What is Sexual Reproduction?

Sexual reproduction is the type of reproduction where offspring are produced from the fusion of male and female gametes. It is a biparental reproduction process where gametes from a male (sperm) and female (ovum) fuse, forming a diploid zygote that will eventually develop into a new individual. Hence, the offspring will have combined genetic information from both parents of the opposite gender. However, there are some organisms where a single individual produces both male and female gametes, called hermaphrodites, and the sexual reproduction process is called hermaphroditism.

It is the most developed reproduction process occurring in all multicellular organisms. Most of the higher animals (except a few invertebrates and vertebrates) follow this process. However, some microorganism also shows sexual reproduction, which is called conjugation.