Sexual reproduction

• Sexual reproduction involves two parents and the joining of male and female gametes during fertilization
• The offspring inherit a mixture of genes on both parents, so are different to each other and their parents.
• Each person has two copies of each gene, one of these copies was inherited from the male parent and one was inherited from the female parent. these genes are held in chromosomes
• Advantages:

  • produces genetic variation -
  • the species can adapt to new environments due to variation, which gives them a survival advantage
  • A sudden change in the environment (like a new pathogen) is less likely to affect all of the individuals in a population
• Disadvantages:

  • time and energy are needed to find a mate
  • it is not possible for an isolated individual to reproduce
  • both parents need to be sexually mature
• A gamete is a reproductive cell of an animal or plant
• Gametes contain half the number of chromosomes as body cells
• Fertilisation occurs when a sperm fuses with an egg to form a zygote