Question

Bacteria reproduce ______ through cell fission. However, in another process, a tube of cytoplasm can temporarily connect two bacterial cells. Some DNA passes through this tube. Like ______ reproduction, this process causes genetic variation. However, it does not produce offspring.

Answer 1

1. Asexually

2. Sexual

Step-by-step explanation:

Asexual reproduction in bacteria occurs through the process of cell fission. For instance, binary fission includes replication of bacterial DNA followed by inward folding of the plasma membrane to divide the parent bacterial cell into two daughter cells.

Bacterial also exhibits genetic recombination. Conjugation is one method of genetic recombination in bacteria in which a conjugation tube is formed between two bacterial cells. Bacteria exchange genetic segments through the tube. It results in the production of genetic variations in the recipient bacteria like that of sexual reproduction.

However, the process of genetic recombination in bacteria does not produce progeny as the sexual reproduction does.