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The life cycle of an angiosperm

The adult, or sporophyte, phase is the main phase of an angiosperm’s life cycle ( [link] ). They generate microspores, which will generate 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 cell.

Art connection

 The parts of the flower are shown. The base of the perianth, which includes petals and sepals, is called the flora axis. A narrowing called the articulation separates the floral axis from the lower pedicel, which attached the flower to a stem. Microsporangia are in the anthers. Microspores, or mother cells form inside the microsporangia. The microspore undergoes meiosis, producing four cells, each of which becomes a grain of pollen with a hard coating. The pollen grain undergoes mitosis, producing a generative cell and a tube cell. Macrospores form inside vase-like carpel, in the ovules, which are in the ovaries. The macrospores undergo meiosis, producing four cells. The cells then undergo mitosis, producing three antipodals, two polar nuclei, and egg and two synergids, each with a nucleus. Together, these cells are called the megagametophyte, or embryo sac. Pollination occurs when a pollen grain lands on the stigma, the flat structure at the top of the carpel.  The tube nucleus grows into the long style, to the ovary. There, the generative cell of the sperm fertilizes the egg.
The life cycle of an angiosperm is shown. Anthers and carpels are structures that shelter the actual gametophytes: the pollen grain and embryo sac. Double fertilization is a process unique to angiosperms. (credit: modification of work by Mariana Ruiz Villareal)

If a flower lacked a megasporangium, what type of gamete would not form? If the flower lacked a microsporangium, what type of gamete would not form?

A double fertilization event then occurs. One sperm and the egg combine, forming a diploid zygote—the future embryo. The other sperm fuses with the 2 n polar nuclei, forming a triploid cell that will develop into the endosperm, which is tissue that serves as a food reserve. The zygote develops into an embryo with a radicle, or small root, and one (monocot) or two (dicot) leaf-like organs called cotyledons . This difference in the number of embryonic leaves is the basis for the two major groups of angiosperms: the monocots and the eudicots. Seed food reserves are stored outside the embryo, in the form of complex carbohydrates, lipids or proteins. The cotyledons serve as conduits to transmit the broken-down food reserves from their storage site inside the seed to the developing embryo. The seed consists of a toughened layer of integuments forming the coat, the endosperm with food reserves, and at the center, the well-protected embryo.

Most flowers are monoecious or bisexual, which means that they carry both stamens and carpels; only a few species self-pollinate. Monoecious flowers are also known as “perfect” flowers because they contain both types of sex organs ( [link] ). Both anatomical and environmental barriers promote cross-pollination mediated by a physical agent (wind or water), or an animal, such as an insect or bird. Cross-pollination increases genetic diversity in a species.

Diversity of angiosperms

Angiosperms are classified in a single phylum: the Anthophyta    . Modern angiosperms appear to be a monophyletic group, which means that they originate from a single ancestor. Flowering plants are divided into two major groups, according to the structure of the cotyledons, pollen grains, and other structures. Monocots include grasses and lilies, and eudicots or dicots form a polyphyletic group.

Monocots

Plants in the monocot group are primarily identified as such by the presence of a single cotyledon in the seedling. Other anatomical features shared by monocots include veins that run parallel to the length of the leaves, and flower parts that are arranged in a three- or six-fold symmetry. True woody tissue is rarely found in monocots. In palm trees, vascular and parenchyma tissues produced by the primary and secondary thickening meristems form the trunk. The pollen from the first angiosperms was monosulcate, containing a single furrow or pore through the outer layer. This feature is still seen in the modern monocots. Vascular tissue of the stem is not arranged in any particular pattern. The root system is mostly adventitious and unusually positioned, with no major tap root. The monocots include familiar plants such as the true lilies (which are at the origin of their alternate name of Liliopsida), orchids, grasses, and palms. Many important crops are monocots, such as rice and other cereals, corn, sugar cane, and tropical fruits like bananas and pineapples ( [link] ).

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Source:  OpenStax, Bi 101 for lbcc ilearn campus. OpenStax CNX. Nov 28, 2013 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11593/1.1
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