Sexual and Asexual Reproduction in plants and animals

Organisms, which include animals and plants reproduce as a law of nature, a means of
ensuring the survival of the species and in the context of evolution. They must choose
among different methods to do so. There are two major
classifications, sexual and asexual reproduction. Each has its own advantages and
disadvantages and each is appropriate for different species. Vertebrates, such as
humans, are almost exclusively sexual in their reproduction, many simpler animals are
asexual. It is important to understand how these processes differ.

Mode of Reproduction

Asexual reproduction spans a variety of methods. The simplest one-celled organisms

may reproduce by binary fission, in which the cells simply divide in half creating a clone
of the parent and holds the benefit of usually being very quick and energy efficient. For
example, bacteria that reproduce by binary fission can give rise to progeny every few
hours.Multiple fission also exists in which they split into more than one offspring.
Organisms such as Cryptosporidium parvum, sporozoan, etc may utilize multiple fission.
While in multicellular organisms, a similar method is named fragmentation in which small
pieces break off and grow into new organisms. Another method involves budding, which
may lead to the production of a completely new adult that forms away from the original
body or may remain attached to the original body. A common thread in all this is that the
offspring is a direct clone of the parent. The purpose of reproduction as we’re well aware
is to propagate one’s own genes. Evolutionarily, asexual reproduction is a good bet for
the species. It is quick, simple and the genes of the parent will not be diluted by those of
another individual. Also, an organism that reproduces asexually can reproduce about
twice as fast as one that reproduces sexually.
Sexual reproduction, on the other hand, is the combination of reproductive cells from
two individuals to form a third unique offspring. Sexual reproduction produces offspring
with a different combination of genes. This could turn out to be an adaptive advantage in
an unpredictable environment and plays an important role in evolution. One must
understand that the sexual reproduction is a lot more complex than asexual reproduction.
It includes the production of gametes, which have half the number of chromosomes of all
other cells in the organism and the process of meiosis, which produces haploid
cells from diploid cells which could lead to the possibility of two copies of a single
chromosome crossing over to create a completely new chromosome that contains a new
combination of genes. You see, switching from chromosome to chromosome is a good
way to ensure that the genes will keep active in a given population.