nuclel eventually fuse to produce a diploid secondary nucleus.

Pollen
carried by wind or various other
are
graln, after dispersal from the anthers,
termed as pollination. The pollen
agencies to the stigma ofa pisttl. This is
grow through
gralns germinate on the stigma and the resulting pollen tubes enter
the tissues of stigma and style and reach the ovule. The pollen tubes
of the male
embryo-sac where twO male gametes are discharged, One
the a zygote. The other male
gametes fuses with the egg cell (syngamy) to form to produce the triplold
gamete fuses with the diplold secondary nuceus occurrence of two
imar endosperm nucleus (PEN). Because of the
P ry event Is temed as double
sions L.e.. syngany and triple fusion, this The zygote develops into
fertitisation, an event unlque to angiosperms,
cotyledons) and the PEN develops into
an embryo (with one or two
endosp erm which provides
nourishment to the developing ermbryo. The
fertilisation. During these events
nd antipodals degenerate afer
ovaries develop into frutt. The life
the ovules develop into seeds and the
Flgure 3.6.
cycle of an angiosperm is shown ín
Anther

Stigma

Filament
Microsporangum
Style
Megaspore
mother cell
Ovafy Microspore
Megasporangum
(ovule)

SPOROPEYTIC GAMETOPHTTIIC
Sporophyte
GENERATION GNKRATION

Microspore
(pollen grain)
Embryo

Male
gametophyte

Zygote Gametecs
12
Ege

anglospern
Figre 3.8 Life cycle of an
 3.6 PLANT LIFE CYCLES AND ALTERNATION OF
Zygote
(2n) Meiosis
GENERATIONS

Sores In plants, both haplold and diplold cells can divide by

A mitosis. This ability leads to the formation of diferent
plant bodies - haplold and diplold. The haplold plant
Gametogenesis
body produces gametes by mitosis. This plant body
Haplontic represents a gametophyte. Following fertilisation the
zygote also dtvides by mitosis to pr
produce
sporophytic plant body. Haplold spores are produced
T
diploid
by this plant bodv byymeiote
meiosis. These in turn, divide by
al
mitosis to form a haplold plant body once again. Thus,
Gametophyte during the life cycle of any sexually reproducing plant,
there is an alternation of generatíons between gamete
Sporophyte producing haploid gametophyte and spore producing
(2n) diplold sporophyte.
However. different plant groups, as well as individuals
representung them, differ in the following patterns:
1. Sporophytic generation is represented only by the
Diplontic one-celled zygote. There are no free-living
sporophytes. Meiosis In the zygote results in the
A formation of haploid spores. The haploid spores
Zygote (2n) Melo
Melosis
divide mitotically and formn the gametophyte. The
dominant, photosythete
hetic phase in such plants is
the free-iving gametophyte. This kind of life cycle
Gametogericsis Gametophyte is termed as haplontic. Many algae such as Volvax,
Sptrogyra and some species of Chlamydomonas
Porophyte represent this pattern (Figure 3.7 a).
2 On the other extreme, is the type wherein the diploid
(2n)
Zvdote
sporophyte is the dominant. photosynthetic.
S Independent phase of the plant. The gametophytic
Tgay Meiosis
phase is represented by the single to few-celled
haploid gametophyte. This kind of life cycle is
termed as diplontic. An alga. Fucus sp.. represents
Gamdtogenesis Haplo-diplontie dbT this pattern (Fig. 3.7b). In addition, all seed bearing
B Spofes
plants i.e., gymnosperms and angiosperms, follow
this pattern with some variations, wherein,
gametophytic phase is few to multi-celled.
c)
Gametopophyte 3. Bryophytes and pteridophytes, interestingly, exhibit
In
an intermediate condition (Haplo-diplontic): both
Flgure 3.7 Life cyce patterns : (a) Haplontie phases are multcellular. However, they differ in ther
(b) Diplontic (c) Haplo-diplontic dominant phases.

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13
 PLANT KINGDOM
49

A dominant, Independent. photosynthetic, thallold or erect phase

represented by a haploid gametophyte and it alternates with the short:i
lived multicelluler sporophyte totally or
partially dependent on the
gametophyte lor Its anchorage and nutrition. All bryophytes represent
this pattern.
The diploidsporophyte is represented by adominant, independent.
Photosynthetic, vascular nlantt nay.
d e r a t e s with multicellular
Saprophytic/autotronbic short-lived haploid
gametophyte. Such a nate t Puent but
pteridophytes exhibit this patter known as haplo-diplontic life cycle. AlI
Interestingly, while m g u r e 3.7 c).
algal genera are haplontic, some of them
such as Ectocarpus, Polystphonia, kelps are haplo-diplontic. Fucus, an
alga is diplontlc.

SUMMARY

Plant kingdom includes algae, bryophytes, pleridophytes, gymnosperms and

angiosperms A
largeh.Algae copyu-bearing simple, thallold, autotrophlc and
8 s s . Depending on the type of pigment possesed and the
are classied into three classes, namely Chlorophyceae,
Phaeonhvceae
Phaeophyce and Rhodor dophyceae. Algae usually reproduce vegetattvely by
ragmentation, asexuallyly by
by formation of diferent types of spores and sexually by
formation of gametes which may show isogamy. anisogamy or oogamy.
Bryophytes are plants which can live in soil but are dependent on water for
sexual reproduction. Their plant body is more differentiated than that of algae. It
is thallus-ltke and prostrate or erect and attached to the substratum by rhizolds.
They possess root-like, leaflike and stem-like structures. The bryophytes are
divided into liverworts and mosses. The plant body of liverworts is thallold and
dorsiventral whereas mosses have upright, slender axes bearing spirally arranged
leaves. The main plant body of a bryophyte is gamete-producing and is called a
gametophyte. It bears the male sex organs called antheridia and female sex organs
called archegonia. The male and female gametes produced fuse to form zygote
which produces a multicellular body called a sporophyte. It produces haploid
spores. The spores gerninate to form gametophytes.
In pterldophytes the main plant is a sporophyte which is differentiated into
true root, stem and leaves. These organs possess well-differentiated vasscular
tissues. The
germinate sporophytes
to form bear sporangla
gametophytes whichcool.
which require produce
damp spores.
places toThe spores
grow. The
gametophytes bear male and female sex organs called antheridta and archegonta.,
respectively. Water is required for transfer of male gametes to archegonium where
zygote is formed after fertilisation. The zygote produces a sporophyte.

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