Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction

Living things use lots of different strategies for producing offspring, but most strategies fall neatly into the categories of either sexual or asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction generates offspring that are genetically identical to a single parent. In sexual reproduction, two parents contribute genetic information to produce unique offspring.

Sexual and asexual reproduction have advantages and disadvantages—which is why some organisms do both!

Click or tap an organism below. After reading a description, you'll get to vote on whether you think the organism reproduces sexually, asexually, or both. How well do you know your reproductive strategies?

  • Funding

    Funding provided by grant 51006109 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Precollege Science Education Initiative for Biomedical Research.


APA format:

Genetic Science Learning Center. (2016, March 1) Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/reproduction/

CSE format:

Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction [Internet]. Salt Lake City (UT): Genetic Science Learning Center; 2016 [cited 2024 Mar 24] Available from https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/reproduction/

Chicago format:

Genetic Science Learning Center. "Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction." Learn.Genetics. March 1, 2016. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/reproduction/.