Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!tness7!killer!mit-eddie!bloom-beacon!athena.mit.edu!ayermish
From: ayermish@athena.mit.edu (Aimee Yermish)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Fission Limitations?
Keywords: Fission, Reproduction
Message-ID: <5495@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Date: 24 May 88 18:47:19 GMT
References: <677@dukempd.UUCP>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: ayermish@athena.mit.edu (Aimee Yermish)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (but not for long!)
Lines: 15

Probably, the reason higher organisms don't reproduce by fission is
because they need to do a lot of growth and differentiation, mainly
the latter, I'd guess.  Some multicellular animals do reproduce by
budding (things like hydras and such), but they aren't as complex as
what you are terming "higher animals."  Once you get to things like
earthworms, they are capable of regenerating lost bits (which can
sometimes result in two worms when you cut one in half carefully), but
that's not a mechanism of reproduction from the worm's "point of
view."  Anything much higher than that, there's just too much that has
to be done to make a whole new creature, and the early stages are
probably very vulnerable.

--Aimee

(opinions are mine alone)