Q.How does the progeny formed from asexual reproduction differ from those formed by sexual reproduction?

The two modes of reproduction differ fundamentally in the kind of progeny they produce:

Progeny from asexual reproduction

• Arise from a single parent only.
• Produced by mitotic division — no gametes, no meiosis, no fertilisation involved.
• Are genetically identical to the parent and to one another (a clone).
• Show no genetic variation, other than rare mutations.
• Tend to be produced rapidly and in large numbers (e.g., budding, fragmentation, spore formation, vegetative propagation).

Progeny from sexual reproduction

• Arise from two gametes (typically from two parents, or from male and female gametes produced within the same individual in bisexual organisms).
• Involve meiosis during gamete formation, which introduces variation through crossing over and independent assortment of chromosomes.
• Involve fertilisation — fusion of a haploid male gamete and a haploid female gamete to restore the diploid (2n) zygote.
• Are genetically variable — each offspring has a unique combination of genes different from both parents and from its siblings.
• The process is generally slower and more resource-intensive, and typically produces fewer offspring per reproductive event compared to asexual reproduction. …

Contrast the two along three axes — number of parents, cell-division process (mitosis vs meiosis+fertilisation), and genetic outcome (identical clo …

• Treating this as identical to Q6 (distinguish asexual vs sexual reproduction) without specifically focusing the answer on the PROGENY (offspring) outcome as asked. …