My children's Life Cycle

In plant reproduction things can get a little complicated. So I am here to try to help explain things and make it simpler to understand how my babies will reproduce. All plants have an alteration of generations between a haploid Gametophyte generation and a diploid Sporophyte generation. The Sporophyte generation has a double set of chromosomes. In Angiosperms most of their life cycle is spent in the Sporophyte generation. In the Sporophyte stage what happens is the Sporophyte produces spores through meiosis. These meirospores then become Gametophytes, splitting into either male or female gametes. Then when a male and female gamete fuse, a diploid zygote is produced. This then makes a new Sporophyte which continues the alteration of generations. When a plant is in the Gametophyte generation the reproduction is quite different. During this generation meiocytes, or cells having gone through meiosis to produce four haploid gametes, male from the tassel and female from the ear shoot will meet. One male gametophyte will fuse with the egg nucleus of a female gametophyte, and the diploid zygote develops into the embryo. Then another male gametophyte will fuse with two polar nuclei in the center of the female gametophyte, forming a triploid cell that generates the endosperm tissue to form around the embryo. This will provide the nutrients to the embryo during germination. A diagram is given below to illustrate the alteration of generations in plants.