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RiverTmasco RiverTmasco
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11 years ago
I read that endospore is non-reproductive and spores are the reproductive mechanisms of, say, mushrooms. But endospores when they 'get' water and conditions for growth, they divide. Isn't that reproduction?

Are there different name for fungal and bacteria spores?
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wrote...
11 years ago
that kind of reproduction would be asexual then. and i didn't think bacteria had spores but i'm not sure.
wrote...
11 years ago
An endospore is a dormant, tough, non-reproductive structure produced by a small number of bacteria from the Firmicute family. The primary function of most endospores is to ensure the survival of a bacterium through periods of environmental stress. They are therefore resistant to ultraviolet and gamma radiation, desiccation, lysozyme, temperature, starvation, and chemical disinfectants. Endospores are commonly found in soil and water, where they may survive for long periods of time.
A spore is a biological term for a reproductive mechanism, usually haploid and unicellular, that is adapted for dispersion and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. The spore can develop into a new organism by dividing by mitosis without fusing with another cell, producing a multicellular gametophyte. Produced by meiosis by the sporophyte, the spore is considered a part of the life cycles of plants or algae with alternation of generations. The term derives from the ancient Greek word Neutral Face??, meaning seed. Spores can be classified by their function, by their origin in the life cycle, or by their motility.
Examples of endospore producing bacteria include the genera:

Bacillus
Clostridium
Desulfotomaculum
Sporolactobacillus
Sporosarcina
Thermoactinomyces
wrote...
11 years ago
in biology we use the word spore for those produced by eukaryotes (e.g. fungi), endospores for those produced by prokaryotes (i.e. bacteria).

As far as I know they're both dedicated to the exact same purpose, asexual reproduction.  Though some fungi will mate using spores.
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