What is Reproduction and what are the types of reproduction we have?

Hello everyone here, I hope that everyone is doing great, Today I would like to share with you all another science episode which today is about Reproduction in Humans. Reproduction as we all know is one of the characteristics of living things and it's very important for every individual to study and know about it.

Without much ado, let's look at what is reproduction.

What is Reproduction?

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Reproduction refers to the process whereby living organisms multiply or produce a multiple of their own kinds or in simply put, reproduction is the process whereby living organisms give birth to their own kinds. Due to the existence of reproduction, there has been the continuity of life on this earth planet. Reproduction is of two types and they are sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. Let's as look at each separately and see their differences.

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What is Sexual Reproduction?

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Sexual reproduction as the name suggests is a type of reproduction whereby two gametes fuse together to form a new individual or offspring. These two gametes must have one coming from a male (sperm) and another from a female (egg/ova).
These two gametes differ from each other in humans, plants, animals, and most other eukaryotes as well. Let's have a look at some of the features or characteristics of Sexual reproduction.

Basic Characteristics or Features of Sexual reproduction

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• It involves the fusion of the sex cells which are the sperm and egg to form offspring

• There is the formation of a zygote after fertilization before a mature organism is formed after its development.

• It is a slow and a long process

• Two parents must be involved i.e. a male and a female

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What is Asexual Reproduction?

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Asexual reproduction on the other hand refers to the type of reproduction whereby it requires only one parent in producing offspring of their own kind. In asexual reproduction, the offsprings look similar to that of the parent because they all possess the same DNA. Examples of living organisms that undergo this type of reproduction include amoeba, bacteria, yeasts, etc. In this type of reproduction, the offspring are produced from the body parts of their parents, unlike sexual reproduction which involves two sex cells fusing together.

Basic Characteristics or Features of Sexual reproduction

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• It involves only one living organism in producing the offspring

• The new offerings produced are genetically identical to the parent

• It is a fast process of producing offsprings

• There is no fertilization or the formation of gamete which takes place in this process

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Now let's look at another form of reproduction that is not included in these two main types discussed earlier, which is parthenogenesis.

What is Parthenogenesis?

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Parthenogenesis is a type of reproduction that is common in plants and it occurs when an organism develops from an unfertilized ovum. It also takes place in some lower-class animals.

Lastly, I would like us to look at some of the types of Asexual Reproduction we have.

Types or Forms of Asexual Reproduction

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The following includes the types of asexual reproduction;

1. Fission
2. Budding
3. Fragmentation or Regeneration
4. Spore Formation

I would briefly touch on each of them in this article and that would be the last thing we would discuss in this lesson.

1. Fission: This type of asexual reproduction is of two types and they are Binary fission and Multiple fission.

Binary Fission is a type of fission in asexual reproduction whereby two organisms are formed from a single parent. Bacteria, Amoeba, and Yeasts are examples of organisms that undergo this type of fission.

Multiple Fission on the other hand is a type of asexual reproduction whereby many organisms are formed from a single parent. It mostly takes place during unfavorable conditions whereby the single organism develops a cyst (a protective covering). Many new daughter cells are produced within this cyst created and when conditions become favorable it then breaks and a lot of small new offspring are produced. Examples of an organism that undergo this type of fission are protozoans and algae.

2. Budding: In this type of asexual reproduction, an outgrowth in bulb-like arises from the parent (bud) which separates itself from the parent organism and form a new organism. Examples of organisms that undergo this type of asexual reproduction include yeasts and hydra.

3. Fragmentation or Regeneration: It is a type of asexual reproduction, whereby an organism's body breaks into two or more parts and each part broken develops into a new complete organism. Example of an organism that undergoes this type of asexual reproduction is Planaria.

4. Spore Formation: It is a type of asexual reproduction, whereby new organisms are formed from spores released into the surrounding medium. Example of an organism that undergoes this type of asexual reproduction is the algae Chlamydomonas.

This brings to the end of my lesson for today, and I would like to use this opportunity to thank all and sundry that keeps supporting and assisting me in this platform. Thank you all for your time and attention once again.