Question

In which of the following processes water is involved in the reproduction?
A) Budding
B) Spore formation
C) Fragmentation
D) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The biological process in which young ones are produced by organisms is called reproduction. When only one parent is involved during reproduction, it is called asexual reproduction while the production of offspring due to the involvement of two parents is called sexual reproduction.

Complete answer:
Almost all unicellular organisms undergo asexual reproduction. It is also common in some plants having simple cell structures. Budding, fragmentation and spore formation are different methods of asexual reproduction. They are explained below-

Budding- In budding, the small buds are produced by unequal division of cells. Buds are tiny, a bulb-like structure that is produced from the parent organism. When buds are young, they are attached to the parent organism. After some time, they get separated and developed into a full, independent new organism. Budding is common in yeast and hydra.

Fragmentation- During favourable conditions, the algae break into many pieces called fragments. These fragments mature to form new individuals. This is called fragmentation. The process starts only when sufficient water and nutrients are available. Fragmentation commonly occurs in Spirogyra and Planaria.

Spore formation- Reproduction by spore formation is common in some algae and fungi. They produce spores that are stored in sporangia which is a sac-like structure. The spores spread when the sporangia burst. When favourable conditions are available, these spores develop to form new individuals. Spore formation occurs in Rhizopus.

Thus the answer to the above question is an option (C) i.e, Fragmentation.

Note: Asexual reproduction results in offspring that are similar to their parents morphologically and even genetically. As one parent is involved in asexual reproduction, there is no fusion of gametes and hence, no change in the number of chromosomes. Hence, it does not cause variations. On the other hand, sexual reproduction results in variations due to the combination of genetic character of two different parents. Sexual reproduction is energy and time-consuming process.