Question

13. Some protist switch between asexual and sexual reproduction. Explain under what conditions this occurs and the benefits of sexual reproduction.

Answer 1

Protists are a various collection of organisms. While exceptions exist, they're primarily microscopic and unicellular or made up of one cell. The cells of protists are highly organized with a nucleus and specialized cellular machinery called organelles.

Some protists reproduce sexually using gametes, while others reproduce asexually by binary fission. the power to perform sexual reproduction allows protists to recombine their genes and produce new variations of progeny which will be better suited to the new environment. In contrast, agamogenesis generates progeny that are clones of the parent. Protists have complex life cycles. they need both asexual and sexual reproduction. Most undergo some kind of asexual reproduction, like binary fission, to provide two daughter cells. In protists, binary fission are often divided into transverse or longitudinal, relying on the axis of orientation; sometimes Paramecium exhibits this method. Some protists like truth slime molds exhibit multiple fission and simultaneously divide into many daughter cells. Others produce tiny buds that still divide and grow to the size of the parental protist.

Sexual reproduction, involving meiosis and fertilization, is common among protists, and much of protist species can switch from asexual to amphimixis (sexual reproduction) when necessary. amphimixis is typically associated with periods when nutrients are depleted or environmental changes occur. amphimixis may allow the protist to recombine genes and produce new variations of progeny, variety of which may be better suited to surviving changes during a replacement or changing environment. However, amphimixis is typically associated with resistant cysts that are a protective, resting stage. counting on the habitat of the species, the cysts could also be particularly immune to temperature extremes, desiccation, or low pH. This strategy allows certain protists to “wait out” stressors until their environment becomes more favorable for survival or until they're carried (such as by the wind, water, or transport on a much bigger organism) to a special environment because cysts exhibit virtually no cellular metabolism.