Reproduction in protists:
- The majority of protists reproduce asexually by binary fission.
- However, there are protists that reproduce sexually through syngamy.
Protist binary fission:
- Protists reproduce in numerous ways. Most reproduce asexually, such as binary fission, which leads to the development of two daughter cells.
- Binary fission in protists can be transverse or longitudinal, depending on the axis of orientation; Paramecium exhibits this mechanism on occasion.
Protists and Syngamy:
- Syngamy permits organisms to become more genetically diverse, but it must be balanced by meiosis because it increases the number of chromosomes.
- Meiosis is the process by which chromosomes are reduced in number, recombined, and allowed to exchange genetic material.