Amerita

PLANT DIVERSITY I
(NON- VASCULAR AND SEEDLESS VASCULAR PLANTS)
Name: Matthias Aliby Date: 10/10/2023
ID#: 816043308
Lab#: 4
Title: Plant diversity (Non-vascular and seedless vascular Plants)
Aims:
1. To identify and name major structure and processes in the moss life cycle
2. Identify the gametophyte structure of liverworts
3. Identify the sporophyte structure of club mosses
4. Identify and name the major structure and process in the fern life cycle
5. Identify adaptive features of liverworts, mosses, club mosses and fern to life on land
6. Describe heterospory and homospory
Introduction:
Green algae, which were the first organisms to colonize the earth, were related to the first land plants.
These green algae were comparable to the multicellular, branching green alga Chara that exists today.
These land plant's algal ancestors had to overcome additional obstacles in their physical environment,
including desiccation, gravitational forces, and changes in substrate and temperature. Early terrestrial
plants evolved because only individuals with particular adaptation traits to these new obstacles lived and
reproduced. The diversity of plant groups currently found on land is the product of these early plants'
continuous evolution. Land plants typically have complex multicellular structures with specialized cells,
tissues, and organs for a range of tasks.
The life cycle of land plants alternates between generations and is haplodiplontic (a single double
being). This means that an earth-based plant must go through two different, multicellular adult
generations in order to complete the life cycle: a diploid sporophyte generation (a plant that produces
spores) and a haploid gametophyte generation (a plant that produces gametes). A haploid organism has
one set of chromosomes in each of its cells, whereas a diploid organism has two sets. In land plants, the
gametes are larger, non-motile egg and small sperm.
Through means of meiosis, the diploid sporophyte creates haploid spores. The spores evolve into
multicellular haploid gametophytes once they germinate. The haploid (sex) gametes are produced by the
gametophytes. A diploid cell-containing zygote is produced when a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell. The
zygote multiplies and splits, creating the subsequent sporophyte generations.
Haploid refers to a cell or organism that has half the number of homologous chromosomes
seen in a somatic cell. It describes the cells of an organism having only one set of chromosomes.
Only the egg and sperm cells in humans are haploid.
Diploid refers to a cell or nucleus that has the full number of homologous chromosomes seen
in a somatic cell. It describes the cells of an organism having both sets of chromosomes or the
full number of chromosomes.
Bryophyte, a former name for any nonvascular seedless plant, including mosses
(Bryophyta), hornworts (Anthocerotophyta), and liverworts (Marchantiophyta). Despite the fact
that most bryophytes lack extensive tissue organization, they exhibit a wide range in form and
ecology. They are found all over the world and are relatively small in comparison to most seed-
bearing plants.
Evolution is the change in a species' features over numerous generations. It is a fundamental
biological theory that explains how life on Earth has evolved into millions of different species.
The theory of evolution holds that all species are connected and change gradually through time.
Natural selection preserves and multiplies those genotype variants (the whole complex of
genes inherited from both parents) that boost an organism's chances of survival and procreation
from generation to generation at the expense of less favourable variations. Natural selection can
occur as a result of variations in survival, fertility, development rate, mating success, or any other
component of the life cycle. Natural selection mitigates the disorganizing impacts of these
processes by increasing the frequency of favorable mutations across generations and eliminating
harmful ones because their carriers leave few or no descendants. Natural selection mitigates the
disorganizing impacts of these processes by increasing the frequency of favorable mutations
across generations and eliminating harmful ones because their carriers leave few or no
descendants. Natural selection helps to preserve a group of organisms that are best adapted to
their environment's physical and biological conditions, and it may also result in their
improvement in some cases.
Hepatophyta (sporophyte) can produce haploid spores. Given that these spores cannot fuse
together like gametes, they form a new organism, the gametophyte. The gametophyte remains
haploid, but it develops into a multicellular organism. The gametophyte can create gametes,
which are similar to spores in that they do not directly mature into a brand-new organism.
Instead, gametes fuse to generate a new cell, the zygote. The zygote, now a diploid creature,
develops into a multicellular organism. It grows unique organs that can undergo meiosis, a sort
of cell division that decreases the amount of DNA. Again, the spores produced by this procedure
are haploid. This indicates they only have one copy of DNA. They are released into the
environment, and the cycle can begin again. Sporophytes and gametophytes have distinct
appearances and forms, albeit this is not always the case. The sporophyte and gametophyte types
of liverworts are quite different.
Microphyllophyta /Lycophyte, a class of more than 1,200 species of spore-bearing vascular
plants are known to exist. The club mosses (Lycopodiales), quillworts and their relatives
(Isoetales), and spike mosses (Selaginellales) are the three lycophyte orders recognized. This
system is based on the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I (PPG I) system, which was published in
2016. Lycophytes are found all across the world, although they are especially abundant in the
tropics. Many of the old lycophytes, such as Lepidodendron, were treelike plants that could reach
heights of 30 meters (100 feet). The living genera are all small herbaceous plants, some of which
are erect and others which are low creepers. Regardless of size or geologic age, all have similar
group characteristics. Branches are generally dichotomous, which means that the shoot tip forks
repeatedly. The two branches that result may be the same length or different lengths. The leaves
are normally tiny, yet they can grow to be one metre (three feet) long in the massive
Lepidodendron. In contrast to the leaves of ferns and seed plants, which have branched venation,
each leaf, or microphyll, is normally thin and has an unbranched midvein. Sporangia are spore
cases. Lycophytes, like other vascular plants, alternate between a small, sex-cell-producing phase
(gametophyte) and a conspicuous, spore-producing phase (sporophyte). Members of one of the
most important living families, Lycopodiaceae, are homosporous (have only one type of spore).
Depending on the genus, they have terrestrial or subterranean gametophytes that vary in size and
morphology.
Pteridophytes are types of vascular plants without seeds or blooms. So it also goes by the
name of Cryptogams. Horsetails and ferns are among them. In fact, because they exhibit vascular
tissue, xylem, and phloem, they can be regarded as the earliest terrestrial vascular plants. These
plants are typically found in wet, shaded areas. Moreover, ferns are primarily produced as
aesthetic plants. Differentiation is shown by pteridophytes. True roots, stems, and leaves make
up the body of the plant. Here, the predominant plant structure is a saprophyte. This section
contains some species with tiny leaves known as microphylls. Take Selaginella, for instance.
Some pteridophytes have huge leaves called megaphylls. fern plants, for instance. Sporangia are
carried by the primary plant. These have what are referred to as sporophylls, which resemble
leaves. A few species, including Selaginella and Equisetum, produce cone- or strobili-shaped
structures from their sporophylls. Pteridophytes exhibit real generational alternation. The main
sporophyte here generates spores via meiosis. Mitosis is the process through which gametes are
formed during the gametophyte genesis. The sporangia in the spore mother cells create the
spores. These spores germinate and produce gametophytes. These gametophytes are
multicellular, free-living, and photosynthetic. They are known as prothallus. Because of their
reliance on water, gametophytes prefer wet and chilly environments to thrive. As a result, the
spread of pteridophytes is restricted to specific geographical locations.
In plants and certain algae, a gametophyte is the sexual phase (or an individual representing
the phase) in the alternation of generations—a phenomena in which two separate phases occur in
the organism's life cycle, one spawning the other. The sporophyte is the nonsexual phase. Male
and female organs (gametangia) mature and generate eggs and sperm (gametes) through simple
mitosis during the gametophyte phase, which is haploid (has a single pair of chromosomes).
After fertilization, the zygote develops into the diploid (two sets of chromosomes) sporophyte
phase, which generates unicellular spores by meiosis. These, in turn, give rise to a new
gametophyte stage. The type and relative extent of the two phases varied substantially between
plant and algal groupings. The gametophyte stage has been gradually shortened throughout
evolution. Thus, in more primitive (nonvascular) plants (bryophytes), the gametophyte stage is
dominant, whereas in higher (i.e., vascular) plants, the sporophyte stage is dominant. The
dominant phase of algae is frequently determined by environmental conditions, while certain
species have determinate life cycles.
Mitosis occurs in plant cells and is the process by which a plant cell divides and produces
two identical duplicates of itself, known as daughter cells. Mitosis is the process through which
plant cells divide and repair tissues. Mitosis occurs in plant cells when the nucleus and cytoplasm
divide, resulting in the production of two identical daughter cells. When new plants are formed
from existing plant components, such as leaf, stem, or root fragments, reproduction is asexual,
and the only sort of cell division that has occurred is mitosis. During the maturity stage, the
diploid sporophyte matures, it generates spores by meiosis, which divide via mitosis to produce
the haploid gametophyte. The cycle is completed when the new gametophyte produces gametes.
This is called generational alternation, and it is common in plant reproduction.
Meiosis is a specialized division of chromosomes that happens during the production of
sexually reproducing organisms' reproductive cells, or gametes. During meiosis, the normal
number of chromosomes in the cell is decreased by half, and each gamete receives a copy of one
chromosome from each pair. Gametes such as ova, sperm, and pollen begin as germ cells, which
have two copies of each gene in their nuclei, just like other types of cells. Meiosis happens in the
flower, the plant's reproductive organ. Meiosis happens in male floral parts during
microsporogenesis, which is the development of microspores or pollen grains from pollen mother
cells. Meiosis occurs in female floral parts during megasporogenesis, which is the development
of megaspores or egg cells from megaspore mother cells.
Comparison Table

Selaginella Lycopodium

Stem Yes yes

Roots Yes yes

Leaves Yes Yes

Strobilus aggreged Yes yes

Type of spore heterosporous Homosporous

Branching system Dichotomous Dichotomous

Leaves arrangement Dimorphic in four ranks Spirals

Classification
Division: Hepatophyta Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Hepatopsida Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Marchantiales Order: Polypodiales
Genus: Marchantia Genus: Polypodium

Division: Bryophyta Division: Pteridophyta

Class: Bryopsida Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polytrichales Order: Hymenophyllales
Genus: Pogonatum Genus: Trichomones

Division: Lycophyta Division: Pteridophyta

Class: Lycopodiopsida Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Lycopodiales Order: Schizaeales
Genus: Lycopodium Genus: Lygodium

Division: Lycophyta Division: Pteridophyta

Class: Sellaginellopsoda Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Selaginellales Order: Blechnales
Order: Selaginella Genus: Bleachum