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In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphrodite for the purposes of sexual reproduction. Fertilization is the fusion of two gamete. Copulation is the union of the of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization. Mating may also lead to external fertilization, as seen in amphibians, and plants. For most species, mating is between two individuals of opposite sexes. However, for some hermaphroditic species, copulation is not required because the parent organism is capable of self-fertilization (autogamy); for example, .
The term mating is also applied to related processes in bacteria, archaea and viruses. Mating in these cases involves the pairing of individuals, accompanied by the pairing of their homologous chromosomes and then exchange of genomic information leading to formation of recombinant progeny (see mating systems).
In some terrestrial , including insects representing basal (primitive) phylogeny clades, the male deposits spermatozoon on the substrate, sometimes stored within a special structure. Courtship involves inducing the female to take up the sperm package into her genital opening without actual copulation. Courtship is often facilitated through forming groups, called Lek mating, in flies and many other insects. For example, male Tokunagayusurika akamusi forms swarms dancing in the air to attract females. In groups such as dragonflies and many spiders, males extrude sperm into secondary copulatory structures removed from their genital opening, which are then used to inseminate the female (in dragonflies, it is a set of modified on the second abdominal segment; in spiders, it is the male ). In advanced groups of insects, the male uses its aedeagus, a structure formed from the terminal segments of the abdomen, to deposit sperm directly (though sometimes in a capsule called a "spermatophore") into the female's reproductive tract.
Other animals reproduce sexually with external fertilization, including many basal . Vertebrates reproduce with internal fertilization through copulation (in reptiles, some fish, and most birds) or penis-vagina penetration and ejaculation of semen (in Mammal).
In domesticated animals, there are various type of mating methods being employed to mate animals like pen mating (when female is moved to the desired male into a pen) or paddock mating (where one male is let loose in the paddock with several females).
However, to many biologists it seemed unlikely until recently, that mating and sex could be a primordial and fundamental characteristic of eukaryotes. A principal reason for this view was that mating and sex appeared to be lacking in certain protists whose ancestors branched off early from the eukaryotic family tree. However, several of these protists are now known to be capable of, or to recently have had, the capability for meiosis and hence mating. To cite one example, the common intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia was once considered to be a descendant of a protist lineage that predated the emergence of meiosis and sex. However, G. intestinalis was recently found to have a core set of genes that function in meiosis and that are widely present among sexual eukaryotes. These results suggested that G. intestinalis is capable of meiosis and thus mating and sexual reproduction. Furthermore, direct evidence for meiotic recombination, indicative of mating and sexual reproduction, was also found in G. intestinalis. Other protists for which evidence of mating and sexual reproduction has recently been described are parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania, Trichomonas vaginalis, and acanthamoeba.
Protists generally reproduce asexually under favorable environmental conditions, but tend to reproduce sexually under stressful conditions, such as starvation or heat shock.
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