Parthenogenesis

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Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek παρθένος, parthénos, 'virgin' + γένεσις, génesis, 'creation') is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell. Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in some plants and animals, and in a few other eukaryotes such as oomycetes. It has been induced artificially in some mammals. Normal egg cells form in the process of meiosis and are haploid, with half as many chromosomes as their mother's body cells. Haploid individuals, however, are usually non-viable, and parthenogenetic offspring usually have the diploid chromosome number. Depending on the mechanism involved in restoring the diploid number of chromosomes, parthenogenetic offspring may have anything between all and half of the mother's alleles. In some types of parthenogenesis, the offspring that have all of the mother's genetic material are called full clones...

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