Question

Male gametophyte with least number of cells is present in
A. Funaria
B. Lilium
C. Pinus
D. Pteris

Answer 1

The gametophytes help in the production of the sperm cells and the female cells and their union in fertilization.
In flowering plants, male gametophyte is pollen grain and the embryo sac is the female gametophyte.
The male gametophyte completes its early development within the anther of the flower.

Complete answer:
Gametes are haploid in nature and usually a direct product of meiotic division except in haploid organisms where gametes are formed by mitosis.
IN sexual reproduction transfer of male gametes is an essential event.
In angiosperms a special process known as pollination ensures the transfer of pollen grains which carry the pollen grains to the stigma.
Pollen grains represent the male gametophytes.
They are generally spherical in shape measuring about 25-50 micrometer.
It has a prominent two layered wall known as:
1. Hard outer layer- Excine
2. Inner wall – Intine
When they gets matured, it contains two cells:
1. Vegetative cell: It is bigger and has abundant food reserves with irregularly shaped nuclei.
2. Generative cell: It is small and floats in the cytoplasm of vegetative cell.
As we move from kingdom Thallophyta to angiosperms, there is a reduction in the gametophytic generation; they become more and more dependent on sporophyte.
In each of the plant groups that succeeded bryophytes, the gametophyte became less and less prominent.
So, in angiosperms like Lilium, the male gametophyte is highly reduced and is only a 3 -celled structure.

So, the correct option is option A. Lilium.

Note: Pollen grains are rich in nutrients, so that’s why pollen tablets are used as food supplements.
In some countries, a large number of pollen products in the form of tablets and syrups are available in the market.
Pollen consumption increases the performance of athletes and race horses.