Asexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction is reproduction without sex.

In this form of reproduction, a single organism or cell makes a copy of itself. The genes of the original and its copy will be the same, except for rare mutations. They are clones.

The main process of asexual reproduction is mitosis. This type of reproduction is common among some single-cell organisms, for example, Amoeba. Many plants also reproduce asexually, for example by means of runners. The individual zooids in a particular coral or bryozoan are usually genetically identical. They are formed by asexual reproduction of the first individual to arrive in a place. One whole order of the rotifers, the bdelloid rotifers, has no sexual reproduction. Many types of living things have a double cycle. At one stage they have sexual reproduction, at another they simply multiply by splitting, or producing eggs which develop without fertilisation (aphids). All the daughters of the honey bee develop from unfertilised eggs. So, asexual reproduction is common in many forms of life.^[1][2]

1. ↑ Dawson K.J. (1995). "The advantage of asexual reproduction: when is it two-fold?". Journal of Theoretical Biology. 176 (3): 341–347. Bibcode:1995JThBi.176..341D. doi:10.1006/jtbi.1995.0203.
2. ↑ Engelstädter J. (2008). "Constraints on the evolution of asexual reproduction". BioEssays. 30 (11–12): 1138–1150. doi:10.1002/bies.20833. PMID 18937362. S2CID 5357709.