Question
Question: Do angiosperms have sperms?...
Do angiosperms have sperms?
Solution
An angiosperm is a higher plant, i.e. the plant body is differentiated into various parts and has flowers and seeds required for reproduction. They produce both the male and the female gametes for the process of fertilization.
Complete answer:
Double fertilization, the name suggests that the fertilization is taking place twice. After the process of pollination where the pollen from one plant lands on the stigma of another flower or the same flower, the two sperm cells are produced from the pollen tube. Out of which, one of the sperm cells fuses with the egg cell resulting in the formation of a zygote, while the second sperm cell fuses with the diploid central cell resulting in the formation of a triploid endosperm cell.
Additional information
- The fertilization in flowers begins with the pollination where the transfer of pollen grain from the anther to the stigma of a flower. The transfer of the pollen grains is done by various pollinating agents that include biotic or abiotic factors, the biotic factors include birds, insects, etc., while the abiotic factors include water, wind, etc.
-Fertilization occurs mainly in four stages:
(a) Germination of pollen tube on stigma
Plant male gamete is motile so to reach the ovule pollen tube is germinated by undergoing conformational changes which cause a formation of protruding outwards to form a tube-like structure called a pollen tube. Pollen tubes are responsible for the transportation of the male gamete cells present inside a pollen grain.
(b) Growth of pollen tube
The male gamete travels through a pollen tube which penetrates the stigma and travels through long tubular style and reaches the ovary.
(c) Pollen tube entry into the embryo sac
The pollen tube breaks through the ovule from an opening in the ovule termed as micropyle and the pollen burst with the embryo.
(d) Fusion of gametes
After the entry of the male gamete into the embryo sac the male and female gamete fuses with the egg to form a diploid zygote, this process is termed syngamy.
Note:
During angiosperm reproduction, two products are formed: a zygote and the endosperm. A zygote will grow and develop into an embryo, or into a baby plant. The food source of plant embryos is the endosperm formed. This process is called double fertilization, and it is a unique characteristic of a flowering plant.