Mitosis and meiosis are two types of cell division that play crucial roles in both sexual and asexual reproduction.
Asexual Reproduction: In asexual reproduction, an organism can reproduce without the involvement of gametes. This process typically involves mitosis. During mitosis, a single cell divides to produce two genetically identical daughter cells. This is how single-celled organisms like bacteria reproduce, as well as how multicellular organisms can grow, repair tissues, or produce clones through processes like binary fission, budding, or vegetative propagation.
Sexual Reproduction: In sexual reproduction, meiosis is primarily involved in the formation of gametes, which are sperm and egg cells in animals. Meiosis is a specialized form of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, resulting in four non-identical daughter cells, each with half the number of chromosomes of the original cell. When two gametes fuse during fertilization, they form a zygote, restoring the diploid number of chromosomes. Mitosis then takes over as the zygote develops into a multicellular organism, allowing it to grow and develop through cell division.
Thus, in summary, mitosis is involved in asexual reproduction for growth and maintenance, while meiosis is key in sexual reproduction for the production of gametes.