Which process would lead to offspring with the exact same genetic information as the parent?
A plant growing from a seed
A bird laying an egg
A bacterium splitting in two
A tree growing from the stump of another tree
A bacterium splitting in two.
The process that would lead to offspring with the exact same genetic information as the parent is "A bacterium splitting in two."
The process that would lead to offspring with the exact same genetic information as the parent is a bacterium splitting in two. This process is known as binary fission.
To understand why this process results in genetic information identical to the parent, let's break it down step by step:
1. Bacteria have a single circular DNA molecule called a chromosome. This chromosome carries all the genetic information necessary for the bacteria to function and reproduce.
2. Before binary fission occurs, the bacterium duplicates its chromosome through DNA replication, resulting in two identical copies of the DNA molecule.
3. The bacterium then elongates and begins to separate its two copies of the chromosome to opposite ends of the cell.
4. Eventually, the cell membrane grows inwards, dividing the cell into two daughter cells. Each daughter cell contains one copy of the original chromosome.
In this process, both daughter cells have the exact same genetic information as the parent bacterium. No genetic material is exchanged or recombined with another organism, making the offspring genetically identical to the parent.
It's important to note that the other options you mentioned (plant growing from a seed, bird laying an egg, and tree growing from the stump of another tree) involve sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction with genetic variation. In these cases, the offspring inherit genetic information from two parents (sexual reproduction) or are formed through a combination of new growth and existing genetic material (asexual reproduction), creating offspring with genetic differences from the parent.