Reproduction

Every living organism, whether it is a tiny bacterium or a

massive blue whale, carries out several essential life processes.
These processes common to all organisms are respiration,
excretion, obtaining nutrition, sensitivity to surroundings, and
reproduction. All the living organisms start their life with the
continuous seeking to secure their survival as individuals and
save the energy required for their growth till a certain stage, then
they seek to secure (ensure) the survival of their species by
reproduction, so that they direct most of their energy and
behavior to it.

Importance of all vital processes (except reproduction):

1. They are necessary for the continuity of the individual’s life.

2. They assure the survival of individuals.

Reproduction:

It is a vital process that is carried out by the living organism

(after reaching a certain limit of growth), in order to maintain its
species survival, protect it from extinction and increase its
numbers. It is the process by which an organism passes on their
 genetic material to another generation by having offspring, or
progeny

Importance:

1. Reproduction functions to ensure the continuity of a species at the

population level. Individuals can survive without producing
offspring, but a species cannot survive in the long term if all of its
members die before they reproduce. Failure to produce offspring
on a larger scale can therefore result in species extinction. Past
extinctions, such as those of the dinosaurs, and large reptiles are
reflected in the fossil record. Fossils, which are the preserved
remains of once-living organisms that are usually found buried
underground, provide us with evidence of species that have lived
in the past and went extinct. This suggests that the species may
have failed in continuing the reproduction process and overcoming
the hardships that they faced throughout their consecutive
generations, resulting in their extinction.
This is believed by most scientists to result from poaching and
fragmentation, or splitting apart, of their habitat. This means that the male
and female rarely encounter each other enough to reproduce. To make
matters worse, females that go too long without breeding develop atrophy
with their reproductive organs that further hinder their reproductive
 capability, so even if the remaining individuals survive, they are unlikely to
produce many, if any, offspring.
* Example: Panda and Sumatran rhinoceroses were almost extinct but
scientists saved them by placing them in suitable protectorates for them to
mate and reproduce.

From the previous, it is obvious that the species and individuals seen
around at the present express:

- The success of their ancestors in reproduction.

- Their overcoming for the hardships which they faced throughout
their consecutive generations.

The extinct forms of life (organisms), such as dinosaurs and other giant
reptiles had failed in continuing the reproduction process and
overcoming the hardships that they faced throughout their consecutive
generations.

2. Reproduction is a vital life process on a population level.

3. The transfer of genetic information through successive generations.
4. Sexual reproduction helps in the adaptation of living organism to
environmental changes.
Difference between reproduction and other activities in the
body:
1. While respiration, excretion, obtaining nutrition, sensitivity to
surroundings are absolutely vital to the survival of an
individual.
2. Not all individual organisms will reproduce.
3. Most organisms can survive even if the genitalia are removed,
and it can continue its life normally.
4. The reproduction process depends on all the other vital
functions of the living organism and not vice versa. Example:
malnutrition in young females with low body fat “below
25%” represent almost 15% of infertile women because sex
hormones are steroid in nature, so low body fat will hinder the
production of these hormones.
5. Reproduction usually occurs when an organism reaches
sexual maturity after a period of growth, during which
organisms focus on their individual survival. This means
prioritizing other life processes like obtaining food to supply
enough energy for their growth. The duration of this growth
period differs greatly between species.
6. At a certain stage in life, all organisms will reach maturity. At
this point in many organisms, the energy they previously
directed toward growth and development is now directed
 toward a new goal: maintaining species survival. The way
they achieve this is through reproduction.
7. Some organism can reproduce at a delayed life stage, while
other body activities cannot be delayed.

Reproductive capacity:

An organism’s reproductive capacity is the maximum number of

offspring it can produce in optimum conditions. Conditions are
rarely ideal however, so an organism’s reproductive capacity is
seldom reached.

The reproductive capacities differ among the living

organisms, according to:

1. Various ambient (Surrounding environment):

The number of individuals in the population, and how easily

they can access each other, the prevalence of risks like predation
and other environmental pressures, will all affect an individual’s
reproductive capacity.

* The aquatic organisms produce much more progeny than that

produced by their relatives on land. Aquatic organisms show an
incredible diversity of reproductive strategies. Water is a harsh
and challenging environment to live in: resources such as food
are rare, it is difficult to hide from predators, and strong currents
are able to move resources and organisms vast distances away
from each other. Therefore, many species that live in aquatic
environments are short lived.

These conditions also mean that short-lived aquatic organisms

tend to produce very large numbers of offspring. They have a
very high reproductive capacity, as so few of their offspring are
likely to survive in aquatic environments.

For example: the female sea urchin can release up to 500 million
eggs in her lifetime! Sea urchins, and many other aquatic
species, breed through a process called spawning, during which
there is a mass release of egg cells and sperm cells

Also weeds, rodents, and insects all produce large quantities of

offspring with little investment into each individual.

2. Life nature of the living organism and prevalent hardships:

* Example: parasitic organisms produce much more progeny

than the other free-living organisms, in order to compensate
their loss.
Parasites are organisms that live on or in a host organism and get
their food from or at the expense of its host. For example, fleas
and human body lice feed on the blood of their host to obtain
their nutrition. Most parasites also produce a lot of offspring as
they have such high mortality rates due to this lifestyle and need
to adapt quickly to co-evolve with their host.

The number of organisms in a species, or any other defined

population, that die over a certain period of time is referred to as
this species’s mortality rate.

These species not only develop quickly but also generally have
shorter overall life spans. The mayfly, an individual mayfly
typically lives for only a single day, but can produce up to 1000
offspring in its short life.

3. Evolution degree of the living organism and its age:

* Example: the primitive or short-aged organisms produce much

more progeny than the higher or long-aged ones, because the
production of the latter is less endangered, due to the care and
protection that they are provided from their parents.
Species with a long life span also tend to invest a lot of time and
energy into raising their offspring.

Typically, species that produce large quantities of offspring do

not invest much parental care into raising their offspring as there
are simply too many of them.

Generally, as parental care increases, the number of offspring

they tend to produce decreases, so there is an inverse
relationship between these two factors.

The long-lived species invest heavily in the quality of their

offspring over quantity. At the other end of the scale are
typically short-lived species that invest in high quantities of
offspring, sacrificing their quality.

Generally, as the average life span of an individual increases, the

number of offspring they tend to produce decreases, so there is
an inverse relationship between these two factors.

Not all species that are long lived will follow these trends however.

Tortoises are some of the longest-living terrestrial species on Earth.

Depending on the species of tortoise, a single female can produce
between 2–30 eggs multiple times in one year. Over a lifetime, some
tortoises can therefore produce many offspring.

An organism’s life span is the period of time between their birth and
death. Generally, organisms with a longer growth period to reach
maturity will also have a longer life span.

4. Size of the organism:

The white whale as the largest animal has one calf per
successful fertilization, while clown fish usually has 400 to
1000 eggs per successful fertilization.

Reproductive Strategy:

The reproductive strategy of an organism refers to the way in

which it mates and/or raises offspring.
All living organisms reproduce to perpetuate their species. There
are many different ways for reproduction, such as giving birth
(e.g., in humans), laying eggs (e.g., in reptiles), and producing
seeds (e.g., in flowering plants). Some unicellular organisms
reproduce by simply copying their genetic material and splitting
it into two.

Sexual reproduction typically occurs when two parents

combine their genetic material to produce genetically unique
offspring. These offspring are different from either parent and
likely also different from each other. Sexual reproduction has the
advantage of being able to increase the genetic variation in a
population, which increases their resilience to environmental
changes.

Asexual reproduction:

General characteristics:

 Asexual reproduction is when just one parent generates

offspring, and does not involve the fusion of gametes or a
change in the number of chromosomes.
 It doesn’t require a mate which can be time-consuming and
dangerous. This means it is not highly biological consuming,
 because all members of the same species can produce new
individuals.
 Asexual reproduction has the advantage of being a generally
more rapid process than sexual reproduction.
 The offspring of asexual reproduction are usually genetically
identical (2N) to their parent and to each other.
 Asexual reproduction does not give rise to the same level of
genetic variation that occurs as a result of sexual
reproduction. This means the genetic characters of the
following generations remain the same, which can leave
populations vulnerable to environmental changes. Most of the
resulting offsprings are exposed to destruction, if any change
occurs in the environmental conditions (unless their parents
had been adapted to that change).
 No need for sexual maturity, i.e. it doesn’t require time and
energy.
 A large number of offspring is produced.
 The asexual reproduction depends on the mitotic division of
the living organism’s cells (nucleus division), where the
number of chromosomes in the cells of new individuals
equals the number of chromosomes of the original individual
cells.
 It is common in the plant kingdom. Its presence is limited on
some primitive forms in the animal kingdom.
 Asexual reproduction occurs in a number of ways. These
include:
• Binary fission. • Budding.
• Regeneration. • Sporogony.
• Parthenogenesis. • Tissue culture.
• Vegetative propagation.

Sexual reproduction Asexual reproduction

asexual reproduction is more it requires more energy
rapid
does not require successful require successful mating or
mating or fusion of gametes fusion of gametes
it is often considered a more often involves a higher risk
reliable reproductive method
that is always available
asexual reproduction has the Sexual reproduction creates
disadvantage of creating a genetic variation and
genetically identical produces a more diverse
population, which are all population, which is more
vulnerable to the same resilient in the case of
environmental threats environmental changes

Hence, we can see why it may be advantageous for some

organisms to be able to do both.
1. Binary fission:
 It is the fastest and simplest way of asexual reproduction.
 Binary fission is a type of asexual reproduction that occurs in
unicellular organisms.

- Many protozoans, such as Paramecium and Amoeba.

- Bacteria.

- Simple algae.

 During binary fission, one parent cell replicates its genetic

material and then splits, or divides, into two identical
daughter cells.
 In eukaryotic organisms, such as amoeba or Paramecium, the
nucleus first makes a copy of itself through mitosis, and then
the cell divides into two smaller cells. In prokaryotic
organisms, such as bacteria, binary fission involves first
replicating the genetic information stored in the circular
chromosome, followed by the cell dividing into two.
 Remember that while we often describe the asexual
reproduction of eukaryotic cells as mitosis, mitosis actually
specifically describes the process of a cell making an exact
copy of its nucleus and the chromosomes it contains.
Prokaryotes do not possess a nucleus and do not undergo
mitosis.
 Cytokinesis is the name of the last step when the parent cell
divides into two daughter cells in both mitosis and binary
fission.
 Mitosis and binary fission can be easily confused. We call cell
division mitosis when it is used for the growth or repair of a
multicellular organism, whereas we call it binary fission when
it is used in the asexual reproduction of a unicellular
organism.
 Example: Binary fission in amoeba:
 In suitable conditions

o The nucleus divides by mitosis.

o The cell (that represents the body of unicellular organism)
divides into two cells, where each one of them becomes a new
individual.

In unsuitable conditions “high or low temperature and

humidity”

o Amoeba secretes a tough chitinous coat (cyst) around its body

for protection.
o It divides within that coat for several times by repeated binary
fissions to produce many young Amoebae.

Encystation in Amoeba

o o The young Amoebae are released from the cyst, once the
surrounding conditions are improved.
o Why doesn’t Amoeba suffer senility?
Because under suitable conditions, when it reaches a certain
size, the nucleus divides through chromosomal division, in a
short time a constriction in the cytoplasm is formed and 2 small
amoeba cells are produced, which begin to grow.

2. Budding:
 Budding is a type of asexual reproduction that occurs in some
unicellular organisms and some simple multicellular
organisms.

- Yeast (unicellular organism). - Aquatic Sponges and Hydra

(multicellular organisms).

 During budding, a protrusion appears on the side of the living

organism, that grows up to form an offspring. The offspring
begins its life attached to the parent. Then eventually breaks
off to continue its life as a separate individual.

Example: In unicellular organism “Yeast”:

 Yeast is the name of a type of unicellular fungus that you

may be familiar with as an ingredient used in baking bread.
 Yeast cells reproduce by budding and typically have a round,
slightly elongated shape.
 The bud arises as a lateral projection on the original cell.
 The nucleus divides mitotically into two nuclei, where one of
them remains in the mother cell, while the other moves
towards the bud.
 The daughter cell remains attached to the parent until it
reaches maturity.
 Then either:
[Link] daughter cell breaks off, leaving a bud scar at the former
site of attachment on both the parent and the daughter cell.
[Link] connected after reaching maturity, with the mother cell,
forming cellular colonies with the other growing buds,
colonies of branched strands of yeast cells, “contain 100
million cells formed within two days”.
 Budding in unicellular organisms is similar to binary fission.
However:

Binary fission Budding in unicellular

organisms
1. It occurs in primitive unicellular Budding is a type of asexual
living organisms only. reproduction in some
unicellular and multicellular
organisms.
2. In binary fission, one parent cell During budding, an
splits into two immature daughter immature daughter cell
cells that separate from each other develops from a small
and grow to maturity as separate projection or bud that
individuals sprouts from a mature
parent cell and grows to
maturity while it is still
attached to the parent
organism.
3. 2. Cytoplasmic division is equal, so 2. Cytoplasmic division is
resulted cells are similar in their size. not equal, so resulted cells
are not similar in their size.
4. The parental cell disappears after the The parental cell remains
cell division. after the cell division.
5. EX: Protozoa as amoebae and EX: Hydra, sponges and
paramecium, algae, bacteria. yeast.

Example: In multicellular organism:

 Hydra and sea sponges are examples of simple multicellular

animals that can reproduce by budding.
 Hydras are small organisms that live in fresh water.
 They have stinging tentacles that they use to catch and eat
their prey.
 The bud grows as a small cellular protrusion from one side of
the body, due to the division of the interstitial cells and their
differentiation into a bud.
 The bud grows gradually to resemble the mother entirely.
 The offspring hydra remains attached to the parent, where it
can absorb nutrients to grow and develop until it reaches
maturity.
 When the offspring hydra is ready to live on its own, it
separates from the parent and moves away to start its life
independently.
  Both hydra and sea sponges also have the ability to
reproduce sexually by gametes, besides being able to
reproduce asexually by budding and regeneration.
 These organisms are considered simple rather than complex
because they possess organization at the cellular level but
do not have true tissues or organs.

Budding in unicellular organisms Budding in multicellular organisms

The bud arises as a lateral projection The bud grows as a small cellular
on the mother cell. protrusion from one side of the
body.
The nucleus divides mitotically into The interstitial cells divide
two nuclei, where one of them mitotically in the living organism
remains in the mother cell, while the and differentiate into a bud.
other moves towards the bud.
The bud grows gradually till its full The bud grows gradually to
growth, then it may separate from the resemble the parent entirely, then it
mother cell or continue in its usually separates from the parent to
connection with the mother cell, start its life independently.
forming cellular colonies.
Yeast fungus • Hydra.
 • Sponges.

3. Regeneration:
 Regeneration occurs when a missing or damaged part of an
organism repairs itself and grows back.
 Many organisms possess some level of regenerative ability.
 However, The capacity of regeneration decreases by
increasing the living organism evolutionary degree. In some
crustaceans and amphibians: regeneration is limited on the
compensation of the cut parts only. Some lizards can regrow
their tails or even a toe. Crustaceans like crabs and lobsters
can replace an entire missing limb. Higher vertebrates like the
human body: regeneration never exceeds the healing of
wounds, especially if they are restricted in the skin, blood
vessels and muscles. Regeneration is not considered a
reproduction in these organisms.

 Liver regeneration is the process by which the liver can

replace lost liver tissue from growth of the remaining tissue.
 Another example of regeneration is the differentiation of stem
cells into more specialized tissue.
 In some organisms, an entirely new organism can be produced
via regeneration, such as
- Many plants.
- Some aquatic worms, such as Planaria.
- Some animals, such as sponges, Hydra and sea
star(starfish).
 Regeneration is considered reproduction, when the body is cut
into several parts, and each part of them will grow into a new
individual.
Examples
A. Starfish

Starfish, also sometimes called sea stars, are an example of an

organism that can reproduce via regeneration.

Starfish are invertebrates that live in salt water.

They possess several limbs surrounding a central body disc, and

they use these limbs to pry open shellfish, their prey.

If an arm of a sea star is cut with a piece of its central disc :

- This arm can regenerate to a fully independent sea star
within a short time.

- The cut arm from the original sea star can be compensated
by regeneration to be a sea star with its arms completely.

This type of sea stars that feeds on the pearl mussels, can devour
about ten mussels daily including the pearl, therefore the
breeders of those mussels were collecting the sea stars, tearing
them up into pieces, and then throwing them back into the sea.
Although they tried to get rid of them, they were unintentionally
helping in their reproduction, so that they decided to burn them.

1. Planaria Worm:
 They are flatworms, that live in fresh water.
 This family of invertebrates has remarkable regenerative
capabilities.
 A flatworm can be cut
 Either into two longitudinal parts.
 They can be cut into several pieces transversely,
 and each piece can eventually regenerate into a new organism
under the suitable conditions.

2. Hydra:

It is able to regenerate, if it is cut into several transverse pieces,

where each part will grow into a fully independent individual.
4. Vegetative propagation:
o Vegetative propagation is similar in some ways to
regeneration. Vegetative propagation is the name given to the
asexual reproduction methods that occur in plants when an
offspring grows from a fragment or piece of the parent plant.
o Vegetative propagation can involve a new plant growing from
a broken branch, stem, or root.
o It also includes reproduction by runners, commonly seen in
strawberry plants.
o These runners are modified stems that branch out from the
mature, adult plant, and they develop roots and leaves and
eventually grow into a new adult strawberry plant.

o Different plants have different methods of vegetative

propagation, including those involving bulbs, tubers, and
plantlets.
5. Reproduction by spores (Sporogony):
 Sporogenesis is the process of producing spores that can be
used in reproduction.
 Many different types of organisms can reproduce by
sporogenesis:

- Some primitive plants, nonflowering plants (e.g., mosses

and ferns).
- Multicellular fungi (e.g., mushrooms and bread mold
fungus).

- Some algae, such as Polypodium.

- Bacteria.

 Way of its occurrence: it occurs by single cells called

’’spores" that are modified to grow directly into complete
individuals without fusion with another reproductive cell.
 A spore is a single cell that is generated by a parent organism
and is able to grow into an offspring organism under
favorable conditions or when present in a suitable medium for
its growth.
 Structure of the spore:

*It is formed of a cytoplasm with a little amount of water this

causes inactivation of the enzymes inside the cell that are
responsible for cell division.

*a nucleus, *and surrounded by a thick coat.

 The main aim of sporogony is the tolerance to the hard

conditions, where the spore surrounds itself with a thick coat
for protection, till the improvement of surrounding conditions
 and providing the suitable germination conditions “more
water in the medium”.
 Advantages of sporogony:
1. It’s the best method for asexual reproduction.
2. Quick production of plants.
3. Quick propagation. As it contain a little amount of water that
is why it’s light weight and can be carried by air over a long
distance.
4. Distribution to distant regions. Spores spread for Long
Distance (because it is light so it can be carried by air)
5. Tolerance to hard conditions. (because it is covered by thick
coat)
 Sporogony stages:
 After the spore maturation, it liberates from the mother plant
to spread in air.
 When it reaches a suitable medium for growth, it absorbs
water and its coat ruptures.
 It divides several times by mitosis, till it grows into a new
individual.

Examples:
A. Mushrooms:
o Mushrooms is the name that we give to the fruiting bodies of
several types of multicellular fungi.
o These mushrooms are the reproductive organs of underground
fungi that grow above the ground when the environmental
conditions are favorable.
o They develop quickly and release clouds of spores, which are
carried by the wind and sometimes by animals.
o The mushroom itself quickly withers once the spores are
released.
o When a spore lands on a suitable, moist surface, it begins to
grow, or germinates, and eventually becomes a new fungus.
o Spores can be produced sexually or asexually. If the spores
are made by asexual reproduction, they grow into offspring
with an identical genetic makeup to that of the parent
organism.
o Bread mold is a different type of fungus that also reproduces
by spores in a similar way.
B. Ferns:
o Ferns are a type of plant that reproduce using spores.
o The large, leafy fern plant is referred to as a sporophyte.
o The sporophyte releases spores from structures called sori
(singular: sorus) on the underside of its leaves.
o These germinate and grow into an offspring organism if they
land on a suitable surface.
o The spores of a fern plant are haploid, which means that they
possess half the number of chromosomes found in a typical
fern cell, or 1N.
o These haploid spores grow into a small offspring plant that
also has haploid cells.
o This smaller version of the fern is called a gametophyte.
o This portion of the life cycle of the fern, the production of
spores and the growth of the gametophyte, represents a phase
of asexual reproduction.
o In ferns, the asexual phase is only part of the life cycle of the
plant. The gametophyte reproduces sexually by making
gametes, egg cells and sperm cells, that fuse to produce an
offspring.
o The offspring that results from this sexual reproduction phase
is a new sporophyte.
o The sporophyte grows into the familiar fern plant and
produces spores to begin the life cycle again.
o This scheme, where an organism has both haploid sexual and
diploid asexual life stages, is called alternating generations.
6. Parthenogenesis:
 It is the ability of ovum to develop into a new individual
without being fertilized by the male gamete.
 Parthenogenesis is considered a special form of the asexual
reproduction, because the progeny comes from one parent
only, resulting from the female gamete.
 Parthenogenesis occurs in complex, multicellular animals.

Examples:

1. Crustaceans: under favorable conditions, the freshwater

crustacean Daphnia reproduces asexually by producing
offspring that develop from unfertilized diploid eggs.
2. Vertebrates: An example occurs in a large lizard called the
Komodo dragon. When mates are scarce, female Komodo
dragons can lay eggs that develop into offspring, which are
exact genetic replicas of their mother.
3. Worms.
4. Plants can also reproduce by parthenogenesis. Sometimes a
plant can make a fruit without first being pollinated. This fruit
will contain seeds with embryos that are exact genetic copies
of the parent plant.
5. Insects: Honey bees and aphid insects.
 Way of its occurrence: parthenogenesis can occur naturally or
artificially, as follows:

Natural parthenogenesis:

From the examples for insects that reproduce by natural

parthenogenesis:

Honey bees:

o Parthenogenesis plays a role in determining the sex of

honeybees.
o The queen bee produces eggs by meiosis.
o Some of the eggs (n) grow after fertilization (sexual
reproduction) to form the diploid (2n) queen or workers
(according to the type of food).
o The fertilized eggs and offspring that develop from them are
diploid and possess the typical number of chromosomes (2n).
o Some of the eggs (n) grow by parthenogenesis without
fertilization. The unfertilized eggs develop into male bees
called drones. These eggs, as well as the drones that hatch
from them, are haploid (n) and possess half as many
chromosomes as in a diploid female bee’s cells.
Aphid insect:

o The females of aphid insect produce: - Ova (2n) by mitosis

that grow by parthenogenesis without fertilization (asexual
reproduction) to form diploid females (2n).

Or

o Ova (n) by meiosis that grow after fertilization (sexual

reproduction) to form diploid (2n) males and females.

Artificial parthenogenesis:

Examples:

- Frog and sea star:

Parthenogenesis can be induced artificially by scientists. The
unfertilized egg cells of certain organisms, such as frogs or sea
stars, can be stimulated through their exposure to thermal or
electric shock, radiation, some salts, agitation or physical
pricking with a needle. This stimulation causes the haploid egg
cell to duplicate its chromosomes and become a diploid cell. The
diploid egg cell can then grow into an embryo without
fertilization, forming new individuals that are totally identical to
their mother.

- Rabbits:

by using similar stimuli (as the previous stimuli) to form early

embryonic stages of rabbits.

 Parthenogenesis is sometimes considered to be a special type

of asexual reproduction.
 However, it may be more accurately described as an
“incomplete form of sexual reproduction,” since offspring of
parthenogenic species develop from gametes.

7. Tissue culture:
 Tissue culture is when a sample of cells taken from living
tissues are grown in a laboratory setting.
 Sometimes scientists need to cultivate plants and animals in a
controlled environment. This may be done for research
purposes with new plant strains with beneficial properties,
such as disease resistance.
 The scientific principle for plant tissue culture:
o It is the growth of a living tissue that comprises the whole
genetic information in a semi-natural nutritive medium, then
following its tissues differentiation and progress into a fully
developed individuals.
o The plant cell can develop into a fully plant, if it is cultivated
in a proper nutritive medium, containing the plant hormones
with certain ratios.
 In tissue culture involving plants, an entirely new plant
specimen can be grown from a very small sample, even as
small as a single cell.
 This new plant is often referred to as a clone of the parent
cell, as it is genetically identical.
 The tissue sample is placed into a growth medium, which can
be a liquid or a gel.
 Sometimes coconut milk is used as a growth medium in these
experiments because it possesses a mixture of nutrients and
growth hormones.
 Over time, the cells from the tissue sample multiply and
differentiate. Eventually, an entirely new plant specimen
grows from the original tissue sample under the correct
conditions.
 Because a new plant is grown from a small sample taken from
just one parent plant, tissue culture represents a type of
asexual reproduction in plants. It demonstrates the principles
of vegetative propagation and regeneration.
 It occurs through the different plant parts (root - stem -
leaves) without the need to seeds.
 It occurs by mitosis.

Experiment:

On carrot plant:

o Separation of small pieces of carrot plant in glass tubes

containing the coconut milk, then these pieces began to grow
and differentiate into a fully carrot plant.
o Separation of some cells from the same plant tissues and
cultivating them by the same method to obtain a whole plant.

On tobacco plant:

o Separation of some cells from tobacco leaves and cultivating

them by the same previous method, and so we can obtain a
fully tobacco plant.

The importance of tissue culture:

1. Propagation of rare plants or those with desirable strains or

more resistant against diseases.
2. Controlling the time of tissue culture, where the selected
tissues for such culture can be preserved in a liquid nitrogen
to cool them for a long period, in order to keep them alive and
maintain their vitality till their cultivation.

Note:

• Scientists have hopes on the progress of this technology in:

(1) Shortening the time needed for growing and increasing the
crops.
(2) Solving the food problems in general.