Which of the following are correctly matched with their mode of reproduction?…

Concept

Different organisms reproduce asexually through distinct mechanisms: budding is the growth and detachment of a small outgrowth from a single parent body; vegetative propagation is the growth of a whole new plant from a specialized vegetative part such as a root, stem, tuber, or leaf; fragmentation is the breaking of a parent body into pieces, each of which grows into a new independent organism; and spore formation is the production and release of spores that germinate into new individuals under favourable conditions.

Application

1. Yeast is a unicellular fungus. It reproduces by producing a small bud-like outgrowth that grows and eventually detaches from the parent cell — this is budding, labelled (iv) in Column B.

2. Potato multiplies from the buds on its underground tuber, which is a modified stem — this growth of a new plant from a vegetative part is vegetative propagation, labelled (i).

3. Algae have a simple filamentous or colonial body that breaks into separate fragments, and each fragment grows into a new alga — this is fragmentation, labelled (iii).

4. Fungi such as bread mould (Rhizopus) produce spores in sporangia; these spores are released and germinate into new fungal filaments under suitable conditions — this is spore formation, labelled (ii).

Matching each organism to its labelled process in this order gives the sequence a-iv, b-i, c-iii, d-ii, that is, iv, i, iii, ii.

Cross-check

As an independent check, restricting to the specific organisms and their standard textbook-level mode of reproduction: yeast is characterised here by budding — a bud forming on a single cell — rather than by growth from a vegetative organ or by breaking into fragments; potato is characterised by vegetative propagation from the buds on its tuber, not by forming a single budding outgrowth or releasing spores; algae, as typically illustrated at this level, are characterised by fragmentation of the body rather than by budding or spore release; and fungi such as bread mould are characterised by spore formation rather than by growth from a root, stem, or leaf, or by a single budding outgrowth. Within these standard characterisations, no other sequence matches all four organisms to their intended process.

Hence, the sequence iv, i, iii, ii is the only fully correct matching of Column A with Column B.