Question

Kevin has learned about planarians, which are a species of flatworm. Some of these worms have two methods of reproduction. A planarian can produce new offspring by splitting itself and growing new body parts on each portion. Or it can mate with another planarian to produce offspring. Kevin believes that both methods of reproduction will produce offspring that are genetically identical to the parent. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

No

Step-by-step explanation:

Planarians reproduce asexually and sexually. In asexual reproduction, the offspring is made from only the genes of the mother planarian. Planarians splitting is an example of budding. Budding is asexual, and asexual reproduction creates a clone of the mom. Sexual reproduction uses both the genes of the father and mother, so the offspring is a mix of both the parent's genes. That means that the offspring is not a clone of either one of the parents.