REPRODUCTION IN ORGANISMS
called the juvenile phase. It is known as vegetative phase in plants.
This phase is of variable durations in different organisms.
The end of juvenile/vegetative phase which marks the beginning of
the reproductive phase can be seen easily in the higher plants when they
come to flower. How long does it take for marigold/rice/wheat/coconut/
mango plants to come to flower? In some plants, where flowering occurs
more than once, what would you call the inter-flowering period – juvenile
or mature?
Observe a few trees in your area. Do they flower during the same
month year after year? Why do you think the availability of fruits like
mango, apple, jackfruit, etc., is seasonal? Are there some plants that flower
throughout the year and some others that show seasonal flowering?
Plants –the annual and biennial types, show clear cut vegetative,
reproductive and senescent phases, but in the perennial species it is very
difficult to clearly define these phases. A few plants exhibit unusual
flowering phenomenon; some of them such as bamboo species flower only
once in their life time, generally after 50-100 years, produce large number
of fruits and die. Another plant, Strobilanthus kunthiana (neelakuranji),
flowers once in 12 years. As many of you would know, this plant flowered
during September-October 2006. Its mass flowering transformed large
tracks of hilly areas in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu into blue
stretches and attracted a large number of tourists. In animals, the juvenile
phase is followed by morphological and physiological changes prior to
active reproductive behaviour. The reproductive phase is also of variable
duration in different organisms.
Can you list the changes seen in human beings that are indicative
of reproductive maturity?
Among animals, for example birds, do they lay eggs all through the
year? Or is it a seasonal phenomenon? What about other animals like
frogs and lizards? You will notice that, birds living in nature lay eggs only
seasonally. However, birds in captivity (as in poultry farms) can be made
to lay eggs throughout the year. In this case, laying eggs is not related to
reproduction but is a commercial exploitation for human welfare. The
females of placental mammals exhibit cyclical changes in the activities of
ovaries and accessory ducts as well as hormones during the reproductive
phase. In non-primate mammals like cows, sheep, rats, deers, dogs, tiger,
etc., such cyclical changes during reproduction are called oestrus cycle
where as in primates (monkeys, apes, and humans) it is called menstrual
cycle. Many mammals, especially those living in natural, wild conditions 9
exhibit such cycles only during favourable seasons in their reproductive
phase and are therefore called seasonal breeders. Many other mammals
are reproductively active throughout their reproductive phase and hence
are called continuous breeders.
That we all grow old (if we live long enough), is something that we
recognise. But what is meant by growing old? The end of reproductive
2015-16
BIOLOGY
phase can be considered as one of the parameters of senescence or old
age. There are concomitant changes in the body (like slowing of
metabolism, etc.) during this last phase of life span. Old age ultimately
leads to death.
In both plants and animals, hormones are responsible for the
transitions between the three phases. Interaction between hormones and
certain environmental factors regulate the reproductive processes and
the associated behavioural expressions of organisms.
Events in sexual reproduction : After attainment of maturity, all sexually
reproducing organisms exhibit events and processes that have remarkable
fundamental similarity, even though the structures associated with sexual
reproduction are indeed very different. The events of sexual reproduction
though elaborate and complex, follow a regular sequence. Sexual
reproduction is characterised by the fusion (or fertilisation) of the male and
female gametes, the formation of zygote and embryogenesis. For convenience
these sequential events may be grouped into three distinct stages namely,
the pre-fertilisation, fertilisation and the post-fertilisation events.
1.2.1 Pre-fertilisation Events
These include all the events of sexual reproduction prior to the fusion of
gametes. The two main pre-fertilisation events are gametogenesis and
gamete transfer.
[Link] Gametogenesis
As you are already aware, gametogenesis refers to the process of formation
of the two types of gametes – male and female. Gametes are haploid
cells. In some algae the two gametes are so similar in appearance
that it is not possible to categorise them into male and female gametes.
10
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 1.5 Types of gametes: (a) Isogametes of Cladophora (an alga); (b) Heterogametes of
Fucus (an alga); (c) Heterogametes of Homo sapiens (Human beings)
2015-16
