Compare different sexual and asexual life cycles noting thei

Compare different sexual and asexual life cycles noting their adaptive advantages.

Solution

Asexual reproduction sexual reproduction Number of organisms involved One parent needed Two parents are required to mate Cell division Cells divide by Fission, budding , or regeneration Cells divide by Meiosis Types Budding, vegetative reproduction, fragmentation, spore formation Syngamy and conjugation Advantages Time Efficient; no need to search for mate, requires less energy Variation, Unique., organism is more protected Disadvantages No variation - if the parent has a genetic disease, offspring does too. Requires two organisms, requires more energy Evolution There is very little chance of variation with asexual reproduction. Mutations in DNA can still occur but not nearly as frequently as in sexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction leads to genetic variation in new generations of offspring. This is fundamental to evolution. Involvement of sex cells No formation or fusion of gametes (sex cell) Formation and fusion of gametes (sex cell) occurs Found in Lower organisms Higher invertebrates and all vertebrates Unit of reproduction May be whole parent body or a bud or a fragment or a single somatic cell Gamete Time taken Asexual reproduction is completed in a very short period of time. Sexual reproduction can take several months to complete. Number of offspring Two or more One or more