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| 1. |
Explain the life cycle of angiosperms |
| Answer» The adult, or sporophyte, phase is the main phase of an angiosperm’s life cycle. As with gymnosperms, angiosperms are heterosporous. Therefore, they generate microspores, which will produce pollen grains as the male gametophytes, and megaspores, which will form an ovule that contains female gametophytes. Inside the anthers’ microsporangia, male gametophytes divide by meiosis to generate haploid microspores, which, in turn, undergo mitosis and give rise to pollen grains. Each pollen grain contains two cells: one generative cell that will divide into two sperm and a second cell that will become the pollen tube cellThe ovule, sheltered within the ovary of the carpel, contains the megasporangium protected by two layers of integuments and the ovary wall. Within each megasporangium, a megasporocyte undergoes meiosis, generating four megaspores: three small and one large. Only the large megaspore survives; it produces the female gametophyte referred to as the embryo sac. The megaspore divides three times to form an eight-cell stage. Four of these cells migrate to each pole of the embryo sac; two come to the equator and will eventually fuse to form a 2n polar nucleus. The three cells away from the egg form antipodals while the two cells closest to the egg become the synergids. | |