Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

Structure of the flower

The flower is arranged in concentric rings called whorls which are attached to the top of the flower stalk.

1. The outer whorl is the calyx and is made up of sepals; their function is to protect the other parts
of the flower
2. The next whorl is the corolla made up of petals; these are brightly coloured in insect-polllinated
or bird-pollinated flowers to attract the pollinators to them.
3. The next whorl is the androecium; this consists of the male parts of the flower, i.e. the stamen.
Each stamen consists of anthers and filaments. Anthers produce pollen grains which contain the
male gametes and filaments support the anthers.
4. The innermost whorl is the gynoecium which consists of one or more ovaries each containing
one or more ovules, inside of which contain the female gametes; the stigma which captures
pollen grains and the style which supports the stigma. The female parts are collectively called
the carpel, formerly pistil.

Structure of the anther and formation of male gametes

 Each anther contains four pollen sacs. One of the outer layers is made up of cells with thickened
walls called the fibrous layer which helps to liberate the pollen when they are ripe.
 The innermost layer is the tapetum which provide nutrients to the developing pollen grains

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 Formation of male gametes:

 In an immature anther, many diploid cells, known as pollen mother cells are produced by
mitosis.
 Each pollen mother cell divides by meiosis producing four haploid cells, each of which
develops into a pollen grain (microspore).
 The haploid nucleus inside each pollen grain divides by mitosis, forming 2 haploid cells.
 One of the haploid nuclei is called the generative nucleus, the other is the pollen tube
nucleus.
 After the pollen has landed on a stigma, the generative nucleus divides by mitosis to
produce 2 male gamete nuclei.

Formation of female gametes

The female gametes are produced inside structures called embryo sacs which develop inside the ovules
from megasporangial cells. Ovules are found inside ovaries; each ovule is connected to the ovary by a
stalk called the funicle. The ovule has an outer covering, or integuments surrounding a tissue made up
of relatively undifferentiated cells called the nucellus.

At one end of the ovule, the integuments do not quite meet leaving an opening called the micropyle.
The other end of the ovule, farthest from the micropyle and nearest the funicle, is called the chalaza.

 Inside each ovule, a large diploid megaspore mother cell develops.

 This cell divides by meiosis, producing four haploid cells
 Three of these degenerate, leaving one large cell, the megaspore
 The haploid nucleus of the megaspore then divides by three successive mitotic divisions,
producing eight haploid nuclei

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 Some of these nuclei may become surrounded by membranes and so can be regarded as
separate cells.
 One of these is the female gamete (egg cell)
 The eight haploid nuclei are enclosed within the enlarged membrane of the original megaspore
and this whole structure is called the embryo sac.
 The two nuclei in the middle may fuse together to form a single diploid nucleus called the
primary endosperm nucleus

Pollination

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Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anthers of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or of
another flower. Pollination is a prerequisite for fertilization: the fusion of nuclei from the pollen grain
with nuclei in the ovule. Fertilization allows the flower to develop seeds.

Self-pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower to stigma in the same flower or in
another flower on the same plant. Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower
on one plant to a stigma of a flower on another plant of the same species. Many flowers are adapted
for cross-pollination so that pollen is transferred between flowers on different plants in a specific
way.Five agents of cross-pollination are: wind, insect, birds, water and bats.

Main differences between insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated flowers

Insect pollinated flowers Wind pollinated flowers

Coloured, scented petals No petals
May produce nectar Never produce nectar
Anthers inside flower Anthers outside flower
Stigma inside flower Stigma outside flower
Stigma small and sticky Stigma larger and feathery
Pollen sticky Pollen light and dry
Fewer pollen grains More pollen grains

Inbreeding and Outbreeding

In some plant species, self-fertilisation or breeding between closely related individuals is possible; this is
called Inbreeding. In many species of plants, there are mechanisms which make it almost impossible for
self-fertilisation to occur. In these species, fertilization can only occur between different plants of the
same species and sometimes only between unrelated plants of the same species. This is called
outbreeding.

Genetic significance of outbreeding

Outbreeding increases the amount of genetic variation in the population. Unrelated individuals are
more likely to possess different alleles of genes than closely related individuals, so outbreeding
maintains a relatively large number of different alleles in the population. This increases the likelihood
that some individuals will have resistance against particular parasites or pathogens. In many species,
inbreeding can lead to a condition called ‘inbreeding depression’, in which individuals are weak and less
likely to survive. This is a result of increased homozygosity, where they are more likely to have the same
two alleles of any gene.

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 Cross pollination (Outbreeding) is promoted by the following mechanisms

1. Dioecy- some plants have male flowers (with no carpels) on one plant, and female flowers (with
no stamens) on a different plant. Such plants are dioecious (having separate sexes) and self-
pollination is impossible. E.g. paw-paw and sea grape.
2. Dichogamy- stamens and carpel do not open at the same time, so reducing chances of cross-
pollination.
 Some plants have anthers which mature and shed their pollen before the stigma of the
same flower is ripe enough to receive pollen. This mechanism is called Protandry.
E.g. Dandelions and daisies.
 The ripening of stigmas and their loss of the ability to receive pollen before the anthers
on the same flower mature is called Protogyny. Such flowers can only be pollinated by
pollen from older flowers. E.g. avocado and soursop
3. Heterostyly- is the existence of plants with two types of flower within a species. In the
primrose, the two types of flowers are called pin and thrum. Pin flowers have along style,
holding the stigma well above the anthers. Thrum flowers have a short style, so that the stigma
is below the anthers. This makes it difficult for pollen to be transferred from anther to stigma
on a pin flower.
4. Self-incompatibility- plants also have genes that determine whether pollen grains germinate
and grow on stigmatic surfaces. The S gene has multiple alleles. If a pollen grain has an allele
that is the same as one on a stigma, it will not germinate. This prevents self-pollination. E.g.
grasses, tobacco and many cabbages.
5. Male sterility- some mutations result in the failure to produce pollen grains. This can be the
result of mutations in genes on chromosomes in the nucleus and also genes in mitochondria.
Plants that have the mutant allele cannot self-pollinate so have to be cross-pollinated. E.g.
clover.

Pollination to fertilization

After pollination, the growth of the pollen tube will only take place if the pollen grains are on the stigma
of a plant of the same species. There are 3 mechanisms to ensure this:

 A sugar solution secreted by the stigma must be of the correct concentration range
 The ridge and groove patterns on pollen grains and stigma are often complementary,
encouraging the pollen grains to cling
 The tissues of the style must be chemically compatible with those of the pollen tube, allowing
the tube to grow.

If the above conditions are suitable, fertilization occurs.

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 Fertilization

1. The pollen grain absorbs water and sucrose from the solution on the stigma and germinates.
2. A pollen tube emerges and grows into the tissues of the stigma and then the style, towards the
ovule. The pollen tube nucleus is carried near the tip of the tube and governs the growth of the
tube.
3. The generative nucleus divides by mitosis producing two haploid nuclei which are carried in the
cytoplasm. These nuclei are the two male gametes.
4. The pollen tube grows down the style using the tissues of the style as nourishment. The pollen
tube may be attracted by molecules secreted by the style and/or ovule. Enzymes are secreted
by the tube to digest a pathway.
5. The pollen tube grows through the micropyle and the tissues of the nucellus of the ovule are
digested. The pollen tube nucleus degenerates and the pollen tube tip bursts open, releasing
the two male gametes into the embryo sac.
6. The first male nucleus to enter fuses with the ovum (female gamete) to produce a diploid zygote
nucleus.
7. The second male nucleus fuses with the two polar nuclei producing a triploid primary
endosperm nucleus. This is called double fertilization.
8. The synergids and antipodal cells degenerate.

Significance of double fertilization

The triploid endosperm nucleus divides by mitosis to give a tissue that surrounds the developing
embryo. In some plants, e.g. legumes, the endosperm is used up before the embryo is mature. In
cereals like maize, wheat and rice, the endosperm remains after the embryo matures and remains in the
grain. The significance is that these crop plants provide most of the staple foods in the human diet.

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 Development of the fruit and seed

The zygote nucleus divides repeatedly by mitosis and eventually develops into an embryo plant. The
embryo continues to divide to form a plumule (embryonic shoot), radicle (embryonic root) and one or
two cotyledons. This embryo is contained within the fertilized ovule, which is now referred to as a seed.

The primary endosperm nucleus divides repeatedly by mitosis, forming a mass of tissue called the
endosperm, which nourishes the developing embryo inside the seed. It may or may not disappear as
the seed matures. The nucellus disappears as the embryo grows but the integuments toughen and
become the protective seed coat, the testa.

The style and stigma shrivel and the ovary becomes the fruit. The protection and eventual dispersal of
the seeds inside the fruit are aided by changes in the ovary wall. The modified ovary wall is now called a
pericarp.