Plants for Midterm Flashcards
• As plants have adapted to terrestrial environment complex bodies with extensive specialization have evolved
o A waxy cuticle
o CO2 and oxygen diffusion through stomata
o Photosynthetic cells contain chloroplasts with chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b
o Carbohydrates is stored in the form of starch, generally in chloroplast and other plastids
o Mitosis occurs in all plants proceeding through the typical phases
• Plants produce their gametes
gametangia
gametangia
(organs having protective jackets of sterile cells that prevent gametes from drying out)
• In the life cycle of all plants, an alternation of generation, occurs in which
haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes take turns in producing one another
• The life cycle of all plants features an alternation of generation
One generation in the gametophyte, a multicellular individuals with haploid cells, and the other generation is the sporophyte, a multicellular individual with diploid cell
• There are four key traits that suggest that land plants relationship with charophyceans
o The cells of both lands plants and charophyceans have rosette cellulose synthesizing complexes that synthesize the cellulose microfibrils of the cell wall
o Peroxisomes enzyme of both land plants and charophyceans contain enzymes that help minimize the loss of organic products as a result of photorespiration
o The structure of the flagellated sperm in species of land plants that have flagellated sperm closely resemble that of charophycean sperms
Formation of phragmoplast
• Certain details of cell division occur only in land plant and charophycean, during the synthesis of new cell wall between recently dividing cells
The first period of evolution
during the Ordovician period of the plaeozoic era, 475 million years ago (m.y.a)
• The first terrestrial adaptation included spores toughened by sporopollenin, and jacketed gametangia that protected gametes and embryos
• Vascular tissue also evolved relatively early in the plant history
• Most bryophytes lack vascular tissues but present in some bryophytes
The second major period of plant evolution
- Was diversification of vascular plants, during the early Devonian period, about 400 m.y.a
- The earliest vascular plant lack seeds, a condition still found in ferns and a few other groups of seedless vascular plants
The third period of plant evolution
- Began with the origin of seeds, a structure that advanced to colonization of land by further protecting the plant embryos from desiccation and other hazards condition
- Early seed plants gave rise to many types of gymnosperms
- Vascular plants with seeds arose about 350 m.y.a, near the end of Devonian period
The fourth period of plant evolution
• History was with the emergence of the flowering plants
During the early cretaceous period
• In the Mesozoic era, about 130 m.y.a
• The flower is a complex reproductive structure that bear seed within protective chamber
•
Bryophytes
• Non-vascular plants • Bryophytes are represented by three phyla or division o Phylum Hepatophyta (liverworts) Phylum Anthocerophyta (hornworts) Phylum Bryophyta (mosses)
Bryophytes display two adaptations
first they are covered by waxy cuticle that helps the body to retain water, and second adaptation is their gametes develop gametangia, which is a multichamber that keep gametes moist
male gametes produced
gametangia known as antheridia, produce flagellated sperm
female gametangia
archegonia, in which one egg is produced
how do byrophytes obtain water
- Since most byrophytes have no vascular tissue water move over the surface of plants
- They must imbibe (process of absorbing water) it like a sponge and distribute it throughout the plant
Phylum Hepatophyta (liverworts
- Their bodies are divided into lobes giving an appearance of a liver, example of a liverwort is species known as Marchantia
- In those plants the gametangia looks like miniature tree
Phylum Anthocerophyta (hornworts
• Hornworts resemble liver worts except their sporophyte are elongated capsules that grow like horns from the mat like gametophyte
Phylum Bryophyta (mosses
- Each plant of the mate grips the substrate with a root-like structure called rhizoids
- Most photosynthesis occurs in the upper part of the plant
Vascular Plants
• Seedless vascular plants • Phylum Lycophyta (Lycopodium) (club mosses or ground pine) • Phylum Pterophyta (Ferns) • Phylum Lycophyta o Lycopodium o Selaginella (spike mosses) o Isoetes (Quillworts)
Phylum Pterophyta
• Ferns
• Equisetum (horse tail)
• Psiletum (whisk fern)
- they are the most diverse in temperate forest
- most ferns have leaves commonly called Fronds that are compound leaves, meaning that each leaf is divided into several leaflets
- the frond grows as its coiled tips the fiddlehead, unfurls
- the leaves may sprout directly from a prostate stem (Rhizome)
Tropical Ferns
• which in of trees, by contrast have upright stem many meters tall
how are sporangia of ferns arranged
- the sporangia of many ferns are arranged in clusters called sori (sorus)
- the spores are equipped with spring like devices that allow the spores to travel several meters, these devices called Elators
Seed Vascular Plants
• Three life cycle modifications contributed to the success of seed plants as terrestrial organisms
o The gametophyte of seed plants became even more reduced then in ferns and other seedless plants
o Pollination replaced something as the mechanism for delivering sperm nuclei to the egg
o The seed evolved instead of the zygote developing directly into a young sporophyte the zygote of a seed plant develops into an embryo that is packaged with a food supply within a seed coat
Gymnosperms(phylums)
- Phylum cycodophyta
- Phylum ginkgophyta
- Phylum gnetophyta
- Phylum coniferophyta ( largest phylum)
Phylum coniferophyta
- The name conifer comes from the reproductive structures of these plants, the cones
- Pines , fir, spruce, larches, junipers, cedars, cypresses, and redwood all belong to this phylum coniferophyta
- There are about 550 species
- The needle shaped leaves of pines and ferns are adapted to dry conditions
- We get most of our lumber and paper pulp from the wood of conifer
Phylum Ginkgophyta
- This phylum contains one species Ginkgo biloba
- It has fan-like leaves that turn gold and are deciduous in autumn
- Ginkgo is a source of a popular medicine that is believed to improve memory
Phylum Cycadophyta
- Superficially resemble palms
* Cycods seeds develop on the surface of the reproductive leaves
Phylum: Gnetophyta
• it contains three genera • 1) Welwitchia o has giant strap like leaves • 2) Gnetum o grows in the Tropics as tree vines • 3) Ephedra o is a shrub of American deserts
The flowering plant(phylum)
Phylum: anthophyta
Phylum: anthophyta
- Today the flowering plants are the most diverse and geographically wide spread of all plants
- About 300,000 species are known, compared to 550 species of gymnosperms
The angiosperms
• The angiosperm are split into two classes o Monocotyledon (monocot) o Dicotyledon (dicot)-Eudicots
example of monocot angiosperms
lilies, orchids, palm, grasses, sugar cane, grain crops ( corn, wheat, rice others)
Example dicot angiosperms
roses, peas, buttercups, sunflower, oak, maple
how angiosperms transfer pollen
• Many angiosperms employ insects and other animals to transfer pollen from male to female gametophyte
• Also during the development of angiosperms the xylem became more specialized for water transport
• The xylem in conifers mainly consist of tracheids, while xylem in angiosperm consists of tracheids and vesicle elements
The flower
- the outstanding characteristics of angiosperms is the flower
- flowers may be clustered in various ways into aggregation called inflorescence
sepal
usually green in colour and collectively called calyx
petal
the bright coloured part of the flower, collectively called corolla
stamen
anther, filament(male gametophyte)
carpel
stigma, style and ovary including the ovules (female gametophyte)
complete flower
• flower that contains the four parts
incomplete flower
• flower missing any of the four parts
perfect flower
• flower contains both the male and female gametophyte
imperfect flower
• flower only with stamens ( stamenata flower) or only with carpel ( carpellate flower)
monoecious plant
• if then stamenata flower and the carpellate flower are on the same individual plant
dioecious plant
• if the stamenata and carPellate flowers on separate individual plants
Point of insertions
- if the sepals, petals and stamens are attached to the receptacle below the ovary
, the ovary is said to be superior and the flower is said to be hypogenous flower
perigenous flower
• in which the stamens and petals are attached to form the middle of the ovary
epignous
• (inferior ovary) the sepals, petals and stamens apparently grow from the top of the ovary
The positions of ovules attachment to the ovary(3 types)
axial,free central, basal
axial placentation
• occurs in flowers with compound ovary and the ovules attached to the central column of tissue
free central placentation
• in which the ovules attached to the central column of tissue but also without the ovary without septa
basal placentation
• found in some flowers with a single ovule at the very base of unilocular ovary
Actinomorphic flower (regular)
• the flower in which the corolla is made of petals of similar shape that radiate from the center of the flower
Zygomorphic flower
• the flower in which one or more members of the flower are different from other members of the flower (bilateral symmetrical)
Microsporogenesis (development of pollen grain)
- in the sporogenous tissue the microsporoge mother cell undergoes meiosis producing tetrads of four haploid cells by cytokinesis producing four separate cells, later develop thick walls (exinc) represent then outer shell of the pollen grain
- each mature pollen grain contains a tube nucleus and generate a cell which will form the sperm nuclei
Megasporogenesis (development of ovules)
- Development of female gametophyte
- Within a flower there is a diploid megaspore mother cell (megapsorocyst) in each ovule of the ovary
- Then the megaspore mother cell undergoes meiosis
- Four haploid megaspores, three of these disintegrated leaving one, the functional megaspore, whose nucleus undergoes mitotic division three times, producing 8 haploid cells
- This is the female gametophyte (also called embryo sac)
Pollination
- Pollination is simply the transfer of the pollen rain from the anther to the stigma
- Pollination is brought about by wind or with assistants of particular pollination
- Most of the flowering plants, their flowers, are adapted to animal pollinators
Self Compatibility/ Self- incompatibility
- Some flowers such as garden peas, self-fertilize
- This process is called “selfing”
- However, many angiosperms species, have mechanisms that make it difficult or impossible for a flower to fertilize itself (self-incompatible)
- The most common anti-selfing mechanism in flowering plants known as self-incompatibility
- The ability of a plant to reject its own pollen and some times the pollen of other closely related individuals
- The various barriers that prevent self-fertilization contribute to genetics variety by ensuring that the sperm and eggs come from different parents
Fertilization
- Once the pollen rains land on the stigma, its germinates forming the pollen tube
- The germinated pollen grain containing a tube nucleus and the 2 sperm nuclei, this is a mature male gametophyte
- Then the pollen tube grows through the style and reaches to the micropyle
- Now double fertilization occurs (this is a characteristic of the flowering life cycle)
- One sperm nucleus unites with the egg →zygote (2N)
- The other sperm unite with the polar nuclei forming 3N endosperm nucleus
- Then tube nucleus disintegrates the endosperm nucleus→endosperm
- The zygote(2n)→ embryo
- The integument →seed coat