Editing Reproduction (section)

{{Short description|Biological process}}
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[[File:Kalanchoe veg.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Production of new individuals along a leaf margin of the  miracle leaf plant (''[[Kalanchoe pinnata]]''). The small plant in front is about 1&nbsp;cm (0.4&nbsp;in) tall. The concept of "individual" is obviously stretched by this asexual reproductive process.]]
'''Reproduction''' (or '''procreation''' or '''breeding''') is the [[biological process]] by which new individual [[organism]]s – "[[offspring]]" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: [[Asexual reproduction|asexual]] and [[Sexual reproduction|sexual]].

In asexual reproduction, an organism can reproduce without the involvement of another organism. Asexual reproduction is not limited to [[unicellular organism|single-celled organisms]]. The [[cloning]] of an organism is a form of asexual reproduction. By asexual reproduction, an organism creates a genetically similar or identical copy of itself. The [[evolution of sexual reproduction]] is a major puzzle for biologists. The two-fold cost of sexual reproduction is that only 50% of organisms reproduce<ref>Ridley M (2004) Evolution, 3rd edition. Blackwell Publishing, p. 314.</ref> and organisms only pass on 50% of their [[gene]]s.<ref name="maynard">[[John Maynard Smith]] ''The Evolution of Sex'' 1978.</ref>

Sexual reproduction typically requires the sexual interaction of two specialized reproductive cells, called [[gamete]]s, which contain half the number of [[chromosome]]s of normal cells and are created by [[meiosis]], with typically a male [[fertilization|fertilizing]] a female of the same [[species]] to create a fertilized [[zygote]]. This produces offspring organisms whose genetic characteristics are derived from those of the two parental organisms.