Sexual & Asexual Reproduction: Differences (Edexcel IGCSE Science (Double Award)): Revision Note

Sexual reproduction is the production of offspring by the fusion of male and female gametes

Offspring inherit genetic material from both parents, making them genetically different from either parent

Sexual reproduction requires two parents, and only special cells called gametes are involved

Gametes are produced through meiosis, a type of cell division that halves the chromosome number

Fertilisation of a male and female gamete produces a zygote, which divides by mitosis (a different type of cell division to meiosis) and develops into an embryo

Because offspring are genetically different from their parents, sexual reproduction introduces variation into populations

Asexual reproduction is the production of offspring from a single parent

Asexual reproduction does not involve gametes or fertilisation

Only one parent cell is required so there is no fusion of gametes and no mixing of genetic information

As a result, the offspring are genetically identical to the parent and to each other (they are clones)

The process occurs much more quickly and efficiently than sexual reproduction which can provide a survival advantage to populations

However, lack of genetic variation means that populations are more vulnerable to disease or environmental change

Many plants reproduce via asexual reproduction

The key differences between sexual and asexual reproduction are compared in this table below: