Question

Differentiate between fission and budding methods of asexual reproduction.

Answer 1

Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the change in the number of chromosomes or the fusion of gametes. In this type of reproduction, offspring inherit genes from parents.

Complete answer: In an organism, asexual reproduction occurs when more number of organisms are produced without exchanging any genetic information with another organism. In various organisms, different modes of asexual reproduction are observed such as binary fission in amoeba and bacteria; budding in hydra; fragmentation in Planaria; spore formation in ferns and vegetative propagation in onion.
Some major differences between binary fission and budding are as follows:

Sl.No	Binary fission	Budding
In binary fission, the cells divide into two daughter cells.	In budding, a new bud is formed from the parent's body.
It is a type of fission.	It is a type of vegetative propagation.
The parent cell divides into two daughter cells and hence, the identification of the parent is not possible.	The parent cell gets detached from the daughter cells.
It is a type of symmetric division.	It is a type of symmetric division.
Bacteria and amoeba show this mode of asexual reproduction.	Hydra and yeast show this type of budding.
This is a natural process.	This can be induced artificially.

Note: Binary fission is commonly observed in prokaryotic organisms, whereas budding is commonly observed in eukaryotic organisms. In binary fission, the parent organism divides into two daughter cells, whereas in the case of budding, new organisms sprout out from the parent organism.