Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction is defined as the mode of reproduction that helps an organism perpetuate its own species without any involvement of gametes. Lower plants, fungi and animals show a wide variety of asexual methods, each suited to a simple, single-parent mode of propagation: fungi such as Aspergillus and Penicillium form spore-like conidia; yeast and Hydra reproduce by budding, in which a small outgrowth pinches off to form a new individual; the alga Spirogyra reproduces by fragmentation of its filament; the liverwort Marchantia produces tiny multicellular propagules called gemmae; the flatworm Planaria can regenerate a whole new individual from a body fragment; and bacteria multiply by binary fission, a simple splitting of one cell into two. In every one of these cases the individuals produced are morphologically and genetically identical to the parent and to one another, and are collectively called clones, because no gamete fusion has taken place to reshuffle their genetic material. Higher (flowering) plants also reproduce asexuall …