Internet Sources for Reproductive

Biology of Flowering Plants

• http://www.mnstate.edu/stockram/30C2-
Angiosperms.ppt#276,1,Slide 1
• http://koning.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/Plants_Human/lecppt/flower.pp
t
• http://www.ecfs.org/projects/pchurch/Campbell%207th%20Po
werpoints/38%20ANGIOSPERMS.ppt
• http://csmweb.csm.edu/cfp/faculty/coswald/notes/CPB730_TX
T.ppt#260,1,Chapter 30
• http://www-
instruct.nmu.edu/biology/DBecker/BI%20230/Angiosperms.p
pt
• http://faculty.fmcc.suny.edu/freeman/webpages/plant/powerpoi
nt/angiosperms.ppt
Magnoliophyta
 Fossil Angiosperms
• Primitive fossils of 125-million-year-old
angiosperms
– Display both derived and primitive traits

Carpel

Stamen

5 cm

(a) Archaefructus sinensis, a 125-million-year-

old fossil.

(b) Artist’s reconstruction of

Archaefructus sinensis
 Angiosperm Evolution
• Clarifying the origin and diversification of
angiosperms
– Poses fascinating challenges to evolutionary
biologists
• Angiosperms originated at least 140 million
years ago
– And during the late Mesozoic, the major branches of
the clade diverged from their common ancestor
 Angiosperm Diversity
• The two main groups of angiosperms
– Are monocots and dicots
• Basal angiosperms
– Are less derived and include the flowering plants
belonging to the oldest lineages
• Magnoliids
– Share some traits with basal angiosperms but are
more closely related to monocots and eudicots
• Exploring Angiosperm Diversity
BASAL ANGIOSPERMS

Amborella trichopoda Water lily (Nymphaea Star anise (Illicium

“Rene Gerard”) floridanum)

HYPOTHETICAL TREE OF FLOWERING PLANTS

Star anise
and relatives

Monocots
Water lilies
Amborella

Eudicots
Magnoliids

MAGNOLIIDS

Southern magnolia (Magnolia

grandiflora)
Magnolia virginiana flower

Kindom Plantae

Division Magnoliophyta

Class Magnoliopsida - Dicots

Class Liliopsida - Monocots

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnoliophyta
Class Magnoliposida
The dicotyledons
Class Liliopsida
The monocotyledons
Characteristics of Angiosperms
• The key adaptations in the evolution of
angiosperms
– Are flowers and fruits
 Flowers
• The flower
– Is an angiosperm structure specialized for
sexual reproduction
• A flower is a specialized shoot with modified
leaves
– Sepals, which enclose the flower
– Petals, which are brightly colored and attract
pollinators
– Stamens, which produce pollen
– Carpels, which produce ovules
Carpel
Stigma
Anther Style
Stamen

Ovary
Filament

Petal

Sepal

Receptacle
Ovule
 stigma

style
ovary
The carpel
ovule

megasporocyte

micropyle
Creation of the megaspore
 megaspore

Creation of the megaspore

Creation of the female gametophyte
 antipodals
Polar
nuclei
synergids

Egg
nucleus

Creation of the female gametophyte

 antipodals
Polar
nuclei
synergids

Egg
cell

Mature female gametophyte = embryo sac

Review:

meiosis
Megasporocyte Megaspore
(2N) (N)

Mitosis and rearrangement

Megaspore Female gametophyte
(N) (N)

Female gametophyte contains the egg cell

Stamen

anther

filament
 Pollen sac

microsporocyte

Cross section of an anther

 microspore

microsporocyte

Creation of microspores
Review:

meiosis
microsporocyte microspore

Creation of microspores

Next step: creation of male gametophyte

exine
Tube cell Generative cell
nucleus

Pollen grain
pollination
Pollen germination

Generative
nucleus
Tube nucleus
sperm

Tube nucleus
Mature sperm
Male gametophyte

Tube nucleus
Review:

meiosis
microsporocyte microspore
(2N) (N)

Mitosis and rearrangement

microspore Male gametophyte
(N) (N)

Male gametophyte contains the sperm

 antipodals
Polar
nuclei
synergids

Egg
cell

sperm
Tube nucleus
 antipodals
Polar
nuclei
synergids

Egg
cell

sperm
Tube nucleus
 Primary
Polar
endosperm
nuclei
3N nucleus

2N
Zygote
Egg
cell

Double Fertilization
Seed coat

endosperm

embryo

fruit
 The Angiosperm Life Cycle
• In the angiosperm life cycle
– Double fertilization occurs when a pollen tube
discharges two sperm into the female gametophyte
within an ovule
– One sperm fertilizes the egg, while the other
combines with two nuclei in the center cell of the
female gametophyte and initiates development of
food-storing endosperm
• The endosperm
– Nourishes the developing embryo
• The reduced gametophytes of seed plants are
protected in ovules and pollen grains
• In addition to seeds, the following are common
to all seed plants
– Reduced gametophytes
– Heterospory
– Ovules
– Pollen
• The life cycle of an angiosperm
Key

Haploid (n)
Diploid (2n)
1 Anthers contain microsporangia.
Each microsporangium contains micro- 2 Microspores form
sporocytes (microspore mother cells) that pollen grains (containing
Microsporangium male gametophytes). The
Anther divide by meiosis, producing microspores.
Microsporocytes (2n) generative cell will divide
Mature flower on to form two sperm. The
sporophyte plant tube cell will produce the
(2n) pollen tube.
MEIOSIS

Microspore (n) Generative cell

Ovule with
megasporangium (2n)
7 When a seed Male gametophyte Tube cell
germinates, the (in pollen grain)
embryo develops
into a mature
sporophyte. Ovary
MEIOSIS Pollen
Germinating
grains
Seed
Stigma

3 In the megasporangium Pollen

of each ovule, the Megasporangium tube
Embryo (2n) megasporocyte divides by (n)
meiosis and produces four Sperm
Endosperm megaspores. The surviving
(food Seed megaspore in each ovule Surviving
forms a female gametophyte megaspore Pollen
6 The zygote Supply) (3n)
(embryo sac). (n) tube
develops into an
embryo that is Seed coat (2n)
packaged along Style
with food into a Antipodal cells
seed. (The fruit Female gametophyte Polar nuclei
tissues surround- (embryo sac) Synergids Pollen
ing the seed are Egg (n) tube
not shown).
Zygote (2n)

Nucleus of Egg Sperm

developing Nucleus (n) (n)
endosperm
(3n)

FERTILIZATION 4 After pollina-

tion, eventually
two sperm nuclei
5 Double fertilization occurs. One sperm are discharged in
fertilizes the egg, forming a zygote. The each ovule.
other sperm combines with the two polar
nuclei to form the nucleus of the endosperm,
which is triploid in this example. Discharged
sperm nuclei (n)
The Evolutionary Advantage of Seeds
• A seed
– Develops from the whole ovule
– Is a sporophyte embryo, along with its food
supply, packaged in a protective coatThe
reduced gametophytes of seed plants are
protected in ovules and pollen grains
• In addition to seeds, the following are common to
all seed plants
– Reduced gametophytes
– Heterospory
– Ovules
– Pollen
• Seeds changed the course of plant evolution
– Enabling their bearers to become the dominant
producers in most terrestrial ecosystems
 Fruits
• Fruits
– Typically consist of a mature ovary
(a) Tomato, a fleshy fruit with (b) Ruby grapefruit, a fleshy fruit
soft outer and inner layers with a hard outer layer and
of pericarp soft inner layer of pericarp

(c) Nectarine, a fleshy

fruit with a soft outer
layer and hard inner
layer (pit) of pericarp

(d) Milkweed, a dry fruit that (e) Walnut, a dry fruit that
splits open at maturity remains closed at maturity
 KEY TO FRUIT TYPES
• http://www.unm.edu/~jerusha/fruit_types.htm
• Can be carried by wind, water, or animals to
new locations, enhancing seed dispersal
(a) Wings enable maple fruits
to be easily carried by the wind.

(b) Seeds within berries and other

edible fruits are often dispersed
in animal feces.

(c) The barbs of cockleburs

facilitate seed dispersal by
allowing the fruits to
“hitchhike” on animals.
 Evolutionary Links Between
Angiosperms and Animals
• Pollination of flowers by animals and
transport of seeds by animals
– Are two important relationships in terrestrial
ecosystems

(a) A flower pollinated by
honeybees. This honeybee is
harvesting pollen and nectar (a
sugary solution secreted by
flower glands) from a Scottish
broom flower. The flower has a
tripping mechanism that arches
the stamens over the bee
and dusts it with pollen, some of
which will rub off onto the stigma
of the next flower the bee visits.
(b) A flower pollinated by hummingbirds.
The long, thin beak and tongue of this
rufous hummingbird enable the animal to
probe flowers that secrete nectar deep
within floral tubes. Before the hummer
leaves, anthers will dust its beak and
head feathers with pollen. Many flowers
that are pollinated by birds are red or
pink, colors to which bird eyes are
especially sensitive.
(c) A flower pollinated by nocturnal animals. Some
angiosperms, such as this cactus, depend mainly on
nocturnal pollinators, including bats. Common
adaptations of such plants include large, light-colored,
highly fragrant flowers that nighttime pollinators can
locate.
• Exploring Angiosperm Diversity
MONOCOTS EUDICOTS

Monocot Eudicot California

Orchid Characteristics Characteristics poppy
(Lemboglossum (Eschscholzia
fossii) californica)
Embryos

One cotyledon Two cotyledons

Leaf
venation Pyrenean oak
(Quercus
pyrenaica)
Veins usually Veins usually
parallel netlike

Pygmy date palm Stems

(Phoenix roebelenii)
Vascular tissue
Lily (Lilium usually arranged
“Enchant- Vascular tissue in ring
ment”) scattered

Roots

Dog rose (Rosa canina), a wild rose

Root system
Usually fibrous Taproot (main root)
Barley (Hordeum vulgare),
(no main root) usually present
a grass Pea (Lathyrus
nervosus,
Pollen Lord Anson’s
blue pea), a legume

Pollen grain with Pollen grain with

one opening three openings

Flowers

Zucchini
Anther
(Cucurbita
Stigma Floral organs Floral organs usually Pepo), female
usually in in multiples of (left) and
Filament Ovary multiples of three four or five male flowers
 Food for Thought

• Human welfare depends greatly on seed

plants
• No group is more important to human
survival than seed plants
 Products from Seed Plants
• Humans depend on seed
plants for
– Food
– Wood
– Many medicines
 Threats to Plant Diversity
• Destruction of Habitat
– Is causing extinction of many plant
species and the animal species they
support
• Disruption of Habitat
– Introduction of invasive and exotic
species (competitors, predators, and
pathogens)