Apomixis

In angiosperms, apomixis produces an embryo through asexual reproduction within a seed, bypassing the usual combination of meiosis and fusion of gametes. It can preserve a maternal genetic combination across generations. It differs from vegetative reproduction, which propagates an individual through structures such as shoots or rhizomes rather than through seeds.

Producing a clonal seed requires coordinating more than one developmental event: retaining the maternal chromosome complement and initiating an embryo without ordinary fertilization are separate requirements. Rice research combining altered meiosis with redirected embryogenic gene activity demonstrated clonal propagation through seeds.^[ref] In some forms of apomixis, fertilization is still needed to produce supporting endosperm, so an asexual embryo does not imply that every component of the seed develops without fertilization.