CHAPTER- 2

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN FLOWERING PLANTS

STRUCTURE OF FLOWER:

A typical angiospermic flower consists

of four whorls attached on the
receptacle:

(i) Calyx: It is the outermost whorl of

the flower. It is composed of leaf like
green sepals.

Function: Provide protection to flower

in bud stage.

(ii) Corolla: This is the second whorl of

the flower and consists of a number of
petals. Petals are generally brightly
coloured.

Function: To attract insects for

pollination

(iii) Androecium: It is the third whorl of flower and is the male reproductive organ
consisting of stamens. Each stamen is made of filament and anther. The filament supports
anther at its tip.

(iv) Gynoecium: This is the last and the fourth whorl of flower and is the female
reproductive organ of the flower. It occupies the central position on the receptacle and
composed of ovary, style and stigma and the component
parts are called carpels.

PRE FERTILISATION: STRUCTURES AND

EVENTS

STRUCTURE OF STAMEN:
It consists of two parts:

 Long and Slender stalk called filament

 A terminal, bilobed structure called anther.

 A typical Anther is bilobed with each lobe having

a theca, that is they are dithecous
 Each anther contains 4 microsporangia (pollen sacs), that is, two in each lobe where
pollen grain formation takes place.

STRUCTURE OF MICROSPORANGIUM:
 A microsporangium has four wall layers:
1. The outermost is the single layer of epidermis.
2. The second layer is endothecium.
3. Middle layers of 1-3 layers of cells.
4. Tapetum, the innermost layer.
 Function:
 Epidermis , endothecium and middle layers provides protection.
 Tapetum nourishes the developing microspores or pollen grains

 Sporogenous tissue: When the anther is young, a group of compactly arranged

homogenous cells called the sporogenous tissue present in the centre of each
microsporangium

MICROSPOROGENESIS

 The process of formation of haploid microspores from a diploid pollen mother cell
through meiosis is called microsporogenesis.
 As anther matures, cells of sporogenous tissue called pollen mother cells, PMC(2n)
undergoes meiosis and form four haploid microspores
 Microspores remains arranged in tetrads called microspore tetrad.
 As the anther matures, microspores lose moisture and dissociate from the tetrad and
develop into pollen grains.
 Pollen grains release from microsporangia upon dehiscence of anther.

STRUCTURE OF POLLEN GRAIN

 Pollen grain is the male

gametophyte.
 Pollen grains have the
following characteristic
features:
  Mature pollen grain comprises of two layers.
 Exine: It is Outer hard layer made up of one of the most resistant organic material
sporopollenin
 Sporopollenin enables pollen grains to resist high temperatures and action of
strong acids and alkali.
 Due to sporopollenin, they are well preserved as fossils.
 Germ spores: At some points on exine, sporopollenin is absent which are called
germ pores.
 Function of germ pores: Formation of pollen tube when pollen grain germinates
on stigma.
 Intine: Inner thin, continuous layer made up of cellulose and pectin.

 A mature pollen grain contains two cells.

(a) Vegetative cell or tube cell: Large in size and
possess vacuolated cytoplasm which is rich in reserve
food, i.e. starch, protein, fat and cell organelles. The
nucleus is large and irregular.
Function: Stores food and helps in pollen tube
formation.
(b) Generative cell: Smaller with thin dense
cytoplasm and prominent nuclei.
Function: It divides by mitosis to form two non-
motile male gametes.

DEVELOPMENT OF POLLEN GRAIN:

Pre-pollination development:
 Microspores start germinating in situ (i.e. while
enclosed inside the microsporangium or pollen sac)
and are called precocious.
 Microspore nucleus divides by mitosis to form a
smaller generative cell and a larger vegetative cell (or
tube cell).
 In about 60% of angiosperms, pollen grains are shed at 2-celled stage.
 In about 40% flowering plants, the generative cell divides mitotically to give rise to
the two male gametes before pollen grains are shed at 3-celled stage.
Post-pollination development:
 The liberated pollen grains are transferred to the receptive surface of the carpel (i.e.,
stigma) by the process called pollination.
 On the stigma, the pollen grain absorbs water and swells within a few minutes.
 The vegetative (or tube) cell enlarges and comes out through one of the apertures in
the form of a pollen tube.
 The wall of pollen tube is the extension of intine. The tube secretes exogenous
pectinases and other hydrolytic enzymes to create a passage for its entry.
 The vegetative and generative nuclei are carried by the pollen tube, the former lying
at its tip.
 The generative cell divides to form two non-motile male gametes.
 The tube nucleus has no important function and may disintegrate.

POLLEN ALLERGIES: Pollen grains of many species cause severe allergies and
bronchial afflictions in some people.
POLLEN GRAINS AS SUPPLEMENTS: Pollen grains are rich in nutrients, thus
pollen tablets are used as food supplements.
Pollen consumption has known to increase the performance of athletes and race
horses
POLLEN VIABILITY: It is highly variable and also depends on the temperature and
humidity.
CRYOPRESERVATION: Method to store pollen grains for years in liquid nitrogen
at -196 degree Celsius temperature in pollen banks.