Question

11. Explain sexual reproduction in plants.​

Answer 1

Answer:

This fundamental process of reproduction is DNA replication. In other words, if an organism wants to continue its species, then they need to transfer their traits to the next generation by DNA (genetic information) copying which occurs during the process of reproduction.

We know asexually reproducing organisms copy their DNA and divide themselves into new cells which are their clones. Since the process of replication is not completely reliable, there are chances of variation, but they are quite limited. Organisms need to adapt themselves to the changing environment; the creation of variants needs to be hastened for this reason. This will only happen when there is a union of two different DNA’s. This highlights the significance of sexual reproduction in organisms.

If two reproducing cells simply join, the chromosome number in the new organism will be doubled. But this cannot happen because the number of chromosomes in each cell of every organism is fixed – the same holds good for the reproducing cell. Thus, the reproducing cells from both parents reduce their chromosome number into the half before fusion and are called gametes (germ cells). In simple organisms, the size and shape of gametes are almost the same. But in higher organisms, a male gamete is small and mobile while female gamete is large, immobile and they store food for the fetus. The gametes are produced in a specialized system called the reproductive system.

Explanation: