process by which organisms replicate themselves. In a general sense reproduction is one of the most important concepts in biology: it means making a copy, a likeness, and thereby providing for the continued existence of species. Although reproduction is often considered solely in terms of the production of offspring in animals and plants, the more general meaning has far greater significance to living organisms. To appreciate this fact, the origin of life and the evolution of organisms must be considered. One of the first characteristics of life that emerged in primeval times must have been the ability of some primitive chemical system to make copies of itself. At its lowest level, therefore, reproduction is chemical replication. As evolution progressed, cells of successively higher levels of complexity must have arisen, and it was absolutely essential that they had the ability to make likenesses of themselves. In unicellular organisms, the ability of one cell to reproduce itself means the reproduction of a new individual; in multicellular organisms, however, it means growth and regeneration. Multicellular organisms also reproduce in the strict sense of the term–that is, they make copies of themselves in the form of offspring–but they do so in a variety of ways, many involving complex organs and elaborate In single-celled organisms (e.g., bacteria, protozoans, many algae, and some fungi), organismic and cell reproduction are synonymous, for the cell is the whole organism.
The Term Paper on The Different Types of Cells
There are three major parts of a cell-- the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane, if these are stained appropriately, they can be easily seen under a light microscope. The nucleus (in many cell types) is the innermost and is enclosed by a thin membrane. The nucleus contains the genetic material which directs the cells function. The cytoplasm includes specialized structures called cytoplasmic ...
Details of the process differ greatly from one form to the next and, if the higher ciliate protozoans are included, can be extraordinarily complex. It is possible for reproduction to be asexual, by simple division, or sexual. In sexual unicellular organisms the gametes can be produced by division (often multiple fission, as in numerous algae) or, as in yeasts, by the organism turning itself into a gamete and fusing its nucleus with that of a neighbour of the opposite sex, a process that is called conjugation. In ciliate protozoans (e.g., Paramecium), the conjugation process involves the exchange of haploid nuclei; each partner acquires a new nuclear apparatus, half of which is genetically derived from its mate. The parent cells separate and subsequently reproduce by binary fission. Sexuality is present even in primitive bacteria, in which parts of the chromosome of one cell can be transferred to another during mating. Multicellular organisms also reproduce asexually and sexually; asexual, or vegetative, reproduction can take a great variety of forms. Many multicellular lower plants give off asexual spores, either aerial or motile and aquatic (zoospores), which may be uninucleate or multinucleate.
In some cases the reproductive body is multicellular, as in the soredia of lichens and the gemmae of liverworts. Frequently, whole fragments of the vegetative part of the organism can bud off and begin a new individual, a phenomenon that is found in most plant groups. In many cases a spreading rhizoid (rootlike filament) or, in higher plants, a rhizome (underground stem) gives off new sprouts. Sometimes other parts of the plant have the capacity to form new individuals; for instance, buds of potentially new plants may form in the leaves; even some shoots that bend over and touch the ground can give rise to new plants at Among animals, many invertebrates are equally well endowed with means of asexual reproduction. Numerous species of sponges produce gemmules, masses of cells enclosed in resistant cases, that can become new sponges. There are many examples of budding among coelenterates, the best known of which occurs in freshwater Hydra. In some species of flatworms, the individual worm can duplicate by pinching in two, each half then regenerating the missing half; this is a large task for the posterior portion, which lacks most of the major organs–brain, eyes, and pharynx.
The Essay on Plant and Animal Structure
Duckweeds belong to a family of hydrophytic (aquatic) plants called Lemnaceae and are considered the smallest flowering plants. These plants lack the recognizable stems and leaves and they are instead characterized by several small flattened floating structures, which are believed to be modified leaves, often called as thalloids, with simple or no roots. Duckweed roots do not exhibit secondary ...
The highest animals that exhibit vegetative reproduction are the colonial tunicates (e.g., sea squirts), which, much like plants, send out runners in the form of stolons, small parts of which form buds that develop into new individuals. Vertebrates have lost the ability to reproduce vegetatively; their only form of organismic reproduction is sexual. In the sexual reproduction of all organisms except bacteria, there is one common feature: haploid, uninucleate gametes are produced that join in fertilization to form a diploid, uninucleate zygote. At some later stage in the life history of the organism, the chromosome number is again reduced by meiosis to form the next generation of gametes. The gametes may be in size (isogamy), or one may be slightly larger than the other (anisogamy); the majority of forms have a large egg and a minute sperm (oogamy).
The sperm are usually motile and the egg passive, except in higher plants, in which the sperm nuclei are carried in pollen grains that attach to the stigma (a female structure) of the flower and send out germ tubes that grow down to the egg nucleus in the ovary. Some organisms, such as most flowering plants, earthworms, and tunicates, are bisexual (hermaphroditic, or monoecious)–i.e., both the male and female gametes are produced by the same individual. All other organisms, including some plants (e.g., holly and the ginkgo tree) and all vertebrates, are unisexual (dioecious): the male and female gametes are produced by separate individuals. Some sexual organisms partially revert to the asexual mode by a periodic degeneration of the sexual process. For instance, in aphids and in many higher plants the egg nucleus can develop into a new individual without fertilization, a kind of asexual reproduction that is called The significance of biological reproduction can be explained entirely by natural selection (see evolution: The concept of natural selection).
The Essay on Natural Selection
Natural selection, according to Gulick, is the process through which heritable attributes that are beneficial or vital for survival and reproduction become a common thing in a population, whereas harmful characteristics become rare (p, 27). Natural selection occurs as a result of successful reproduction by persons who have advantageous traits (Darwin p, 39). This results in adoption of beneficial ...
In formulating his theory of natural selection, Charles Darwin realized that, in order for evolution to occur, not only must living organisms be able to reproduce themselves but the copies must not all be identical; that is, they must show some variation. In this way the more successful variants would make a greater contribution to subsequent generations in the number of offspring. For such selection to act continuously in successive generations, Darwin also recognized that the variations had to be inherited, although he failed to fathom the mechanism of heredity. Moreover, the amount of variation is particularly important. According to what has been called the principle of compromise, which itself has been shaped by natural selection, there must not be too little or too much variation: too little produces no change; too much scrambles the benefit of any particular combination of inherited Of the numerous mechanisms for controlling variation, all of which involve a combination of checks and balances that work together, the most successful is that found in the large majority of all plants and animals–i.e., sexual reproduction. During the evolution of reproduction and variation, which are the two basic properties of organisms that not only are required for natural selection but are also subject to it, sexual reproduction has become ideally adapted to produce the right amount of variation and to allow new combinations of traits to be rapidly incorporated An examination of the way in which organisms have changed since their initial unicellular condition in primeval times shows an increase in multicellularity and therefore an increase in the size of both plants and animals. After cell reproduction evolved into multicellular growth, the multicellular organism evolved a means of reproducing itself that is best described as life-cycle reproduction. Size increase has been accompanied by many mechanical requirements that have necessitated a selection for increased efficiency; the result has been a great increase in the complexity of organisms. In terms of reproduction this means a great increase in the permutations of cell reproduction during the process of evolutionary development. Size increase also means a longer life cycle, and with it a great diversity of patterns at different stages of the cycle. This is because each part of the life cycle is adaptive in that, through natural selection, certain characteristics have evolved for each stage that enable the organism to survive. The most extreme examples are those forms with two or more separate phases of their life cycle separated by a metamorphosis, as in caterpillars and butterflies; these phases may be shortened or extended by natural selection, as has occurred in different species of To reproduce efficiently in order to contribute effectively to subsequent generations is another factor that has evolved through natural selection. For instance, an organism can produce vast quantities of eggs of which, possibly by neglect, only a small percent will survive. On the other hand, an organism can produce very few or perhaps one egg, which, as it develops, will be cared for, thereby greatly increasing its chances for survival. These are two strategies of reproduction; each has its advantages and disadvantages. Many other considerations of the natural history and structure of the organism determine, through natural selection, the strategy that is best for a particular species; one of these is that any species must not produce too few offspring (for it will become extinct) or too many (for it may also become extinct by overpopulation and disease).
The Essay on Bundle Sheath Cells Plants Plant Evolution
C 3 and C 4 plants have two things in common, they both are found in hot and very dry areas and they both use photorespiration. However, the difference is the way they react toward water loss which will affect photosynthesis. If a C 3 plant starts to transpire rapidly because it is photosynthesizing and the stomata are open, then it will close the stomata, ending photosynthesis. What the plant ...
The numbers of some organisms fluctuate cyclically but always remain between upper and lower limits. The question of how, through natural selection, numbers of individuals are controlled is a matter of great interest; clearly, it involves factors that influence the rate of reproduction. The characteristics that an organism inherits are largely stored in cells as genetic information in very long molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
In 1953 it was established that DNA molecules consist of two complementary strands, each of which can make copies of the other. The strands are like two sides of a ladder that has been twisted along its length in the shape of a double helix (spring).
The rungs, which join the two sides of the ladder, are made up of two terminal bases. There are four bases in DNA: thymine, cytosine, adenine, and guanine. In the middle of each rung a base from one strand of DNA is linked by a hydrogen bond to a base of the other strand. But they can pair only in certain ways: adenine always pairs with thymine, and guanine with cytosine. This is why one strand of DNA is considered complementary to the other. The double helices duplicate themselves by separating at one place between the two strands and becoming progressively unattached. As one strand separates from the other, each acquires new complementary bases until eventually each strand becomes a new double helix with a new complementary strand to replace the original one. Because adenine always falls in place opposite thymine and guanine opposite cytosine, the process is called a template replication–one strand serves as the mold for the other. It should be added that the steps involving the duplication of DNA do not occur spontaneously; they require catalysts in the form of enzymes that promote the replication process. The sequence of bases in a DNA molecule serves as a code by which genetic information is stored. Using this code, the DNA synthesizes one strand of ribonucleic acid (RNA), a substance that is so similar structurally to DNA that it is also formed by template replication of DNA. RNA serves as a messenger for carrying the genetic code to those places in the cell where proteins are manufactured. The way in which the messenger RNA is translated into specific proteins is a remarkable and complex process. (For more detailed information concerning DNA, RNA, and the genetic code, see the articles nucleic acid and heredity: Chromosomes and genes).
The Essay on Genetic Technology Dna Humans Plant
DNA After staying on the plant Earth reaching the human genetic technology, I have come up with this report the four things I am going to talk about in this report are: 1) What is the chemical basis of the plant Earth 2) What do human mean by " genetic technology' and how is it possible 3) How have human used this technology 4) Are humans concerned about this technology 1) The chemical basis of ...
The ability to synthesize enzymes and other proteins enables the organism to make any substance that existed in a previous generation. Proteins are reproduced directly; however, such other substances as carbohydrates, fats, and other organic molecules found in cells are produced by a series of enzyme-controlled chemical reactions, each enzyme being derived originally from DNA through messenger RNA. It is because all of the organic constituents made by organisms are derived ultimately from DNA that molecules in organisms are reproduced exactly by each
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ENCYCLOP?DIA BRITANNICA reproduction process by which organisms replicate themselves. In a general sense reproduction is one of the most important concepts in biology: it means making a copy, a likeness, and thereby providing for the continued existence of species. Although reproduction is often considered solely in terms of the production of offspring in animals and plants, the more general meaning has far greater significance to living organisms. To appreciate this fact, the origin of life and the evolution of organisms must be considered. One of the first characteristics of life that emerged in primeval times must have been the ability of some primitive chemical system to make copies of itself. At its lowest level, therefore, reproduction is chemical replication. As evolution progressed, cells of successively higher levels of complexity must have arisen, and it was absolutely essential that they had the ability to make likenesses of themselves. In unicellular organisms, the ability of one cell to reproduce itself means the reproduction of a new individual; in multicellular organisms, however, it means growth and regeneration. Multicellular organisms also reproduce in the strict sense of the term–that is, they make copies of themselves in the form of offspring–but they do so in a variety of ways, many involving complex organs and elaborate hormonal mechanisms. Reproduction of organisms In single-celled organisms (e.g., bacteria, protozoans, many algae, and some fungi), organismic and cell reproduction are synonymous, for the cell is the whole organism. Details of the process differ greatly from one form to the next and, if the higher ciliate protozoans are included, can be extraordinarily complex. It is possible for reproduction to be asexual, by simple division, or sexual. In sexual unicellular organisms the gametes can be produced by division (often multiple fission, as in numerous algae) or, as in yeasts, by the organism turning itself into a gamete and fusing its nucleus with that of a neighbour of the opposite sex, a process that is called conjugation. In ciliate protozoans (e.g., Paramecium), the conjugation process involves the exchange of haploid nuclei; each partner acquires a new nuclear apparatus, half of which is genetically derived from its mate. The parent cells separate and subsequently reproduce by binary fission. Sexuality is present even in primitive bacteria, in which parts of the chromosome of one cell can be transferred to another during mating. Multicellular organisms also reproduce asexually and sexually; asexual, or vegetative, reproduction can take a great variety of forms. Many multicellular lower plants give off asexual spores, either aerial or motile and aquatic (zoospores), which may be uninucleate or multinucleate. In some cases the reproductive body is multicellular, as in the soredia of lichens and the gemmae of liverworts. Frequently, whole fragments of the vegetative part of the organism can bud off and begin a new individual, a phenomenon that is found in most plant groups. In many cases a spreading rhizoid (rootlike filament) or, in higher plants, a rhizome (underground stem) gives off new sprouts. Sometimes other parts of the plant have the capacity to form new individuals; for instance, buds of potentially new plants may form in the leaves; even some shoots that bend over and touch the ground can give rise to new plants at the point of contact. Among animals, many invertebrates are equally well endowed with means of asexual reproduction. Numerous species of sponges produce gemmules, masses of cells enclosed in resistant cases, that can become new sponges. There are many examples of budding among coelenterates, the best known of which occurs in freshwater Hydra. In some species of flatworms, the individual worm can duplicate by pinching in two, each half then regenerating the missing half; this is a large task for the posterior portion, which lacks most of the major organs–brain, eyes, and pharynx. The highest animals that exhibit vegetative reproduction are the colonial tunicates (e.g., sea squirts), which, much like plants, send out runners in the form of stolons, small parts of which form buds that develop into new individuals. Vertebrates have lost the ability to reproduce vegetatively; their only form of organismic reproduction is sexual. In the sexual reproduction of all organisms except bacteria, there is one common feature: haploid, uninucleate gametes are produced that join in fertilization to form a diploid, uninucleate zygote. At some later stage in the life history of the organism, the chromosome number is again reduced by meiosis to form the next generation of gametes. The gametes may be in size (isogamy), or one may be slightly larger than the other (anisogamy); the majority of forms have a large egg and a minute sperm (oogamy).
The Essay on Animal vs Plant Cells
Animal and Plant cells consist of most of the same cell types, but the whole shape of the cell is quite different. An animal cell is a round, uneven shape, whereas the Plant cell has an affixed shape. They have a more of a rectangular shape. Chloroplast, Vacuole and the Cell wall are only found in Plant cells. The Chloroplast is the organelle for the whole system of Photosynthesis. Chloroplasts ...
The sperm are usually motile and the egg passive, except in higher plants, in which the sperm nuclei are carried in pollen grains that attach to the stigma (a female structure) of the flower and send out germ tubes that grow down to the egg nucleus in the ovary. Some organisms, such as most flowering plants, earthworms, and tunicates, are bisexual (hermaphroditic, or monoecious)–i.e., both the male and female gametes are produced by the same individual. All other organisms, including some plants (e.g., holly and the ginkgo tree) and all vertebrates, are unisexual (dioecious): the male and female gametes are produced by separate individuals. Some sexual organisms partially revert to the asexual mode by a periodic degeneration of the sexual process. For instance, in aphids and in many higher plants the egg nucleus can develop into a new individual without fertilization, a kind of asexual reproduction that is called parthenogenesis. Natural selection and reproduction The significance of biological reproduction can be explained entirely by natural selection (see evolution: The concept of natural selection).
In formulating his theory of natural selection, Charles Darwin realized that, in order for evolution to occur, not only must living organisms be able to reproduce themselves but the copies must not all be identical; that is, they must show some variation. In this way the more successful variants would make a greater contribution to subsequent generations in the number of offspring. For such selection to act continuously in successive generations, Darwin also recognized that the variations had to be inherited, although he failed to fathom the mechanism of heredity. Moreover, the amount of variation is particularly important. According to what has been called the principle of compromise, which itself has been shaped by natural selection, there must not be too little or too much variation: too little produces no change; too much scrambles the benefit of any particular combination of inherited traits. Of the numerous mechanisms for controlling variation, all of which involve a combination of checks and balances that work together, the most successful is that found in the large majority of all plants and animals–i.e., sexual reproduction. During the evolution of reproduction and variation, which are the two basic properties of organisms that not only are required for natural selection but are also subject to it, sexual reproduction has become ideally adapted to produce the right amount of variation and to allow new combinations of traits to be rapidly incorporated into an individual. The evolution of reproduction An examination of the way in which organisms have changed since their initial unicellular condition in primeval times shows an increase in multicellularity and therefore an increase in the size of both plants and animals. After cell reproduction evolved into multicellular growth, the multicellular organism evolved a means of reproducing itself that is best described as life-cycle reproduction. Size increase has been accompanied by many mechanical requirements that have necessitated a selection for increased efficiency; the result has been a great increase in the complexity of organisms. In terms of reproduction this means a great increase in the permutations of cell reproduction during the process of evolutionary development. Size increase also means a longer life cycle, and with it a great diversity of patterns at different stages of the cycle. This is because each part of the life cycle is adaptive in that, through natural selection, certain characteristics have evolved for each stage that enable the organism to survive. The most extreme examples are those forms with two or more separate phases of their life cycle separated by a metamorphosis, as in caterpillars and butterflies; these phases may be shortened or extended by natural selection, as has occurred in different species of coelenterates. To reproduce efficiently in order to contribute effectively to subsequent generations is another factor that has evolved through natural selection. For instance, an organism can produce vast quantities of eggs of which, possibly by neglect, only a small percent will survive. On the other hand, an organism can produce very few or perhaps one egg, which, as it develops, will be cared for, thereby greatly increasing its chances for survival. These are two strategies of reproduction; each has its advantages and disadvantages. Many other considerations of the natural history and structure of the organism determine, through natural selection, the strategy that is best for a particular species; one of these is that any species must not produce too few offspring (for it will become extinct) or too many (for it may also become extinct by overpopulation and disease).
The numbers of some organisms fluctuate cyclically but always remain between upper and lower limits. The question of how, through natural selection, numbers of individuals are controlled is a matter of great interest; clearly, it involves factors that influence the rate of reproduction. reproduction Levels of reproduction Molecular replication The characteristics that an organism inherits are largely stored in cells as genetic information in very long molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
In 1953 it was established that DNA molecules consist of two complementary strands, each of which can make copies of the other. The strands are like two sides of a ladder that has been twisted along its length in the shape of a double helix (spring).
The rungs, which join the two sides of the ladder, are made up of two terminal bases. There are four bases in DNA: thymine, cytosine, adenine, and guanine. In the middle of each rung a base from one strand of DNA is linked by a hydrogen bond to a base of the other strand. But they can pair only in certain ways: adenine always pairs with thymine, and guanine with cytosine. This is why one strand of DNA is considered complementary to the other. The double helices duplicate themselves by separating at one place between the two strands and becoming progressively unattached. As one strand separates from the other, each acquires new complementary bases until eventually each strand becomes a new double helix with a new complementary strand to replace the original one. Because adenine always falls in place opposite thymine and guanine opposite cytosine, the process is called a template replication–one strand serves as the mold for the other. It should be added that the steps involving the duplication of DNA do not occur spontaneously; they require catalysts in the form of enzymes that promote the replication process. Molecular reproduction The sequence of bases in a DNA molecule serves as a code by which genetic information is stored. Using this code, the DNA synthesizes one strand of ribonucleic acid (RNA), a substance that is so similar structurally to DNA that it is also formed by template replication of DNA. RNA serves as a messenger for carrying the genetic code to those places in the cell where proteins are manufactured. The way in which the messenger RNA is translated into specific proteins is a remarkable and complex process. (For more detailed information concerning DNA, RNA, and the genetic code, see the articles nucleic acid and heredity: Chromosomes and genes).
The ability to synthesize enzymes and other proteins enables the organism to make any substance that existed in a previous generation. Proteins are reproduced directly; however, such other substances as carbohydrates, fats, and other organic molecules found in cells are produced by a series of enzyme-controlled chemical reactions, each enzyme being derived originally from DNA through messenger RNA. It is because all of the organic constituents made by organisms are derived ultimately from DNA that molecules in organisms are reproduced exactly by each successive gen
