Heredity

Module 5
Before we start
• This is YOUR HSC. It requires work. There is a proven correlation
between effort and results.
• Seek feedback BEFORE you submit assessment tasks.
• There will be homework set for you and you are expected to complete
it.
• GOOGLE CLASSROOM is your friend. It is the main platform I will use
to communicate with you. CHECK IT REGULARLY.
• Always ask questions
Some keys
• Write this down

• Read only

• Discuss

• Do
Content focus
• Life continues through the process of reproduction
and heredity. During this module we will investigate
the reproduction and inheritance, expand your
knowledge of evolution and the affect of DNA
replication on genetic diversity.
• We will look at different modes of reproduction and
how science and technology has impacted
reproduction
 Reproduction
Inquiry Question: How does
reproduction ensure the
continuation of a species?
The purpose of reproduction
• Reproduction is the means of ensuring a species
survival. If a species failed to reproduce and pass on
the genetic material, that species will eventually die
out and lead to extinction. It is the knowledge of
reproduction and reproductive technologies that has
given scientist the opportunity to ensure the survival
of species that are close to extinction. Sexual
reproduction also gives rise to variation among and
within species.
From the syllabus
● Explain the mechanisms of reproduction that ensure the continuity
of a species, by analysing sexual and asexual methods of reproduction
in a variety of organisms, including but not limited to:
– animals: advantages of external and internal fertilisation
– plants: asexual and sexual reproduction
– fungi: budding, spores
– bacteria: binary fission (ACSBL075)
– protists: binary fission, budding
Key Terms
• Reproduction: to make a copy or a likeness. For living
organisms, this means producing offspring.

• Asexual Reproduction: the production of offspring from a

single parent that are genetically identical to the parent.

• Sexual Reproduction: the production of genetically DIFFERENT

offspring resulting from two parents each producing gametes
that fuse together in a process called fertilization.
Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction
• Occurs mainly in plants in the production of runners, rhizomes ( a
type of shoot eg bamboo, ginger, lotus), bulbs, corms (swollen
underground plant stem) and spores
Asexual reproduction
• Includes regeneration of some simple animals such as star fish
Asexual Reproduction
• Occurs as a result of a cell division called binary fission in unicellular
organisms. Binary fission is the process where one parent cell splits
into two identical offspring cells
Asexual reproduction
• Budding is a form of asexual reproduction that results in an outgrowth
or asymmetrical cell division.
From the syllabus
● Explain the mechanisms of reproduction that ensure the continuity
of a species, by analysing sexual and asexual methods of reproduction
in a variety of organisms, including but not limited to:
– animals: advantages of external and internal fertilisation
– plants: asexual and sexual reproduction
– fungi: budding, spores
– bacteria: binary fission
– protists: binary fission, budding
 Types of asexual reproduction
Type Process Examples
Binary fission Equal division of parent cell into two new cells Bacteria
protozoans
budding Division of cytoplasm is unequal, new organism grows Yeast
on parent before breaking away Hydra
protists
fragmentation Part of organism breaks off and regenerates inbto a Animals including flatworms, marine
new individual worms and echinoderms
Spore formation Spores released into the environment and germinate Fungi, plants inclufing mosses and ferns
into new individuals

Vegetative propagation Plant separates to form new, independent plants from Many plants including flowering plants
leaves, stems and underground stems

parthenogenesis A type of cloning resulting in the formation of a new Animals including insects, luizards and
individual from an nfertilised egg. All animals are birds
clones of the femle parent. No males are produced
HOMEWORK
• Blitzing Bio worksheet 2.2 (pg 1 and 2) Virgin Births: Parthenogenesis
• Link on Canvas
Sexual reproduction
Key Terms
• External Fertilization: the union of male and female gametes after
their release outside the body, often in an aquatic environment.

• Internal Fertilization: the union of male and female gametes that

occur within the body of the female. In mammals this results from
copulation (sexual intercourse).

• Gametes: sex cells produced in sexual reproduction that carry half the
genetic material of the offspring. The egg or ovum are the female
gamete and the spermatozoon or pollen are the male gamete
Sexual reproduction
• Occurs widely in animals and seed- bearing plants. (more detail on plant
and animal sexual reproduction to come)
• Results from the production of two different types of gametes (male and
female)
• Occurs when male and female gametes unite in a process called
fertilization. It results from organisms of different gender
• Population growth rates are linked to the proportion of females as the
reproductive cycle becomes the limiting factor. (One male could effectively
fertilise many females)
• Occurs in eukaryotes as the genetic material is carried on chromosomes.
(more on this to come)
Sexual reproduction in animals
• Sexual reporduction is a mechanism that has evolved to ensure
continuation of a species.
• Most species are unisexual (have one sex), but some are
hermaphrodites (have both male and female sex organs)
• Hermaphrodites are advantageous to a species with low population
densities or organisms that are non-motile (cant move to seek a
mate) such as coral. A disadvantage means that the organism uses
more energy sustaining both sex organs that growth rate slows down.
• Some animals reproduce by external fertilisation and some by internal
fertilisation
Sexual reproduction in plants- Angiosperms
• These are the flowering plants. The flower has a specialised structure
for reproduction.
• Two distinct reproductive organs. Male and female.
• Male part of the plant is called the stamen and includes the anther
and the filament. The anther is where the pollen is housed.
• The female part is called the Carpel and it includes the stigma, style,
ovary and ovules. The stigma can become sticky and catches the
pollen.
Class task
• Watch the video and complete worksheet 2.4 - sexual reproduction in
flowering plants (Blitzing Biology) (4 pages)
Sexual reproduction in plants- gymnosperms
• Gymnosperms have ‘naked seeds’ that are not housed in ovaries.
• Seeds are exposed on modified leaves eg conifers (the leaves on
cones)
• When pollen grains land on an ovule, they enter the ovule through
the microphile, a small opening of an ovule in a seed plant.
• Fertilization occurs within the ovule.
Advantages of sexual reproduction
• Biodiversity of offspring
• Variation of offspring is the basis of evolution by natural selection
• Methods of sexual reproduction promote the dispersal of offspring in
some species.
Disadvantages of sexual reproduction
• Require two parents of different sex to reproduce
• Requires fertilization, where some species may have issues.
From the syllabus
● Explain the mechanisms of reproduction that ensure the continuity
of a species, by analysing sexual and asexual methods of reproduction
in a variety of organisms, including but not limited to:
– animals: advantages of external and internal fertilisation
– plants: asexual and sexual reproduction
– fungi: budding, spores
– bacteria: binary fission (ACSBL075)
– protists: binary fission, budding
Internal fertilisation