Are We Not Lucky That Plants Reproduce Sexually

The wide variety of flowers, fruits, and vegetables obtained from plants are a part of food consumption, and aesthetics and serve many other purposes, which makes us lucky. These varieties in plant species are a result of the sexual mode of reproduction. Asexual reproduction is a simple, fast, and convenient reproduction method, but all the offspring produced by this method are identical to their parents and are called clones. This reduces variation and makes the population homogenous. In this article, we will briefly discuss the role of Sexual reproduction in producing variation and its benefits to plants.

Define Reproduction

The process involved in producing new healthy offspring from parents is termed Reproduction. The goal of every organism on this planet is to ensure the continuity of its species. To achieve this goal, organisms utilise different routes, ultimately allowing the parent cells to give rise to offspring that resemble them and carry their genes forward in time. Depending upon the organism's complexity and the environmental factors, they may reproduce through Sexual or Asexual methods. Let us now discuss these two methods in detail.

Also Read: Genetics

Modes of Reproduction

Single-celled organisms like bacteria ensure this continuity by direct cell division in which one parent cell divides to give rise to two new daughter cells. This method is termed Asexual Reproduction because it does not involve male or female parents but ensures the production of new offspring for species continuity. Other common methods involve binary fission, fragmentation, vegetative propagation, etc.

In Multicellular complex organisms, there is a division of labour and the organisms split into males and females, producing their respective gametes. When these gametes fuse, they produce new offspring that represent both the parents but also have new variations. These variations arise from the phenomenon of crossing over during which genetic material is exchanged between the homologous chromosomes at the time of meiotic division.

Also Read: Asexual Reproduction

Benefits of Sexual Reproduction in plants to humans

Plants can reproduce by both asexual and sexual methods.

• Asexual methods involve vegetative propagation in which one part of the plant such as buds or stem extends as an outgrowth, separates from the main plant body, and gives rise to a completely new plant.
• Sexual methods involve the formation of male and female flowers which produce pollen grains and ovaries respectively. When the pollen grain fuses with the egg cell in the ovary, the seed is produced, which germinates into a new plant when planted in the soil.

Also Read: Sexual Reproduction

The asexual methods like vegetative propagation help the plants and trees to produce more offspring but these offsprings are complete clones of the parents and do not show any variation. The sexual mode of reproduction however has some specific benefits which are particularly useful for human beings. These advantages include-

• Flowers are a direct result of sexual reproduction which are produced specifically to produce gametes and allow pollination. Various flowers are produced due to this process with different shapes, sizes, and colours and are attractive and used for aesthetic purposes.
• The different varieties of fruits produced by plants are possible because of sexual reproduction. Due to the variation produced due to genetic exchange and crossing over, thousands of varieties of fruits exist with different shapes, textures, and different tastes.
• The variation in the types of vegetables produced by plants is also a result of the Sexual mode of reproduction resulting in root-based, stem-based, and even leaf-based vegetables.
• Seeds produced by fertilisation include genetic material from both parents. Because of this, no two offspring are genetically alike. Because of their genetic diversity, they may be able to survive if the environment changes.
• The vigour and vitality of the progeny result from sexual reproduction's genetic recombination and interaction. The descendants frequently have longer lifespans and have better resistance to adversity.
• Recombination during fertilisation also activates certain dormant genes and incorporates disease resistance in the offspring which helps them fight infections and foreign pathogens.
• Sexual reproduction promotes evolution because the stronger offsprings survive longer, increase their gene pool and eventually give rise to a whole new species.

All these benefits and products that we obtain from plants are possible only because of the sexual mode of reproduction which makes us lucky that plants utilise this reproduction method.