What is parthenogenesis? Parthenogenesis is derived from two Greek words, "parthenos" meaning virgin and "genesis" meaning creation. Simply it is defined as reproduction without fertilization. It occurs when a new individual is formed from the female gamete without being fertilized by the male gamete. Many people consider parthenogenesis as a form of asexual reproduction but actually, it is an incomplete form of sexual reproduction. This is because like sexual reproduction, here also the production, activation and development of a specialized reproductive cell take place; here the reproductive cell being the female egg. Some people confuse parthenogenesis with hermaphroditic species which can also reproduce by themselves, but there is a subtle difference. Hermaphroditic species produce both …show more content…
Apomixis: - Here, mitosis is the process responsible for the formation of eggs; the female sex cell replicates via mitosis resulting in the formation of two diploid cells. These diploid cells thus formed have the full compliment of chromosomes which are required for development of an embryo. The offspring produced by this method are clones of the parent cell. It takes place in aphids, flowering plants etc. 2. Automixis: - Here, the female sex cell replicates via meiosis. The resulting daughter cells so formed are unequally divided during meiosis. It results in formation of one large cell known as oocyte and smaller cells known as polar bodies. The oocyte thus formed is haploid in nature and can become diploid when it is fertilized by male sperm. Now, since in parthenogenesis there is no involvement of male, the haploid oocyte becomes diploid by fusing with one of the polar bodies or by duplicating its genetic material. Due to meiosis, genetic recombination occurs and hence the offspring is not exact clone of the parent cell. Involvement of sexual activity during