Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will have completed the following objectives:
- Compare the mechanisms and methods of natural and artificial asexual reproduction
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of natural and artificial asexual reproduction
- Discuss plant life spans
Many plants are able to propagate themselves using asexual reproduction. This method does not require the investment required to produce a flower, attract pollinators, or find a means of seed dispersal. Asexual reproduction produces plants that are genetically identical to the parent plant because no mixing of male and female gametes takes place. Traditionally, these plants survive well under stable environmental conditions when compared with plants produced from sexual reproduction because they carry genes identical to those of their parents.
Many different types of roots exhibit asexual reproduction Figure 1. The corm is used by gladiolus and garlic. Bulbs, such as a scaly bulb in lilies and a tunicate bulb in daffodils, are other common examples. A potato is a stem tuber, while parsnip propagates from a taproot. Ginger and iris produce rhizomes, while ivy uses an adventitious root (a root arising from a plant part other than the main or primary root), and the strawberry plant has a stolon, which is also called a runner.
Some plants can produce seeds without fertilization. Either the ovule or part of the ovary, which is diploid in nature, gives rise to a new seed. This method of reproduction is known as apomixis.
An advantage of asexual reproduction is that the resulting plant will reach maturity faster. Since the new plant is arising from an adult plant or plant parts, it will also be sturdier than a seedling. Asexual reproduction can take place by natural or artificial (assisted by humans) means.
Natural Methods of Asexual Reproduction
Natural methods of asexual reproduction include strategies that plants have developed to self-propagate. Many plants—like ginger, onion, gladioli, and dahlia—continue to grow from buds that are present on the surface of the stem. In some plants, such as the sweet potato, adventitious roots or runners can give rise to new plants Figure 2. In Bryophyllum and kalanchoe, the leaves have small buds on their margins. When these are detached from the plant, they grow into independent plants; or, they may start growing into independent plants if the leaf touches the soil. Some plants can be propagated through cuttings alone.
Artificial Methods of Asexual Reproduction
These methods are frequently employed to give rise to new, and sometimes novel, plants. They include grafting, cutting, layering, and micropropagation.
Grafting
Cutting
Plants such as coleus and money plant are propagated through stem cuttings, where a portion of the stem containing nodes and internodes is placed in moist soil and allowed to root. In some species, stems can start producing a root even when placed only in water. For example, leaves of the African violet will root if kept in water undisturbed for several weeks.
Layering
Micropropagation
Micropropagation (also called plant tissue culture) is a method of propagating a large number of plants from a single plant in a short time under laboratory conditions Figure 5. This method allows propagation of rare, endangered species that may be difficult to grow under natural conditions, are economically important, or are in demand as disease-free plants.
To start plant tissue culture, a part of the plant such as a stem, leaf, embryo, anther, or seed can be used. The plant material is thoroughly sterilized using a combination of chemical treatments standardized for that species. Under sterile conditions, the plant material is placed on a plant tissue culture medium that contains all the minerals, vitamins, and hormones required by the plant. The plant part often gives rise to an undifferentiated mass known as callus, from which individual plantlets begin to grow after a period of time. These can be separated and are first grown under greenhouse conditions before they are moved to field conditions.
Plant Life Spans
Plant species that complete their lifecycle in one season are known as annuals, an example of which is Arabidopsis, or mouse-ear cress. Biennials such as carrots complete their lifecycle in two seasons. In a biennial’s first season, the plant has a vegetative phase, whereas in the next season, it completes its reproductive phase. Commercial growers harvest the carrot roots after the first year of growth, and do not allow the plants to flower. Perennials, such as the magnolia, complete their lifecycle in two years or more.
In another classification based on flowering frequency, monocarpic plants flower only once in their lifetime; examples include bamboo and yucca. During the vegetative period of their life cycle (which may be as long as 120 years in some bamboo species), these plants may reproduce asexually and accumulate a great deal of food material that will be required during their once-in-a-lifetime flowering and setting of seed after fertilization. Soon after flowering, these plants die. Polycarpic plants form flowers many times during their lifetime. Fruit trees, such as apple and orange trees, are polycarpic; they flower every year. Other polycarpic species, such as perennials, flower several times during their life span, but not each year. By this means, the plant does not require all its nutrients to be channelled towards flowering each year.
As is the case with all living organisms, genetics and environmental conditions have a role to play in determining how long a plant will live. Susceptibility to disease, changing environmental conditions, drought, cold, and competition for nutrients are some of the factors that determine the survival of a plant. Plants continue to grow, despite the presence of dead tissue such as cork. Individual parts of plants, such as flowers and leaves, have different rates of survival. In many trees, the older leaves turn yellow and eventually fall from the tree. Leaf fall is triggered by factors such as a decrease in photosynthetic efficiency, due to shading by upper leaves, or oxidative damage incurred as a result of photosynthetic reactions. The components of the part to be shed are recycled by the plant for use in other processes, such as development of seed and storage. This process is known as nutrient recycling.
The aging of a plant and all the associated processes is known as senescence, which is marked by several complex biochemical changes. One of the characteristics of senescence is the breakdown of chloroplasts, which is characterized by the yellowing of leaves. The chloroplasts contain components of photosynthetic machinery such as membranes and proteins. Chloroplasts also contain DNA. The proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids are broken down by specific enzymes into smaller molecules and salvaged by the plant to support the growth of other plant tissues.
The complex pathways of nutrient recycling within a plant are not well understood. Hormones are known to play a role in senescence. Applications of cytokinins and ethylene delay or prevent senescence; in contrast, abscissic acid causes premature onset of senescence.
Section Summary
Many plants reproduce asexually as well as sexually. In asexual reproduction, part of the parent plant is used to generate a new plant. Grafting, layering, and micropropagation are some methods used for artificial asexual reproduction. The new plant is genetically identical to the parent plant from which the stock has been taken. Asexually reproducing plants thrive well in stable environments.
Plants have different life spans, dependent on species, genotype, and environmental conditions. Parts of the plant, such as regions containing meristematic tissue, continue to grow, while other parts experience programmed cell death. Leaves that are no longer photosynthetically active are shed from the plant as part of senescence, and the nutrients from these leaves are recycled by the plant. Other factors, including the presence of hormones, are known to play a role in delaying senescence.