Asexual reproduction
What Asexual reproduction means in Biology GCSE, as defined for AQA, OCR.
Definitions of Asexual reproduction
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Reference: AQA
Produces genetically identical offspring by mitosis, so it is rapid, requires only one parent and is efficient when conditions are stable, but gives no genetic variation.
Involves a single parent generating genetically identical offspring by mitosis, enabling organisms to reproduce rapidly and produce numerous offspring.
In the human host, Plasmodium reproduces asexually inside red blood cells and liver cells, multiplying rapidly to produce many identical parasites.
A context such as a gardener taking cuttings, where new plants are produced that are genetically identical to the parent, so mitosis is occurring.
Reproduction that does not involve gametes or fertilisation and produces offspring that are genetically identical to the parent, called clones.
A form of reproduction in which no gametes fuse and no fertilisation occurs, so the new plant is a clone of the parent.
Topics that use Asexual reproduction
- Advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction (biology only) (AQA GCSE)
- Cloning (biology only) (AQA GCSE)
- Mitosis and the cell cycle (AQA GCSE)
- Inheritance (OCR GCSE)
Related terms
- Genetic identity
- Genetic variation
- Mitosis
- Sexual reproduction
- Adaptation and survival
- Adult body cell
- Application of knowledge
- Application to unfamiliar organisms
Using Asexual reproduction in the exam
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