BRAINCAKESporulation
Sporulation (spore formation) is a type of asexual reproduction in which a parent organism produces large numbers of small, light reproductive cells called spores. Each spore can grow into a new individual.
It is common in fungi such as the bread mould Rhizopus and the mould Penicillium. In Rhizopus, hyphae grow upwards and swell at their tips to form sporangia. Inside each sporangium, nuclei divide repeatedly by mitosis, and each nucleus becomes surrounded by a little cytoplasm and a tough wall, forming a spore. When the sporangium bursts, the spores are released and carried away by air currents.
Sign in free to see the rest of this lesson, the R.E.C.I.P.E. recall steps and the quiz
BrainCake is free. Make an account in seconds and pick up where this page stops.
Key terms in this lesson
- mitosis
- A type of nuclear division producing two daughter nuclei that are genetically identical to each other and to the parent nucleus.
More in The Cell Cycle
- Anaphase
- Telophase
- Cytokinesis
- Asexual Reproduction
- Regeneration
- Budding
- Vegetative Propagation
- Mitosis and Growth and Repair
All 18 lessons in The Cell Cycle · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics