Chapter 30

Plant Diversity II: The

Evolution of Seed Plants

PowerPoint® Lecture Presentations for

Biology
Eighth Edition
Neil Campbell and Jane Reece

Lectures by Chris Romero, updated by Erin Barley with contributions from Joan Sharp
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Overview: Transforming the World

• Seeds changed the course of plant evolution,

enabling their bearers to become the dominant
producers in most terrestrial ecosystems.
• A seed consists of an embryo and nutrients
surrounded by a protective coat.
• The gametophytes of seed plants develop
within the walls of spores that are retained
within tissues of the parent sporophyte.

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What human reproductive organ is functionally similar to this seed?
Seeds and pollen grains are key adaptations for life
on land
• In addition to seeds, the following are common
to all seed plants:
– Reduced gametophytes

– Heterospory

– Ovules

– Pollen

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Gametophyte / sporophyte relationships in different plant groups
PLANT GROUP

Mosses and other Ferns and other seedless

Seed plants (gymnosperms and angiosperms)
nonvascular plants vascular plants
Reduced, independent
Reduced (usually microscopic), dependent on surrounding
Dominant (photosynthetic and
Gametophyte free-living)
sporophyte tissue for nutrition

Reduced, dependent on
Sporophyte Dominant Dominant
gametophyte for nutrition

Gymnosperm Angiosperm
Sporophyte Microscopic female
(2n) gametophytes (n) inside
ovulate cone
Microscopic
Sporophyte
female
(2n)
gametophytes
(n) inside
Gametophyte these parts
(n) of flowers
Example

Microscopic
male
gametophytes
Microscopic male
(n) inside
gametophytes (n)
these parts
inside pollen
of flowers
cone
Sporophyte (2n) Sporophyte (2n)
Gametophyte
(n)
Heterospory: The Rule Among Seed Plants

• The ancestors of seed plants were likely

homosporous, while seed plants are
heterosporous.
• Megasporangia produce megaspores that give
rise to female gametophytes.
• Microsporangia produce microspores that give
rise to male gametophytes.

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Ovules and Production of Eggs

• An ovule consists of a megasporangium,

megaspore, and one or more protective
integuments.
• A fertilized ovule becomes a seed.

• Gymnosperm megaspores have one

integument.
• Angiosperm megaspores usually have two
integuments.

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From ovule to seed in a gymnosperm

Integument

Spore wall

Immature
female cone

Megasporangium
(2n)

Megaspore (n)
(a) Unfertilized ovule
Pollen and Production of Sperm

• Microspores develop into pollen grains, which

contain the male gametophytes.
• Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the
male to the female part containing the ovules.
• Pollen eliminates the need for a film of water
and can be dispersed great distances by air or
animals.
• If a pollen grain germinates, it gives rise to a
pollen tube that discharges two sperm into the
female gametophyte within the ovule.
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From ovule to seed in a gymnosperm

Female
gametophyte (n)
Spore wall
Egg nucleus (n)

Male gametophyte
(within a germinated Discharged
pollen grain) (n) sperm nucleus (n)

Micropyle Pollen grain (n)

(b) Fertilized ovule
The Evolutionary Advantage of Seeds

• A seed develops from the whole ovule.

• A seed is a sporophyte embryo, along with its

food supply, packaged in a protective coat.
• Seeds provide some evolutionary advantages
over spores:
– They may remain dormant for days to years,
until conditions are favorable for germination.
– They may be transported long distances by
wind or animals.
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From ovule to seed in a gymnosperm

Seed coat
(derived from
integument)

Food supply
(female
gametophyte
tissue) (n)

Embryo (2n)
(new sporophyte)

(c) Gymnosperm seed

From ovule to seed in a gymnosperm

Seed coat
Integument Female (derived from
gametophyte (n) integument)
Spore wall
Egg nucleus (n)
Immature Food supply
female cone (female
gametophyte
Male gametophyte tissue) (n)
Megasporangium (within a germinated Discharged
(2n) pollen grain) (n)
sperm nucleus (n)
Embryo (2n)
Megaspore (n) Micropyle Pollen grain (n) (new sporophyte)

(a) Unfertilized ovule (b) Fertilized ovule (c) Gymnosperm seed

Gymnosperms bear “naked” seeds, typically on
cones
• The gymnosperms have “naked” seeds not
enclosed by ovaries and exposed on modified
leaves - cones. There are four phyla:
– Cycadophyta (cycads)

– Gingkophyta (one living species: Ginkgo biloba)

– Gnetophyta (three genera: Gnetum, Ephedra,

Welwitschia)
– Coniferophyta (conifers, such as pine, fir, and
redwood).

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• Seed plants can be divided into two clades:
gymnosperms and angiosperms.
• Gymnosperms appear early in the fossil record
and dominated the Mesozoic terrestrial
ecosystems.
• Gymnosperms were better suited than
nonvascular plants to drier conditions.
• Today, cone-bearing gymnosperms called
conifers dominate in the northern latitudes.
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Phylum Ginkgophyta
• This phylum consists of a single living species,
Ginkgo biloba.
• It has a high tolerance to air pollution and is a
popular ornamental tree.

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Gymnosperm

Ginkgo biloba
Pollen-producing tree with fleshy seeds
Gymnosperm
Ovulate cones

Welwitschia
Phylum Coniferophyta
• This phylum is by far the largest of the
gymnosperm phyla.
• Most conifers are evergreens and can carry out
photosynthesis year round.

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Gymnosperms: Conifers perform year round photosynthesis

Douglas fir
Gymnosperms:
Conifers

Sequoia - One of
the Largest and
Oldest Living
Organisms

Giant Sequoia: 2,500 tons / 1,800 - 2,700 years old

The Life Cycle of a Pine: A Closer Look

• Three key features of the gymnosperm life

cycle are:
– Dominance of the sporophyte generation.

– The transfer of sperm to ovules by pollen.

– Development of seeds from fertilized ovules.

• The life cycle of a pine provides an example.

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Life Cycle
of a Pine Key
Haploid (n)
Ovule
Diploid (2n)

Ovulate Megasporocyte (2n)

cone
Integument
Pollen
cone
Microsporocytes
Mature (2n)
Megasporangium
sporophyte Pollen (2n)
(2n) Pollen grain
grains (n) MEIOSIS
MEIOSIS
Microsporangia
Microsporangium (2n) Surviving
Seedling megaspore (n)

Archegonium

Seeds Female
gametophyte

Food Sperm
reserves nucleus (n)
(n)
Seed coat
(2n)
Pollen
tube
Embryo
(2n)
FERTILIZATION Egg nucleus (n)
The reproductive adaptations of angiosperms
include flowers and fruits
• Angiosperms are seed plants with reproductive
structures called flowers and fruits.
• They are the most widespread and diverse of
all plants.
• All angiosperms are classified in a single
phylum: Anthophyta.
• The name comes from the Greek anthos,
flower.

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Flowers - Specialized for Sexual Reproduction

• The flower is an angiosperm structure specialized for

sexual reproduction. It is a specialized shoot with up
to four types of modified leaves:
– Sepals - enclose the flower

– Petals - brightly colored and attract pollinators

– Stamens - produce pollen on their terminal anthers

– Carpels - consist of an ovary containing ovules at

the base and a style holding up a stigma, where
pollen is received.

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Structure of an Idealized Flower
Stigma
Carpel
Stamen Anther
Style
Filament
Ovary

Petal
Sepal

Ovule
Fruits

• A fruit typically consists of a mature ovary but

can also include other flower parts.
• Fruits protect seeds and aid in seed dispersal.

• Mature fruits can be either fleshy or dry.

• Various fruit adaptations help disperse seeds

by wind, water, or animals to new locations.

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Fruits
Tomato
Ruby grapefruit

Nectarine

Hazelnut

Milkweed
Fruit Adaptations
for Seed Dispersal Wings

Seeds within berries

Barbs
The Angiosperm Life Cycle

• The flower of the sporophyte is composed of

both male and female structures.
• Male gametophytes are contained within pollen
grains produced by the microsporangia of
anthers.
• The female gametophyte = embryo sac,
develops within an ovule contained within an
ovary at the base of a stigma.
• Most flowers have mechanisms to ensure
cross-pollination between flowers from
different plants of the same species.
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• A pollen grain that has landed on a stigma
germinates and the pollen tube of the male
gametophyte grows down to the ovary.
• Sperm enter the ovule through a pore opening
called the micropyle.
• Double fertilization occurs when the pollen
tube discharges two sperm into the female
gametophyte within an ovule.

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Double Fertilization: Produces
Zygote 2n and endosperm (food) 3n
• One sperm fertilizes the egg forming a zygote.

• The other sperm combines with two nuclei and

initiates development of food-storing
endosperm.
• The endosperm nourishes the developing
embryo.
• Within a seed, the embryo consists of a root
and two seed leaves called cotyledons.

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 Key
Life Cycle of an Angiosperm
Haploid (n)
Diploid (2n) Microsporangium
Anther
Mature flower on Microsporocytes (2n)
sporophyte plant
(2n) MEIOSIS

Microspore Generative cell

Ovule (2n) Tube cell
(n)
Male gametophyte
Ovary (in pollen grain) Pollen
Germinating MEIOSIS (n) grains
Stigma
seed Megasporangium
(2n) Pollen
tube
Embryo (2n)
Endosperm (3n) Sperm
Seed coat (2n)
Seed Megaspore
(n)
Style
Antipodal cells
Female gametophyte
(embryo sac) Central cell Pollen
Synergids tube
Egg (n) Sperm
Nucleus of
developing (n)
endosperm
FERTILIZATION
(3n)
Zygote (2n)
Egg
nucleus (n) Discharged sperm nuclei (n)
Angiosperm Phylogeny

• The ancestors of angiosperms and

gymnosperms diverged about 305 million years
ago.
• Angiosperms may be closely related to
Bennettitales, extinct seed plants with
flowerlike structures.
• Amborella and water lilies are likely descended
from two of the most ancient angiosperm
lineages.

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Angiosperm evolutionary history

Living
gymnosperms
Microsporangia Bennettitales
(contain
microspores) Amborella

Water lilies

Most recent common ancestor Star anise and

of all living angiosperms relatives
Monocots

Magnoliids

Eudicots

Ovules 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

Millions of years ago

(a) A possible ancestor of the (b) Angiosperm phylogeny

angiosperms?
Angiosperm Diversity

 The two main groups of angiosperms are:

monocots - one cotyledon
eudicots (“true” dicots) - two cotyledons.
• More than one-quarter of angiosperm species
are monocots.
• More than two-thirds of angiosperm species
are eudicots.

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Angiosperms: Monocot Eudicot
Characteristics Characteristics

Monocots Embryos

and One cotyledon Two cotyledons

Eudicots Leaf
venation

Veins usually Veins usually

parallel netlike

Stems

Vascular tissue
Vascular tissue usually arranged
scattered in ring

Roots

Root system Taproot (main root)

usually fibrous usually present
(no main root)

Pollen

Pollen grain with Pollen grain with

one opening three openings

Flowers

Floral organs Floral organs usually

usually in in multiples of
multiples of three four or five
Evolutionary Links Between Angiosperms and Animals

• Pollination of flowers and transport of seeds by

animals are two important relationships in
terrestrial ecosystems.
• Clades with bilaterally symmetrical flowers
have more species than those with radially
symmetrical flowers.
• This is likely because bilateral symmetry
affects the movement of pollinators and
reduces gene flow in diverging populations.

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 Can Flower Shape Influence Speciation Rate?
EXPERIMENT
Time since divergence
from common ancestor
“Bilateral” clade
Compare
numbers
Common “Radial” clade of species
ancestor

RESULTS

3,000
in number of species
Mean difference

2,000

1,000

0
Bilateral Radial
symmetry (N = 15) symmetry (N = 4)
Human welfare depends greatly on seed plants

• No group of plants is more important to human

survival than seed plants.
• Plants are key sources of food, fuel, wood
products, and medicine.
• Our reliance on seed plants makes
preservation of plant diversity critical.

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Products from Seed Plants

• Most of our food comes from angiosperms. Six

crops (wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, cassava,
and sweet potatoes) yield 80% of the calories
consumed by humans.
• Modern crops are products of relatively recent
genetic change resulting from artificial
selection.
• Many seed plants provide wood.

• Secondary compounds of seed plants are used

in medicines.
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Threats to Plant Diversity

• Destruction of habitat is causing extinction of

many plant species.
• Loss of plant habitat is often accompanied by
loss of the animal species that plants support.
• At the current rate of habitat loss, 50% of
Earth’s species will become extinct within the
next 100–200 years.

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Summary
Five Derived Traits of Seed Plants

Reduced Microscopic male and Male

gametophytes female gametophytes gametophyte
(n) are nourished and
protected by the Female
sporophyte (2n) gametophyte

Heterospory Microspore (gives rise to

a male gametophyte)

Megaspore (gives rise to

a female gametophyte)

Ovules Integument (2n)

Ovule
Megaspore (2n)
(gymnosperm)
Megasporangium (2n)

Pollen Pollen grains make water

unnecessary for fertilization

Seeds Seeds: survive

Integument
better than
unprotected
Food supply
spores, can be
transported Embryo
long distances
Plant Evolutionary Relationships: Clades

Charophyte green algae

Mosses

Ferns

Gymnosperms
Angiosperms
You should now be able to:

1. Explain why pollen grains were an important

adaptation for successful reproduction on
land.

2. List the four phyla of gymnosperms.

3. Describe the life history of a pine; indicate

which structures are part of the gametophyte
generation and which are part of the
sporophyte generation.

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You should now be able to:

4. Identify and describe the function of the following

floral structures: sepals, petals, stamens, carpels,
filament, anther, stigma, style, ovary, and ovule.
5. Explain how fruits may be adapted to disperse
seeds.
6. Diagram the generalized life cycle of an angiosperm;
indicate which structures are part of the gametophyte
generation and which are part of the sporophyte
generation.
7. Describe the current threat to plant diversity caused
by human population growth.

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