Similarities/Differences of Mitosis and Meiosis

Similarities:

• They both include 4 stages, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase (PMAT)
• They both produce new cells.
• Both mitosis and meiosis start from one parent cell.

Differences:

• Mitosis only goes through one cycle of PMAT, while meiosis has two cycles of PMAT.
• Mitosis happens in all organisms except viruses, while meiosis occurs in animals, fungi, and plants.
• Mitosis only has one cell division, meiosis has two cell divisions.
• In mitosis, crossing over or recombination aren’t involved, however there is crossing over and recombination in meiosis.
• The daughter cells produced are genetically identical with mitosis, however in meiosis, the daughter cells are genetically unique.
• Mitosis creates two new daughter cells, and meiosis creates four new daughter cells.
• The daughter cells in mitosis have 46 chromosomes, but the daughter cells in meiosis have 23 chromosomes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Asexual Reproduction

Advantages:

•  Asexual reproduction only requires one parent cell, so no time/energy is spent finding a mate
• It only takes a short amount of time for asexual reproduction to happen
• There is little risk of genetic mutation with asexual reproduction

Disadvantages:

• The offspring from asexual reproduction has no genetic diversity
• The lack of genetic diversity leads the population to a higher risk of getting wiped out from a disease or virus.
• It is more difficult for the offspring to adapt to certain environments/habitats.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sexual Reproduction

Advantages:

• There is genetic diversity with offspring derived from sexual reproduction
• Low risk of the entire population getting wiped out from a disease or virus.
• The offspring has a higher chance of being able to adapt to certain environments/habitats

Disadvantages:

• Two parents are required for sexual reproduction, which costs time and energy
• The duration of sexual reproduction is much longer than asexual reproduction, so an increase of population will take much longer.
• Sexual reproduction is not guaranteed to create offspring

 

Asexual vs. Sexual Reproduction

Asexual and sexual reproduction are two very different ways to reproduce, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, but which one is more beneficial in the long run? Asexual reproduction only needs one parent cell to reproduce, and that reduces the time and energy needed to find a mate for sexual reproduction. However, the offspring from asexual reproduction has no diversity, and if the parent has any disease, genetic mutation, etc. the offspring will inherit it. Another con of asexual reproduction is that one virus could eliminate the whole population due to the lack of genetic diversity, while sexually reproduced offspring has a greater chance of surviving that due to more diversity in the offspring. However, increasing population is quicker and easier through asexual reproduction, as a result of only needing one parent cell and less time needed to create offspring. Weighing both sides’ pros and cons, I believe that the better method of reproduction depends on the circumstance, because the advantages of both methods can be seen in different ways depending on the variables (habitat, increasing the population quickly, genetic diversity, etc.)