sporophyte

Examples of sporophyte in the following topics:

• Sporophytes and Gametophytes in Seedless Plants

  • Sporophytes (2n) undergo meiosis to produce spores that develop into gametophytes (1n) which undergo mitosis.
  • The sporophyte of seedless plants is diploid and results from syngamy (fusion) of two gametes.
  • The sporophyte bears the sporangia (singular, sporangium): organs that first appeared in the land plants .
  • The embryo develops inside the archegonium as the sporophyte.
  • Describe the role of the sporophyte and gametophyte in plant reproduction

• Liverworts and Hornworts

  • The narrow, pipe-like sporophyte is the defining characteristic of the group.
  • Stomata appear in the hornworts and are abundant on the sporophyte.
  • Spores are released from sporophytes and form the gametophyte.
  • This sporophyte disperses spores with the help of elaters; the process begins again.
  • However, liverworts develop a small sporophyte, whereas hornworts develop a long, slender sporophyte.

• Life Cycles of Sexually Reproducing Organisms

  • The zygote will undergo many rounds of mitosis and give rise to a diploid multicellular plant called a sporophyte.
  • Specialized cells of the sporophyte will undergo meiosis and produce haploid spores.
  • In other plants, such as ferns, both the gametophyte and sporophyte plants are free-living; however, the sporophyte is much larger.
  • The diploid plant is called a sporophyte because it produces haploid spores by meiosis.
  • The gametes of two individuals will fuse to form a diploid zygote that becomes the sporophyte.

• Mosses

  • The seta (plural, setae) contains tubular cells that transfer nutrients from the base of the sporophyte (the foot) to the sporangium .
  • For example, stomata are present on the stems of the sporophyte and a primitive vascular system runs up the sporophyte's stalk.
  • The zygote, protected by the archegonium, divides and grows into a sporophyte, still attached by its foot to the gametophyte.
  • After fertilization, the zygote divides and grows into a sporophyte, which stays attached to the gametophyte.
  • Spores released from the sporophyte germinate and produce gametophytes; the process begins again.

• Ferns and Other Seedless Vascular Plants

  • The gametophytes do not depend on the sporophyte for nutrients.
  • In club mosses, the sporophyte gives rise to sporophylls arranged in strobili, cone-like structures that give the class its name .
  • The dominant stage of the life cycle of a fern is the sporophyte, which consists of large compound leaves called fronds.
  • The diploid sporophyte is the most conspicuous stage of the life cycle.
  • The newly-formed zygote grows into a sporophyte that emerges from the gametophyte, growing by mitosis into the next generation sporophyte.

• Bryophytes

  • The sporophyte is barely noticeable.
  • Thus, the gametophyte is the dominant and most familiar form; the sporophyte appears for only a short period.
  • The sporophyte embryo also remains attached to the parent plant, which protects and nourishes it.

• Seedless Vascular Plants

  • The life cycle of seedless vascular plants is an alternation of generations, where the diploid sporophyte alternates with the haploid gametophyte phase.
  • The diploid sporophyte is the dominant phase of the life cycle , while the gametophyte is an inconspicuous, but still-independent, organism.
  • This life cycle of a fern shows alternation of generations with a dominant sporophyte stage.

• Life Cycle of a Conifer

  • Pine trees are conifers (cone bearing) and carry both male and female sporophylls on the same mature sporophyte.
  • The seed that is formed contains three generations of tissues: the seed coat that originates from the sporophyte tissue, the gametophyte that will provide nutrients, and the embryo itself.
  • In the life cycle of a conifer, the sporophyte (2n) phase is the longest phase.

• Plant Adaptations to Life on Land

  • The haploid multicellular form, known as a gametophyte, is followed in the development sequence by a multicellular diploid organism: the sporophyte.
  • In fact, the sporophyte stage is barely noticeable in lower plants (the collective term for the plant groups of mosses, liverworts, and lichens).
  • In both seedless and seed plants, the female gametophyte provides protection and nutrients to the embryo as it develops into the new generation of sporophyte.
  • Plants exhibit an alternation of generations between a 1n gametophyte and 2n sporophyte.

• Chromalveolata: Stramenopiles

  • Several species of brown algae, such as the Laminaria shown here, have evolved life cycles in which both the haploid (gametophyte) and diploid (sporophyte) forms are multicellular.
  • The gametophyte is different in structure from the sporophyte.