Asexual Reproduction

Asexual Reproduction

Production of an offspring by a single parent without the formation and fusion of gametes is called asexual reproduction. It involves only mitotic cell divisions and meiosis does not occur. Offspring produced by asexual reproduction are not only identical to parents but are also exact copies of their parent.

Asexual reproduction occurs by spore formation. This is the most common method of asexual reproduction in fungi and bacteria

During spore formation a structure called sporangium develops from the fungal hypha. The nucleus divides several times within the sporangium and each nucleus with small amount of cytoplasm develops into a spore. The spores are liberated and they develop into new hypha after reaching the ground or substratum.