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Ch. 38-Angiosperm Reproduction

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13 views37 pages

Ch. 38-Angiosperm Reproduction

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ajeetbhagat333
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 38

Angiosperm Reproduction
and Biotechnology
Many angiosperms lure insects with nectar; both
plant and pollinator benefit

Mutualistic symbioses are common between plants


and other species

Angiosperms can reproduce sexually and asexually

Angiosperms are the most important group of plants


in terrestrial ecosystems and in agriculture
Flowers, double fertilization, and fruits are
unique features of the angiosperm life cycle

Plant lifecycles are characterized by the alternation between a


multicellular haploid (n) generation and a multicellular diploid
(2n) generation

Diploid sporophytes (2n) produce spores (n) by meiosis; these


grow into haploid gametophytes (n)

Gametophytes produce haploid gametes (n) by mitosis;


fertilization of gametes produces a sporophyte
In angiosperms, the sporophyte is the dominant
generation, the large plant that we see

The gametophytes are reduced in size and depend


on the sporophyte for nutrients

The angiosperm life cycle is characterized by “three


Fs”: flowers, double fertilization, and fruits
Flower Structure and Function

Flowers are the reproductive shoots of the


angiosperm sporophyte; they attach to a part of the
stem called the receptacle

Flowers consist of four floral organs: sepals, petals,


stamens, and carpels

Stamens and carpels are reproductive organs;


sepals and petals are sterile
A stamen consists of a filament topped by an anther
with pollen sacs that produce pollen

A carpel has a long style with a stigma on which


pollen may land

At the base of the style is an ovary containing one


or more ovules

A single carpel or group of fused carpels is called a


pistil
Complete flowers contain all four floral organs

Incomplete flowers lack one or more floral organs,

for example stamens or carpels

Clusters of flowers are called inflorescences


Development of Male Gametophytes in
Pollen Grains

Pollen develops from microspores within


the microsporangia, or pollen sacs, of anthers

Each microspore undergoes mitosis to produce two


cells: the generative cell and the tube cell

A pollen grain consists of the two-celled male


gametophyte and the spore wall
If pollination succeeds, a pollen grain produces a

pollen tube that grows down into the ovary and

discharges two sperm cells near the embryo sac


Development of Female Gametophytes
(Embryo Sacs)
The embryo sac, or female gametophyte, develops within the
ovule

Within an ovule, two integuments surround a megasporangium

One cell in the megasporangium undergoes meiosis, producing


four megaspores, only one of which survives

The megaspore divides, producing a large cell with eight nuclei

This cell is partitioned into a multicellular female gametophyte,


the embryo sac
Pollination

In angiosperms, pollination is the transfer of pollen


from an anther to a stigma

Pollination can be by wind, water, or animals

Wind-pollinated species (e.g., grasses and many


trees) release large amounts of pollen
Coevolution of Flower and Pollinator
Coevolution is the evolution of interacting species in response
to changes in each other

Many flowering plants have coevolved with specific pollinators

The shapes and sizes of flowers often correspond to the pollen


transporting parts of their animal pollinators

For example, Darwin correctly predicted a moth with a 28


cm long tongue based on the morphology of a particular
flower
Double Fertilization
After landing on a receptive stigma, a pollen grain produces a
pollen tube that extends between the cells of the style toward
the ovary

Double fertilization results from the discharge of two sperm


from the pollen tube into the embryo sac

One sperm fertilizes the egg, and the other combines with the
polar nuclei, giving rise to the triploid food-storing
endosperm (3n)
Seed Development, Form, and Function

After double fertilization, each ovule develops into a

seed

The ovary develops into a fruit enclosing the seed(s)


Endosperm Development

Endosperm development usually precedes embryo


development

In most monocots and some eudicots, endosperm


stores nutrients that can be used by the seedling

In other eudicots, the food reserves of the


endosperm are exported to the cotyledons
Embryo Development

The first mitotic division of the zygote splits the


fertilized egg into a basal cell and a terminal cell

The basal cell produces a multicellular suspensor,


which anchors the embryo to the parent plant

The terminal cell gives rise to most of the embryo

The cotyledons form and the embryo elongates


Structure of the Mature Seed

The embryo and its food supply are enclosed by a


hard, protective seed coat

The seed enters a state of dormancy

A mature seed is only about 5–15% water


In some eudicots, such as the common garden
bean, the embryo consists of the embryonic axis
attached to two thick cotyledons (seed leaves)

Below the cotyledons the embryonic axis is called


the hypocotyl and terminates in the radicle
(embryonic root); above the cotyledons it is called
the epicotyl

The plumule comprises the epicotyl, young leaves,


and shoot apical meristem
A monocot embryo has one cotyledon

Grasses, such as maize and wheat, have a special


cotyledon called a scutellum

Two sheathes enclose the embryo of a grass seed:


a coleoptile covering the young shoot and a
coleorhiza covering the young root
Seed Dormancy

Seed dormancy increases the chances that


germination will occur at a time and place most
advantageous to the seedling

The breaking of seed dormancy often requires


environmental cues, such as temperature or lighting
changes
Seed Germination and Seedling Development

Germination depends on imbibition, the uptake of


water due to low water potential of the dry seed

The radicle (embryonic root) emerges first

Next, the shoot tip breaks through the soil surface


In many eudicots, a hook forms in the hypocotyl, and
growth pushes the hook above ground

Light causes the hook to straighten and pull the


cotyledons and shoot tip up
In maize and other grasses, which are monocots,

the coleoptile pushes up through the soil


Fruit Form and Function

A fruit develops from the ovary

It protects the enclosed seeds and aids in seed


dispersal by wind or animals

A fruit may be classified as dry, if the ovary dries out


at maturity, or fleshy, if the ovary becomes thick,
soft, and sweet at maturity
Fruits are also classified by their development
Simple, a single or several fused carpels

Aggregate, a single flower with multiple separate


carpels

Multiple, a group of flowers called an inflorescence


An accessory fruit contains other floral parts in addition
to ovaries
Fruit dispersal mechanisms include

– Water

– Wind

– Animals
Flowering plants reproduce sexually,
asexually, or both

Many angiosperm species reproduce both asexually


and sexually

Sexual reproduction results in offspring that are


genetically different from their parents

Asexual reproduction results in a clone of


genetically identical organisms
Mechanisms of Asexual Reproduction

Fragmentation, separation of a parent plant into


parts that develop into whole plants, is a very
common type of asexual reproduction

In some species, a parent plant’s root system gives


rise to adventitious shoots that become separate
shoot systems
Apomixis is the asexual production of seeds from a

diploid cell
Advantages and Disadvantages of Asexual
Versus Sexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction is also called vegetative


reproduction

Asexual reproduction can be beneficial to a


successful plant in a stable environment

However, a clone of plants is vulnerable to local


extinction if there is an environmental change
Sexual reproduction generates genetic variation that
makes evolutionary adaptation possible

However, only a fraction of seedlings survive

Some flowers can self-fertilize to ensure that every


ovule will develop into a seed

Many species have evolved mechanisms to prevent


selfing
Mechanisms That Prevent Self-Fertilization

Many angiosperms have mechanisms that make it

difficult or impossible for a flower to self-fertilize

Dioecious species have staminate and carpellate

flowers on separate plants


The most common is self-incompatibility, a plant’s
ability to reject its own pollen

Researchers are unraveling the molecular


mechanisms involved in self-incompatibility

Some plants reject pollen that has an S-gene


matching an allele in the stigma cells

Recognition of self pollen triggers a signal


transduction pathway leading to a block in growth of
a pollen tube
Vegetative Propagation and Agriculture

Humans have devised methods for asexual

propagation of angiosperms

Most methods are based on the ability of plants to

form adventitious roots or shoots


Clones from Cuttings

Many kinds of plants are asexually reproduced from

plant fragments called cuttings

A callus is a mass of dividing undifferentiated cells

that forms where a stem is cut and produces

adventitious roots
Grafting

A twig or bud can be grafted onto a plant of a closely

related species or variety

The stock provides the root system

The scion is grafted onto the stock


Test-Tube Cloning and Related Techniques

Plant biologists have adopted in vitro methods to

create and clone novel plant varieties

A callus of undifferentiated cells can sprout shoots

and roots in response to plant hormones

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