Female copperhead snake can reproduce both sexually and asexually

Female copperhead snakes have the ability to reproduce both sexually and asexually. In your opinion which method is best for species and why?

Introduction

Studies reveal that wild female snakes can give birth to viable offspring without contact with their male counterparts and therefore disclaiming the belief that asexual reproduction can only take place in invertebrates.

Reproduction is the process where a living organism gave rise to another living organism (offspring) of the same species.

There are two types of reproduction: asexual and sexual in female copperhead snake and hence classified as facultative parthenogenetic species.

Asexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction is the process where a living organism gives rise to an offspring without fusion of gametes.

Research has established that copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) do not always require a partner to reproduce. Thus is a situation known as parthenogenesis. In female copperhead snake, parthenogenesis results from development of embryo from unfertilized egg cell and is a component process of apomixis. Female copperheads that reproduce asexually are clones of mother (female snake) and therefore the offspring are female. This is based on the presence of two ovaries and absence of testes in the offspring. This elevates the homozygosity level of the offspring and it suggest that the parthenogenetic mode may be terminal fusion automixis. It resulrs from the fusion of second polar body to the egg nucleus and therefore homozygosity is observed in all chromosomes including chromosomes involved in sex determination.

Wide gomozygosity leads to conservation of species owing to the fixation of potentially deleterious genetic recombination. Conservation of gene reduction results to reduction in evolutionary adaptation and therefore no variation in species. Because Agkistrodon contortrix snake displays facultative parthenogenesis, it has therefore developed a broad knowledge of automictic parthenogenesis in vertebrates which is not experimentally induced.


Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction involves fusion of male and female gametes that are derived from two different parents. Sexual reproduction is dependent on meiosis. Meiosis is a special type of nuclear division that results in four gamete cells. In typical diploid species meiosis involves reduction division b meiosis of 2n (diploid) cells to n (haploid) cells. Female copperhead snake when they reproduce sexually results to greater increase in diversity because of the following reasons:
Produce haploid daughter cells that later on become gametes.

  • Introduces genetic variation through:
  1. Crossing over where non-sister chromatids from tetrad exchange genetic material.
  2. Crossing over allows shuffling of alleles and brings about genetic recombination.
  • Increases the genetic diversity of gametes and of the offspring.
  • Many possible combinations of chromosomes can occur in the daughter cells.

According to my view, sexual reproduction is the best method for reproduction for reproduction of Agkistrodon contrortrix because it leads to genetic diversity (variation).

Reference

 Chiszar D., Gingery T., Gingery B., Smith H. M. 1999. Phymaturus patagonicus (Argentine chuckwalla) facultative parthenogenesis. Herpetol. Rev. 30, 98

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