Lecture 5 - Reproduction Flashcards
Define Asexual Reproduction
A single individual is the sole parent and passes copies of all its genes to its offspring
- 1 parent
- clone offspring
Define Sexual Reproduction
Two parents give rise to offspring that have unique combinations of genes inherited from each parent
Advantage of asexual reproduction
Energetically cheaper
- no time/energy wasted on finding a mate (courtship rituals, etc)
- every member of the population can yield offspring
Animals that asexually reproduce
- not mobile or live in sparse populations
- cannot search for or find a mate - in constant environments
- genetic diversity is less important for reproductive success
- few pressures on them, their “plan works”
* rare
Type of Asexual Reproduction
- Budding
- Regeneration
- Parthenogenesis
Budding
Asexual
- small offspring buds from larger parents
- bud grows by mitotic cell division and differentiates before bud breaks away
Regeneration
Asexual
- replacement of damaged or lost limbs, or entire individual
- example starfish cut into pieces will regenerate as many starfish as pieces
Parthenogenesis
Asexual
- development of an unfertilized egg into a new individual
- only practiced by females - species also often practice sexual reproduction
ex: bees: fertilized eggs develop into females, unfertilized into males
Advantages and disadvantage of sexual reproduction
Adv: provides genetic diversity
Disadv: Is energetically more expensive *but 99.9% of eukaryotes do it… so seems to work
General Process of Sexual Reproduction
- Gametogenesis
- making haploid cells or gametes
- meiotic cell division - Spawning/mating
- bringing gametes together - Fertilization
- union of sperm and egg to produce a diploid zygote with two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent
Gametogenesis
Produces: gametes
- eggs - non-motile
- sperm - move by flagella
Occurs: gonads
- female ovaries
- male testes
Process:
- diploid (2 sets of each chromosome) to haploid (only one set of each)
Germ Cells
- precursors to gametes
- diploid
- small collection of cells in early mammalian embryo are induced to become primary germ cells through signals from their neighbors
- develop differently from somatic cells of rest of the body
- proliferate and migrate to developing gonads
- signaled to develop into sperm or eggs depending on whether gonads have started developing into testes or ovaries
* not based on the chromosomes they have themselves
*Single gene on Y chromosome (SRY) important for dictating gonad development into testes
How do germ cells develop into sperm or eggs?
- signaled by the developing gonads, whether male or female
*not based on their sex chromosomes
Spermatogenesis (steps)
- after germ cells have taken up residence in testes
- TIME: begins at puberty
1. Germ Cells (until puberty) - mitosis - differentiate, proliferate
2. Spermatogonia - mitosis - differentiate
- some on track to become sperm, others just divide over and over
3. Primary Spermatocytes (1 diploid)
*meiosis I*
- Spermatids (2 haploid - connected by cytomplasmic bridges)
*meiosis II*
- More spermatids (4 haploids - cytoplasmic bridgeS)
- mature - Sperm (4 haploid)
Spermatogenesis: Where, when, how long?
- seminiferous tubules tightly coiled within each testes (move from the outside in)
- after puberty, continuous
- ~ 65 days
Oogenesis (Part I)
(where, when, how)
During embryonic development
in the ovaries
- Germ cells
(mitosis)
- oogonium
(mitosis)
- oocytes
(meiosis)
- Stop at prophase I
* at this point all primary oocytes are present
Ovarian Cycle
- all primary oocytes are present in embryo at birth
- When Oogenesis resumes
- involveds ovulation and corpus luteum development