Importance of Biological Reproduction

Serena Cuoghi
Title of Professor of Biology

One of the essential requirements to be able to belong to the group of living beings is conditioned by the ability to have their own mechanism for their reproduction, therefore, from a conceptual technical vision, this consideration has generated important scientific debates – still without solution – as to whether viruses may or may not be deserving of entering this biological line, revealing the discriminatory utility that reproduction has within the bases of the systematic. Now removing these tasks from human science, the reproductive possibility that a species has achieved develop, including that of viruses, has been the essential key that determines: 1) the continuity of the species; 2) the possibility of generating mutations in the genetic pattern; 3) the ability to transmit viable genetic variations to new generations; 4) one of the most efficient ways for the expansion of the species to other territories; and 5) in the case of humans and a few other species, the option of having a source of fun and pleasure in the attempt.

Of the good the best

There are various types of reproduction, being able to make an initial division on two basic modalities, asexual and sexual, depending on the processes that the genetic material of the species undergoes in order to generate a new form of life. Both reproductive schemes in turn pursue two fundamental purposes, the first being to be able to guarantee the species the continuity of the selection of the best genes for breeding. development of new optimal and healthy individuals, while the second has evolutionarily guaranteed that the above can be accomplished through the least possible investment of resources.

This scheme of genetic continuity allows the discrimination of faulty information, guiding towards the reduction of genetic patterns that are inviable or that do not exist. lead to the development of individuals with less chance of survival in the face of environmental conditions, while favoring the replication of those that prove to offer the adaptive advantages that the species needs to perpetuate itself, a condition that occurs both asexually and sexually, although in this case In the latter case, a series of other phenotypic, chemical, and behavioral factors also come into play, leading to a much more complex natural selection process. complex.

Species conservation

Being able to guarantee that a species survives over time depends strictly on the efficiency of its reproductive model and the very adaptability that it can offer. Take the reproductive resources of plants as an example. Most of these have the ability to develop a set of tiny structures with specialized cells in the process. growth called meristems, which can be found in various parts of the plant, giving it the opportunity to rely on asexual reproduction, also called vegetative, by means of explants that can be detached from the plant original.

This resource, combined with sexual reproduction through flowers, fruits and seeds, adds to higher plants the ability to dispose of a wide range of stratagems to guarantee its continuity, but at the same time, both reproductive mechanisms are conditioned by a high environmental sensitivity – a phenomenon that is also evidence in the animal kingdom – that controls the reproductive frequency and intensity, and even the number of offspring that a species can have at any given time, in according to the specific need for new individuals that guarantee the continuity of the species, without altering the existing natural balance between the populations of a determined ecosystem.

playing with probability

To all the factors of biological reproduction, finally, a mathematical issue must also be added, which is the probability of interactions occurring between the variables to which a species is subjected in order to reproduce, having to deal with the availability of better quality genetic information, hence Darwin could demonstrate the importance that the survival of the fittest has in order to also produce offspring capable of defending themselves as did his predecessors, while offering the possibility of generating such combinations that would guide the development of new species, which led to the great biodiversity currently reigning.

References

Salvat Library (1973). The evolution of the spices. Barcelona, ​​Spain. Salvat Editors.

Du Praw, E. (1971). Cellular and molecular biology. HE. Barcelona, ​​Spain. Omega Editions, S.A.

Lehninger, A. (1977). Biochemistry. 2nd Edition. Havana City, Cuba. Editorial People and Education.

Mathews, C. et al. (2005). Biochemistry. 3rd Edition. Madrid Spain. Pearson–Addison Wesley.

Villa, C. (1996). Biology. 8th Edition. Mexico. McGraw-Hill.