Reproductive

Biology
 Objectives
• Explain the term ‘asexual
reproduction and the types:
binary fission, spore
formation, fragmentation,
budding, vegetative
propagation,

• Describe and explain the

principles and the importance
of vegetative Propagation

• Discuss the advantages &

disadvantages of asexual
reproduction
 REPRODUCTION
•Reproduction is defined as the biological
process by which new individual organisms
are produced from their ‘parent’ or parents.

• It ensures the continuity of a species and

there are two forms: sexual and asexual.
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

• Asexual reproduction is the production of new

individuals from a single organism without the
fusion of gametes (no gametes are produced)

• All individuals formed in this way are

genetically identical, offspring are carbon
copies of their parents; made via mitosis.

• Any variation that exists is due to mutation.

Asexual Reproduction •
 Methods of Asexual
Reproduction
Other examples of asexual reproduction:

• Apomixis
– Apogamy
– Parthogenesis
 Fission

Reproduction
by
spontaneous
division of the
body into two
or more parts
each of which
grows into a
complete
organism.
 Fission
• Fission and mitosis are two types of cell
division that produce identical daughter
cells, but they have some key differences:

• Fission occurs in cells that lack a nucleus, such

as bacteria (prokaryotes), while mitosis occurs
in cells that have a nucleus, such as animals and
plants (eukaryotes). Also, there is no mitotic
spindle formation in the nucleus during binary
fission.
 Fission
• Binary fission is a simpler and faster
process than mitosis, which has many
steps and is more controlled and since
they don’t have nuclei is occurs faster
than its eukaryotic counterpart mitosis.

• Can occur transversely, obliquely ( along

a slant) or longitudinally.
 Fission

• Binary fission may result in an uneven

distribution of chromosomes, while
mitosis ensures an equal distribution of
chromosomes by attaching them to the
spindle or the membrane.
 Binary Fission
• Binary fission is a form of asexual
reproduction in which an organism
divides into two, each part carrying one
copy of genetic material.
Fission
 Multiple Fission
• Multiple fission is the process of asexual
reproduction in which instead of 2
daughter cells, many daughter cells are
produced from the parent cell.

• In this, the nucleus undergoes repeated

division to produce many nuclei. A small
amount of cytoplasm is then absorbed by
each nucleus and then a membrane is
formed around each structure.
Multiple Fission
 Fission
• Prokaryotes can suffer from a lack of genetic diversity due to
asexual reproduction via binary fission. Over time, natural
selection has pressured these organisms to develop ways to
exchange bits of DNA with other organisms to introduce some
genetic diversity.
• The three methods are transformation, transduction and
conjugation. In transformation, prokaryotes pick up small pieces of
DNA that other prokaryotes have shed into the environment.
Transduction occurs as a consequence of the actions of
bacteriophages, which can transfer small pieces of DNA from one
bacteria to another during the course of infecting them. Finally, in
conjugation, bacteria use hair-like structures called pili (singular =
pilus) to move small pieces of DNA to other bacteria.
 Methods of AR - Budding
• Budding, in biology, a form of
asexual reproduction in which a new
individual develops from some generative
anatomical point of the parent organism.
 Budding
• In budding the organism develops an
outgrowth which, on detachment from the
parent, becomes a self-supporting
individual.
• Budding is characteristic of, but not limited
to, yeast, bacteria, protozoans,
• Other examples include: Sea anemones &
corals
 Budding
• The main differences between
budding and binary fission are:
– Binary fission is the symmetric division of a
single parent cell into two identical daughter
cells, whereas budding is an asymmetric
division that involves the formation of a
small outgrowth or bud on the parent cell.
 Methods of AR - Budding
– During binary fission, the parent organism is
divided into two daughter organisms by evenly
separating the cytoplasm, whereas during
budding, a new organism is formed from the
existing organism by sprouting out.

– No outgrowth is formed in binary fission, though

bulb-like projection or outgrowth or formation
of bud can be noticed during the division.
Budding in Fungi
 Methods of AR – Sporulation
• Spore, a reproductive cell capable of
developing into a new individual without
fusion with another reproductive cell.
Spores thus differ from gametes, which
are reproductive cells that must fuse in
pairs in order to give rise to a new
individual.
• Spores are produced by bacteria, fungi,
algae, and plants.
Spore Formation
 Sporulation
• Spores are produced and dispersed in
many different ways; they come in many
different shapes and forms.
• They are generally small and light which
aids in dispersion by wind, water or animals.
Methods of AR – Fragmentation
• Fragmentation refers to breaking the
parent body into smaller fragments that
can grow into separate individuals.
• Fragmentation, as a means of
reproduction, depends on the organism
having good “powers” of regeneration
(mitosis).
• Sponges, sea stars, flat worms algae
reproduce by fragmentation.
Methods of AR – Fragmentation
• Budding and fragmentation are two
types of asexual reproduction with the
following differences:
• Budding produces a single daughter
organism, while fragmentation produces
several daughter organisms.
• In budding, daughter cell undergoes cell
growth to become a mature organism, while
in fragmentation, daughter organisms
undergo regeneration to become a mature
organism.
 Fragmentation
• Budding happens when the formation of a
bubble-like bud takes place by the parent
cell, while fragmentation occurs when the
parent organism breaks into several
pieces.
• Budding takes place in both unicellular
and multicellular organisms, while
fragmentation takes place in multicellular
organisms.
 Fragmentation
• The main difference between budding and
fragmentation is that budding is the
development of an outgrowth into a new
individual, whereas fragmentation is the
detachment of pieces from the parent
organism to grow as a new
individual. Furthermore, budding occurs in
yeast, amoeba, sea anemone, etc. while
fragmentation occurs in planaria, fungi,
jellyfish, lichens, starfish, etc.
Fragmentation
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Fragmentation
 Methods of AR –
Parthenogenesis
• This is the development of new individuals
from an unfertilised egg.
• It occurs in a number of plant and animal
groups, including some lizards.
• Parthenogenesis is a natural form of
asexual reproduction in which growth and
development of embryos occur in a gamete
without combining with another gamete.
 Parthenogenesis
• Parthenogenesis is sometimes considered
to be an asexual form of reproduction;
however, it may be more accurately
described as an “incomplete form of sexual
reproduction,” since offspring of
parthenogenic species develop from
gametes.
Parthenogenesis
 Parthenogenesis
• In haploid parthenogenesis, eggs are
produced by meiosis in the usual way.
• These form individuals without being
fertilised and are therefore haploid. E.g.
ants, bees, wasps.
• In diploid parthenogenesis the eggs are
formed by mitosis instead of meiosis.
 Methods of AR – Vegetative
Reproduction
• Vegetative reproduction (also known as
vegetative propagation, vegetative
multiplication or vegetative cloning) is any
form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants
in which a new plant grows from a fragment of
the parent plant or grows from a specialized
reproductive structure (such as a stolon, rhizome,
tuber, corm, runner, or bulb).

• It can occur naturally or be induced by

horticulturists (artificially).
 Methods of AR – Vegetative
Reproduction
• It involves vegetative or non-sexual plant structures such
as gemmae and spores in non-vascular plants and roots,
stems, and leaves in vascular plants.

• Vegetative propagation requires tissues containing

undifferentiated cells, called meristems. These tissues
repeatedly divide by mitosis to allow rapid development in
plants. The ability of meristem tissue to divide repeatedly
allows growth and regeneration of plant parts.
Specialized, permanent plant tissues later develop from
meristem tissue.
 Methods of AR – Vegetative
reproduction
• Plants can produce new individuals by
growth from:
• – Leaves e.g. Kalanchoe
daigremontianum

• – Stems, e.g. Irish potato, ginger

• – Roots, e.g. breadfruit, dandelion
 Vocubulary
• In botany, perennation is the ability of organisms,
particularly plants, to survive from one germinating season
to another, especially under unfavourable conditions such as
drought or winter.
• Perennating organs store enough nutrients to sustain
the plant during the unfavourable season, and develops into
one or more new plants the following year. Normally storage
organs (e.g. tubers and rhizomes).
• In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot (a
compact knoblike growth on a plant) and normally
occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once
formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant
condition, or it may form a shoot immediately.
 Vegetative Propagation
• The most common form of asexual reproduction in
plants.
• A bud grows and develops into a new plant.
• At some stage, the new plant becomes detached from
the parent plant and starts to exist independently.
• Specialized organs of propagation often develop, but
they must all have buds and since buds only occur on
stems, they must all contain at least a small part of a
stem.
• Ex: bulbs, corms, rhizomes, stolons and tubers.
• Some of these specialized organs also store food and
are called perennating organs: e.g., bulbs, corms,
rhizomes and tubers.
 Bulbs
• A modified shoot; e.g., onion, daffodil,
tulip
• Organs of both perennation and
vegetative propagation
• Very short stem and fleshy storage
leaves.
• Surrounded by brown scaly leaves
which are the remains of the previous
year’s leaves after their food stores
have been used.
• A bulb contains one or more buds.
• Each bud that grows forms a shoot
which produces a new bulb at the end
of the growing season.
• Roots are adventitious, growing from
the stem rather than from a main tap
root.
 CORMS
• Corms are similar to rhizomes, except they are
more rounded and fleshy
• They are plants with short, vertical, swollen
underground stem of a plant that serves as a
storage organ to enable the plant to survive
winter or other adverse conditions such as
drought
• An organ of perennation as well as vegetative
propagation.
• No fleshy leaves, unlike bulbs.
• The roots are adventitious
• Example: tannia, dasheen
 RHIZOME
• A continuously growing horizontal
underground stem which puts out
lateral shoots and adventitious roots
at its nodes eg. ginger;
• An organ of perennation as well as
vegetative propagation.
• Bears leaves, buds and adventitious
roots
• Leaves may be scale-like (small and
thin, whitish or brownish in colour)
as in couch grass or green foliage
leaves as in, Iris
 RHIZOME
• How is a rhizome different from a
root?
• A rhizome is an underground stem
having nodes and internodes, apical and
axillary buds.
• While a roots do not have nodes,
internodes and leaves.
RHIZOME
 STOLON
• Stolons are stems that run almost parallel
to the ground, or just below the surface,
and can give rise to new plants at the
nodes.
 STOLON
• In botany, stolons are plant stems which grow at
the soil surface or just below ground that
form adventitious roots at the nodes, and new plants
from the buds.
• A stolon is a plant propagation strategy and the complex
of individuals formed by a mother plant and all
its clones produced from stolons form a single genetic
individual, a genet.
 RUNNERS
• Stolons grow from the nodes or buds,
however runners develop from existing
stems.
• Stolons primarily refer to above-ground
horizontal stems, while runners
specifically describe below-ground
horizontal stems.
• Strawberry plants and currants propagate
through this process.
Runner
 TUBERS
• Underground storage organ formed from a
stem or a root.
• Swollen with food and capable of
perennation.
• Tubers last only one year and shrivel as
their contents are used during the growing
season.
• New tubers are made at the end of the
growing season, but not from old tubers as
are corms.
STEM TUBERS
 ARTIFICIAL
PROPOGATION OF
PLANTS
• Used in agriculture and
horticulture.
• Important in preserving
desired varieties of plants.
• Methods include cuttings,
grafting, budding.
 CUTTINGS
• Cutting: A plant part such as a stem or leaf
is cut off and planted, which develops
adventitious roots and develops into a new
plant. This process also uses hormones
before plantation to
induce root development.
CUTTINGS
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF
MAKING CUTTINGS
• Use a clean sharp knife or razor blade.
• Use of a scissors can squeeze or bruise stem cells.
• Hormone preparations can be used to speed the
formation of roots.
Best conditions for rooting: -
• Good but not strong sunlight
• Constantly moist but not soggy/wet medium
• Humid air, free from drafts
• Heat applied to keep the growth medium 5 - 10 degrees
warmer than the air above it.
• Avoid overcrowding.
 GRAFTING AND BUDDING
• Grafting is the transfer of part of one
plant called the scion, onto the lower part
of another plant called the stock.
• lt is a method used for some fruit trees.
• The scion is chosen for its fruit and the
stock chosen for properties such as disease
resistance and hardiness.
• Budding is a variation of grafting where a
bud is used as the scion rather than a
shoot.
GRAFTING
BUDDING
 TISSUE CULTURE/
MICROPROPOGATION
Micropropagation - the
propagation or cloning of
plants by tissue culture
 TISSUE CULTURE/
MICROPROPOGATION
• Micropropagation - the propagation or
cloning of plants by tissue culture.
• Small pieces of material are used, such as
isolated cells or small pieces of tissue.
• The material is grown in special culture
solutions and so the process is also known
as tissue culture.
 TISSUE CULTURE/
MICROPROPOGATION
• Tissue culture is a method that is now
widely used for the rapid propagation of
desired varieties of plants.
• The plant tissues that are removed from
the plants are stimulated to grow in
solution by the addition of nutrients and
plant hormones such as auxins and
cytokinins.
 TISSUE CULTURE/
MICROPROPOGATION
• These hormones are needed for continued
cell division.
• Mature cells that retain all the information
needed to code for the entire organism and
thus have the ability to grow into new
plants under suitable conditions (even if
they are specialized) are described as
totipotent.
PROCESSES INVOLVED IN
TISSUE CULTURE
Culture medium
•Must contain the correct nutrients and hormones
•lnorganic ions needed for growth (nitrogen,
magnesium, iron, potassium)
•Sucrose as a source of energy
•Vitamins - These are mixed with nutrient agar in
petri dishes or flasks
•Auxins stimulate root growth and cell elongation -
Cytokinins stimulate shoot growth and cell
division.
PROCESSES INVOLVED IN
TISSUE CULTURE
Culture medium
•The differences in the amount of auxin relative to
cytokinin affect the way unspecialized cells
develop.
-E.g., a higher auxin concentration to cytokinin
concentration stimulates rooting.
- Equal concentrations of auxin and cytokinin
generate xylem tissues.
 ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS
• Temperature, light intensity, light quality,
length of day and humidity are controlled
by growing the cultures in special growth
rooms or cabinets.
• All procedures must be sterile to keep out
the growth of bacteria and fungi which
would out-compete the plants for these
environmental conditions.
 ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS
• All materials, including the plant tissues
themselves, are sterilised before use.
• The plant tissues are surface sterilised in a
dilute bleach solution-
• All apparatus is handled under sterile
conditions.
• The pieces of tissue taken from the stock
plants are known as explants.
• The most common method is the use of
meristematic tissue from apical or axillary
 Meristem
• A region of the plant where cells which
retain the ability to divide by mitosis,
produce daughter cells which grow and
form the rest of the plant body.
• The daughter cells become permanent
tissue, that is, tissue whose cells have lost
the ability to divide.
 ALTERNATIVE METHODS
• Another method is to produce a callus from
non-meristematic tissue.
• A callus is an undifferentiated or
unspecialised mass of cells.
• Roots and shoots can be stimulated to
grow from a callus or from non-meristematic
tissue by adding auxins or cytokinins.
• Sometimes embryos are produced rather
than shoots and roots and these are placed in
agar to form artificial seeds or grown into
Plantlets.
MICROPROPOGATION
ADVANTAGES &
DISADVANTAGES
 Advantages
Rapid multiplication
•Shoots produced during cloning produce buds in
the normal way.
•These buds can be used to generate more shoots
using the tissue culture techniques.
•Thousands to millions of plants can be produced
from one bud through constant recycling of the
buds.
•This is faster than traditional breeding/growing
methods.
 Advantages cont’d
• Genetic Uniformity- Plants produced are
genetically identical possessing the desirable
features of the stock plant.
• Disease-free plants - Plants prepared under
sterile conditions
• Tissue culture takes up little space
compared to growing plants in a greenhouse or
in the field.
• Tissue culture can be carried out
independently of seasonal changes in
climate, so plants can be produced out of
season when they can be sold for higher prices
 Advantages cont’d
• Plant development is more closely controlled
guaranteeing uniformity of produce for customers
• The seeds of some plants e.g., certain orchids,
are difficult to germinate and so asexual means
are used which is more reliable.
• Micropropagation can be linked with genetic
engineering to produce transgenic plants.
• Shipping by air is economic because the
cultures are not bulky and so the possibility of
international trade is increased.
 Disadvantages
• Micropropagation is very labour
intensive and not as convenient as
sowing seeds.
• Skilled people are needed so
organisation and training of staff can
present problems when carrying out
procedures on a large scale.
• This adds significantly to the cost of the
operation
 Disadvantages cont’d
• The process is commercially viable only for
expensive products such as ornamental plants
and not suitable for low-cost crops such as carrots.
• Sterile conditions must be maintained which
adds to the cost and makes the operations more
demanding.
• Plants obtained from callus cultures
sometimes undergo genetic changes. Genetic
instability can occur in some plants, resulting in
permanent genetic change.
 Disadvantages cont’d
• A small proportion of these mutated
changes may be commercially useful but
most are undesirable.
• Since the clones are genetically identical,
crops are very susceptible to new
diseases or to changes in
environmental conditions, and as such
whole crops could be wiped out.
Natural Asexual
Reproduction
Advantages and
Disadvantages
 Advantages
• Only one parent is required
• ln sexual reproduction, time and energy is
required in finding a mate.
• ln the case of plants special mechanisms
are required {e.g., pollination) which may
be wasteful.
 Advantages cont’d
• Genetically identical offspring
• Successful combinations of genes are
preserved.
• Rapid multiplication
 Disadvantages
• No genetic variation among offspring.
• Many of the spores produced fail to find a
suitable place for germination and so
energy and materials used in their
manufacture are wasted.
• lf an organism spreads in one area, it may
result in overcrowding and exhaustion of
nutrients.