yeast are unicellular fungi that reproduces by budding. In budding, the parent cell starts to produce
a small outgrowth, which grows until it is approximately the same size as the parent cell. The nucleus
of the parent cell then divides so that each cell, parent and daughter, has a nucleus. It is then
released as an independent, identical copy of the parent.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Stages of budding:

1. Bud begins to form on parent cell.

2. Nucleus copies and divides. The bud receives a copy.

3. Bud now becomes a separate daughter cell.

4. Budding produces chains of cells.

Spore formation

Fungi reproduce through the formation of non-motile spores. These spores can be produced either
sexually or asexually. The body of a fungus consists of many tightly packed filaments called hyphae.
The whole mass of hyphae is called a myecelium. At the tips of the hyphae, spores can form, either
enclosed in a sporangium or free. Within the sporangium, the contents are converted into
genetically identical spores. Spores are small structures containing a nucleus. The asexual spores or
conidia occur singly or in chains called conidiophores. They are produced in large numbers and are
very light, being easily dispersed by air currents and animals. They have small food stores and there
is great wastage as many fail to find a suitable place for germination. However, they allow rapid
multiplication and spread of fungi.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Fragmentation

Fragmentation is a method of asexual reproduction in which new organisms can be generated from
a single parent. Firstly, the body of an organism is broken into pieces. These pieces then regenerate
to give a whole new organism identical to the parent. Fragmentation in plants is vegetative
reproduction. Fragmentation in animals is less common than in plants. Marine sponges, sea
anemones, jellyfish and star fish have the ability to regenerate body parts.

Asexual reproduction in plants

The most common form of asexual reproduction in plants is called vegetative propagation.
Vegetative propagation or vegetative reproduction is when a bud grows and develops into a new
plant. At some stage, the new plant becomes detached from the parent plant and starts to lead an
independent existence. Specialized organs of propagation often develop, but they must all have
buds. Buds only occur on stems, therefore the new plant must contain at least a small part of the
stem. Some of these stores food as a means of surviving adverse conditions. The food is used for
growth when conditions become suitable.

Examples are bulbs, corms, rhizomes, runners and tubers.

Bulbs – short, erect, underground stems that are enclosed by thick, fleshy modified leaves. E.g.
onions.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Corms – a short, erect, fleshy underground stem covered with thin, dry leaves. E.g. dasheen.

Rhizomes – underground stems that have scale-like leaves. Each node gives rise to a new shoot. E.g.
ginger.

Runners – long, slender stems with elongated internodes that grow along the surface of the soil. E.g.
blackberry and strawberry.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Tubers – swollen stems or roots that function as underground storage organs. Stem tubers produce
buds along the stem and root tubers do not produce buds. E.g. potato.

Meristems

A meristem is the tissue in most plants containing undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells), found
in zones of the plant where growth can take place. Meristematic cells give rise to various organs of a
plant and are responsible for growth. The cells that divide by mitosis at meristems are
undifferentiated.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Artificial Vegetative Propagation

Conventional vegetative propagation includes the use of cuttings, grafting and tissue culture. These
methods are used in cloning individual plants and multiplication of plants that are sexually sterile
and do not produce seeds.

Cuttings

A cutting is a portion of plant stem which has nodes. Cuttings are dipped into hormone powder
before planting. The hormones causes the cuttings to develop roots faster. The cuttings are then
placed in damp soil, sand or compost and kept moist until they start to develop new roots. An
example of a plant that can be grown by cuttings is sugar cane.

Grafting

Grafting is used for valuable plants that are difficult to propagate or for those that are more vigorous
when grown on another plant. In grafting, the plant providing the root system is called the stock and
the grafted shoot is called the scion. The stock and the scion are chosen from closely related plant
species. The scion is inserted into the cambium layer of the stock and secured. The scion and the
stock will eventually come to grow as a single plant.

Tissue culture

Micropropagation is the cloning of plants by tissue culture. This is a process that involves exposing
plant tissue to a specific regimen of nutrients, hormones and light, under sterile, in vitro conditions
to produce many new plants. The plant material used is usually very small and can either be isolated
cells or small pieces of tissue. Each new plant is a clone of the mother plant.

Tissue culture produces plants over a short period of time. Tissues removed from plants are
stimulated to grow in solution by the addition of nutrients and certain plant hormones, particularly
auxins and cytokinins. Tissue culture is now widely used for the rapid propagation of desired
varieties.

Mature plant tissues are totipotent. This means that they contain all the genetic information of the
plant and therefore retain the ability to grow into new plants under special conditions, even if they
are mature and specialized.

The first step in tissue culture is to obtain what is called an explant. This means to simply cut-out a
very small piece of leaf or stem tissue, or even isolate individual cells, and place them in a tissue
culture container. The tissue has to be sterilized because bacteria or fungus can also grow in the
medium. It is then placed inside the tissue culture container on a gel called agar. Dissolved in the
agar are all the sugar, nutrients and hormones the plant needs.

The tissue will begin to grow. It may make a big blob of tissue called callus, or it may make new
shoots directly from the explant tissue that was inserted in the container. However, the most
common method is to use meristematic tissue from apical or axillary buds.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Once the plantlets start developing, some can be removed and placed in new tissue culture
containers. Thus, another "forest"' of plants is produced. This results in a rapid multiplication of the
cultures and many thousands of plants can be produced in a few months. When the plantlets are
large enough, they can be removed from the tissue culture container and transferred into pots with
potting soil. The young plants are grown in a greenhouse.

When the small plant clones are removed from the culture containers, they must be transplanted
into some type of acclimation container or kept under a mist system until they acclimate to the
ambient environment.

Advantages of tissue culture

 The traits (characters) of a plant are preserved by vegetative reproduction.

- New plants contain genetic material of only one parent, which means they are clones of
the parent plant.

- This is important for commercial growers who want to reproduce the highest quality
plants and ensure consistency of plants or crops for sale.

- It helps maintain consistent quality and taste in produce made from plants.

Limitation: There is an increased risk due to pest and diseases due to limited genetic
diversity.

 The plants generated from vegetative means requires less time to grow.

- Plantlet formation is induced from tissue cells and can be multiplied rapidly by tissue
culture.

- This allows rapid production of a large quantity of plants from few stock plants.

- Plants can be produced any time of the year regardless of season.

- This mitigates crop losses since plants can be rapidly regenerated.

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Ms. R. Boodram

- For example, many lilies grow very slowly and take 4 to 7 years to develop flowers when
grown from seeds, but flowers are produced only after a year or two when grown
vegetatively.

Limitation: Tissue culture is costly, labour intensive and requires training. The procedures
must be carried out in sterile conditions. There can also be competition for resources
between parent plant and offspring.

 Plants which do not produce seeds, are propagated by the method e.g., sugar-cane,
banana, potato, etc.

-Seedless plants can be propagated by several methods e.g. tissue culture, fragmentation,
runners, stolons, suckers, grafting and budding.

- It does not depend on fertilization to reproduce and therefore germination of seeds is not
necessary.

- The plants skip the risky seedling stage in which a number of plants die under adverse
conditions. Many seedless varieties of grapes, banana and oranges are produced by this
method

-This process eliminates the need for seed harvesting and germination and therefore
reduces the complexity of obtaining offspring for market.

- Exotic plants such as orchids can be cloned in large numbers by tissue culture.

Limitation: The process is labour intensive to plant large numbers of plants. Training is also
required for methods like grafting.

 Easier management of plants.

- All plants are identical genetically and therefore need the same environmental
conditions.

- This can enable synchronization of field management systems such as use of fertilizers
and pest and disease control.

- Plants grown from tissue culture are light weight and small in size and therefore takes
up very little space.

Limitation: The root systems may not be as robust as plants propagated from seeds. These
methods cannot be applied to all plants. There can potentially be difficulty in adapting to
change in environmental conditions.

 Faster maturity of crops.

-Plants reach the mature phase sooner than using seeds.

-This makes it possible for multiple yields and saves time and money for commercial plant
production.
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Ms. R. Boodram

Limitation: The root systems may not be as robust as plants propagated from seeds. Faster
maturation may lead to nutrient deficiency similar to parent plants.

 Disease free plants

– Viruses do not usually penetrate the tips of the meristems and bacteria and fungi and
prevented from growing since the plants are prepared in sterile conditions.

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ew6mqwgGR0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuwV3ywCxW8