BIOLOGY 1210 Week 9

◼ Study Units
◼ Introduction to Reproduction
◼ Reproduction in Plants
◼ Plant Development & Hormones

Lab
◼ Flowers & Fruit

◼ Plant Growth
Introduction to Development - Objectives
1. Distinguish between asexual and sexual
reproductions. Describe methods of asexual
reproduction with examples of organisms using
each.

2. Describe the relevance of mitosis and meiosis in

asexual and sexual reproduction.
Asexual vs Sexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction:
◼ involves cell division and growth of new
individuals without the fusion of gametes
(egg and sperm).
◼ parent and offspring are clones – genetically
identical.

Sexual reproduction:
◼ involves cell division and growth of new
individuals following fertilization (the fusion
of gametes).
◼ parents and offspring are genetically diverse.
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Asexual
Versus Sexual Reproduction (1 of 2)

◼ Asexual reproduction can be beneficial to successful

organisms in stable environment.

◼ However, a clone of organisms is vulnerable to local

extinction if there is an environmental change.
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Asexual
Versus Sexual Reproduction (2 of 2)

◼ Sexual reproduction generates genetic variation

that makes evolutionary adaptation possible.

◼ Some flowers can self-fertilize to ensure every ovule will

develop into a seed.
◼ Therefore, sexual reproduction may involve just one parent,
although it usually involves two different organisms.
 Asexual reproduction methods
◼ Fragmentation (aspen, potatoes,
earthworms, sponges).
◼ Parthenogenesis (animals: Western
whiptail lizards) or apomixis (plants:
dandelions).
◼ Budding (Hydra).
◼ Fission (sea anemone).
 Mechanism of Asexual Reproduction -
Fragmentation
◼ Fragmentation, separation of a parent into parts that develop into
whole organisms is a very common type of asexual reproduction.

◼ In some species, a parent plant’s root system gives rise to adventitious

shoots that become separate shoot systems.

Figure 38.13 Asexual reproduction in aspen trees.

◼ Fragmentation is breaking of the body into pieces,
which develop into adults.
◼ This must be accompanied by regeneration,

regrowth of lost body parts.

 Mechanisms of Asexual Reproduction -
Budding

◼ Budding is a simple form of

asexual reproduction found
only among invertebrates.

◼ New individuals arise from

outgrowths of existing ones.

◼ Example - Hydra.

Figure 13.2 Asexual reproduction in Hydra

 Mechanisms of Asexual Reproduction - Fission
◼ Many invertebrates reproduce asexually by fission, separation of a
parent into two or more individuals of about the same size.

◼ Figure 46.2 Asexual reproduction of a sea anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima).

◼ Parthenogenesis is the development of a new
individual from an unfertilized egg.
◼ Mainly observed in invertebrates, and rarely in

vertebrates (e.g., Western whiptail lizard).

 Parthenogenesis
◼ Parthogenesis is the development of an
egg without fertilization by a sperm. It
occurs in many animals and some
plants (apomixis).

◼ Asexual whiptail lizards of Aspidoscelisis

uniparens is exclusively asexual and all
female species.

◼ However during the breeding season

they exhibit mating behaviour due to
sex hormones correlated with the cycle
of ovulation.

Figure 46.5 Sexual behaviour in

parthenogenetic lizards.
Asexual reproduction - apomixis

In apomixis, seeds develop without fusion of egg and sperm. A

diploid cell in the ovule develops into an embryo. e.g., dandelion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOABCH51KnQ
Asexual vs Sexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction usually only involves

mitosis resulting in clones with limited variation.

Sexual reproduction involves meiosis and

fertilization providing large amounts of variation.
A Comparison of Mitosis and Meiosis
in Diploid Cells
Figure 13.10 A comparison of mitosis and meiosis in diploid cells.
Sources of genetic variation in
meiosis
◼ Independent assortment of
chromosomes – metaphase, meiosis I.
◼ Crossing over – prophase, meiosis I.
◼ Randomness of fertilization.
 The Variety of Sexual Life Cycles

◼ Gametes are the only animal

haploid cell.

◼ Produced by meiosis (undergoes

no further cell division before
fertilization).

◼ Gametes fuse forming diploid

zygote, divide by mitosis resulting
in multicellular organism.

Figure 13.6a Animals

 Plants Sexual Life Cycle

◼ A gametophyte makes haploid gametes

by mitosis.

◼ Fertilization of gametes results in a

diploid sporophyte.

◼ Sporophyte makes haploid spores by

meiosis.

◼ (Spores are reproductive cells that do

not fuse with another cell and divide by
mitosis to become the gametophyte).

Figure 13.6b Plants and some algae

 Reproduction in Plants - Objectives

1. Describe the events and stages in the life cycles of

seedless plants.

2. Describe the reproductive adaptations in seed

plants.

3. Describe sexual reproduction in flowering

plants.
 The life cycle of a moss

Figure 29.8 The life cycle of a moss.

 The life cycle of a fern

Figure 29.13 The life cycle of a fern.

 Seed plants
◼ Seed plants originated about 360 million years ago.

◼ A seed consists of:

◼ an embryo
◼ nutrients
◼ a protective coat.

◼ Seeds can disperse over long distances by wind or

other means (animals, water).
 Concept 30.1: Seeds and pollen grains
are key adaptations for life on land

◼ In addition to seeds, the following are common to all

seed plants:
◼ Reduced gametophytes

◼ Heterospory

◼ Ovules

◼ Pollen
 Advantages of Reduced
Gametophytes
◼ The gametophytes of seed plants develop within the
walls of spores that are retained within tissues of parent
sporophyte.
Gametophyte-sporophyte relationships
in different plant groups

Figure 30.2 Gametophyte-sporophyte relationships in different plant groups.

Pollen and Production of Sperm
◼ Microspores develop into pollen
grains, which contain male
gametophytes.

◼ Pollination is transfer of pollen to

part of a seed plant containing
ovules.

◼ Pollen eliminates need for a film of

water and can be dispersed great
distances by air or animals.

◼ If a pollen grain germinates, it gives

rise to a pollen tube that discharges
sperm into female gametophyte
within ovule.
Characteristics of Flowering Plants (Angiosperms)
◼ Angiosperms have two key adaptations
◼ Flowers

◼ Fruits

◼ The flower is a structure specialized for sexual

reproduction.

◼ Many species are pollinated by insects or animals, while

some are wind-pollinated.
Flowers
◼ A flower is a specialized shoot with up to four types of
modified leaves:
◼ Sepals, which enclose the flower.
◼ Petals, which are typically brightly coloured and attract
pollinators.
◼ Stamens, which produce pollen.
◼ Carpels, which produce ovules.
The structure of a flower
◼ A stamen consists of stalk (filament), with an anther where pollen
is produced.
◼ A carpel consists of an ovary at the base and a style leading up to
a stigma, where pollen is received.

Figure 30.8 The structure of an idealized flower.

 The Life Cycle of an Angiosperm

Figure 30.12 The life cycle of an angiosperm.

The Angiosperm Life Cycle

◼ A pollen grain that lands on a stigma germinates and the pollen

tube of the male gametophyte grows down to the ovary.

◼ The ovule is entered by a pore called the micropyle.

◼ Double fertilization occurs when pollen tube discharges two

sperm into the female gametophyte within an ovule.
◼ One sperm cell fertilizes the ovum to produce a zygote (2n).
◼ The other sperm cell fertilizes two nuclei in the female gametophyte to become
the endosperm (3n).
◼ The triploid endosperm nourishes the developing embryo.
The Angiosperm Life Cycle
◼ One sperm fertilizes egg, forming a zygote which becomes the
embryo, while the other combines with two nuclei in the
central cell of the female gametophyte and initiates
development of food-storing endosperm.

◼ Within a seed, the embryo consists of a root and two seed

leaves called cotyledons.
Seed Development

◼ After double fertilization, each ovule develops into a

seed.

◼ The ovary develops into a fruit enclosing the seed(s).

◼ When a seed germinates, the embryo develops into a

new sporophyte.
 Fruits

◼ Various fruit adaptations help

disperse seeds.

◼ Seeds can be carried by

wind, water, or animals to
new locations.

Figure 30.11 Fruit adaptations that enhance seed dispersal.

 Seed structure

Figure 38.8a Seed structure.

Figure 38.8b Seed structure.

The Evolutionary Advantage of Seeds
◼ A seed develops from the whole ovule.

◼ A seed is a sporophyte embryo, along with its food

supply, packaged in a protective coat.

◼ Seeds provide some evolutionary advantages over

spores:
◼ They may remain dormant (for days to thousands of years), until
conditions are favourable for germination.
◼ Seeds have a supply of stored food.
◼ They may be transported long distances by wind or animals.
Plant Development & Hormones - Objectives

1. Explain the mechanisms of seed germination, growth,

morphogenesis and cell differentiation involved in the
development of plants.

2. Describe the experimental evidence that led to the discovery

that a hormone was the basis of phototropism in plants.

3. Describe the effects of hormones on plant growth,

development and physiology.

4. Explain photoperiodism in plants.

 Seeds, Dormancy & Germination

Seed: An embryo and its food Cotyledons

supply enclosed by a hard,
protective seed coat. Shoot
apex

• During the last stages of Root

maturation the seed apex Seed
coat
dehydrates.
o Mature seed is only about Endosperm

5–15% water.
• The seed enters a state of
dormancy.
• Seed dormancy increases chances that germination will
occur at a time and place most advantageous to seedling.

• Breaking of seed dormancy (germination) often requires

environmental cues, such as temperature, fires, smoke,
rainfall or lighting changes.

• Most seeds remain viable after a year or two of dormancy,

but some last only days, and others can remain viable for
centuries.
 Seed germination

Figure 38.9a Two common types

of seed germination. Eudicot.

Figure 38.9b Two common

types of seed germination.
Monocot,
• Germination depends on imbibition - uptake of water due to
low water potential of dry seed.

• Imbibing causes seed to expand and seat coat to rupture

o this triggers metabolic changes in the embryo, and growth
resumes.

• Radicle (embryonic root) emerges first – why?

• Next, shoot tip breaks through soil surface.

 Stages/events in plant development

1. Germination – the initiation of growth of a new plant from a seed.

2. Growth:

• Cells divide/reproduce by mitosis.

• Cells differentiate (become specialized).

3. Development - cells differentiate (become specialized).

4. Morphogenesis – differential growth and cell specialization results in

formation of specialized tissues and structures (e.g., roots, stems,
leaves).
 Plant Growth and Development

 Morphogenesis occurs
throughout the plant’s lifetime
and involves cell division and cell
wall expansion.
 Indeterminate growth.

 Plants grow by cell division in

discrete areas called meristems.
 root and shoot apical meristems
 apical meristems continuously
arise and develop into the various
plant organs
Figure 35.11a
 Plant development

◼ Cellular processes
responsible for plant growth
and development are:
o Cell division, followed by cell
elongation and differentiation

◼ Growth occurs just behind root

tip, in three zones of cells:
◼ Zone of cell division

◼ Zone of elongation

◼ Zone of differentiation, or

maturation

Figure 35.13 Primary growth of a root.

 Cell elongation:

o Plant cells grow rapidly by

intake and storage of water
in vacuoles.

o Plant cells expand primarily

along plant’s main axis.

o Orientation of cellulose
microfibrils in cell wall
restrict direction of cell
elongation.
Figure 35.31 The orientation of plant cell expansion.
 Cell differentiation:

 Cellular differentiation
depends on gene expression,
but is also determined by
position:
 positional information is
communicated through cell
interactions.
 Gene activation or
inactivation depends on cell-
to-cell communication.
Root hairs form depending on the number of
cortical cells the epidermal cell is touching
 Plant Hormones

◼ In general, hormones control plant growth and development by

affecting the division, elongation, and differentiation of cells.

◼ Hormones are chemical signals that modify or control one or more

specific physiological processes.
o Each hormone has multiple effects, but multiple hormones can influence a
single process.
◼ Plant responses depend on the amount and concentration of
specific hormones and often on the combination of hormones
that are present.

◼ Plant hormones include:

◼ Auxins

◼ Gibberellins

◼ Cytokinins

◼ Ethylene

◼ Abscisic acid
 Any response resulting in
curvature of organs toward or
away from a stimulus is called a
tropism.

 In the late 1800s, Charles Darwin

and his son Francis conducted
some of the earliest experiments
on phototropism, a plant’s
response to light.

 They designed an experiment to

determine what part of the Figure 39.5 Inquiry What part of a grass coleoptile senses light,
coleoptile senses light and how is the signal transmitted?

Conclusion: only the tip senses light

  In 1926, Frits Went extracted the chemical messenger for
phototropism: Auxin

◼ An auxin is any chemical that promotes

elongation of coleoptiles.

◼ Indoleacetic acid (IAA) is a common

auxin in plants.
◼ IAA plays a role in cell elongation.

◼ Auxin is produced in shoot tips and is

transported down the stem.

 The Role of Auxin in Cell Elongation

◼ According to the acid growth hypothesis, auxin

stimulates proton pumps in the plasma membrane.

◼ The proton pumps lower the pH of the cell wall,

activating expansins, enzymes that loosen the wall’s
fabric.
 Cell elongation in response to auxin:
the acid growth hypothesis

◼ With cellulose
loosened, the cell
can elongate.

◼ Auxin also alters

gene expression
and stimulates a
sustained growth
response.

Figure 39.7 Cell elongation in response to auxin: the acid growth hypothesis.
Other roles of auxins in plant development:

◼ Regulation of growth in branches.

◼ Auxin transport plays a role in the
arrangement of leaves on stems.
◼ Direction of leaf venation pattern.
◼ The activity of the vascular cambium is
under control of auxin transport.
Cytokinins
◼ Named because they stimulate cytokinesis (cell division).
◼ Produced in actively growing tissues such as roots, embryos,

and fruits.
◼

◼ Cytokinins work together with auxin to control cell division and

differentiation.
 Control of Apical Dominance

◼ Cytokinins, auxin (and

strigolactone) interact to
control of apical
dominance, a terminal
bud’s ability to suppress
development of axillary
buds.

◼ If terminal bud removed,

plants become bushier.

Figure 39.8 Effects on apical dominance of removing the apical bud.

 Control of Apical Dominance

◼ Auxin transported down from the

apical bud inhibits axillary bud
growth.
◼
◼ Cytokinins from the roots counter
the action of auxin by signaling
the axillary buds to begin
growing.

◼ The ratio of auxin and cytokinins

is critical in controlling axillary
bud inhibition.
Figure 39.8 Effects on apical dominance of removing the apical bud.
 Gibberellins

◼ Gibberellins have a variety of effects, such as stem

elongation, fruit growth, and seed germination.

◼ They are produced in young roots and leaves.

 Stem Elongation

◼ Gibberellins stimulate
growth of leaves and stems.

◼ In stems, they stimulate cell

elongation and cell division.

Figure 39.9a Effects of gibberellins on

stem elongation and fruit growth.
 Fruit Growth

◼ In many plants, both auxin and

gibberellins must be present for
fruit to develop.

◼ Gibberellins are sprayed on

Thompson seedless grapes to
stimulate fruit growth.

Figure 39.9b Effects of

gibberellins on stem elongation
and fruit growth.
 Germination
◼ After water is imbibed, release of gibberellins from the embryo
signals seeds to germinate.

Figure 39.10 Mobilization of nutrients by gibberellins during the germination of grain seeds such as
 Abscisic Acid (ABA) and
Seed Dormancy
◼ ABA slows growth.
◼ It often ABA antagonizes the

actions of the growth hormones

◼ Seed dormancy ensures that the

seed will germinate only in optimal
conditions.

◼ In some seeds, dormancy is broken

when ABA is removed by heavy
rain, light, or prolonged cold.

◼ Precocious (early) germination can

be caused by inactive or low levels
Figure 39.11 Precocious germination of wild-type mangrove
of ABA. and mutant maize seeds.
 Drought Tolerance and ABA

◼ ABA is the primary internal signal that enables

plants to withstand drought.

◼ ABA accumulation causes stomata to close

rapidly.
 Ethylene
◼ Plants produce ethylene in response
to stresses such as
◼ Drought, flooding, mechanical

pressure, injury, infection.

◼ Change in balance of auxin and

ethylene controls leaf abscission.

◼ Ethylene triggers ripening.

Figure 39.14 Abscission of a maple leaf.

◼ Ethylene induces triple response.

 The Triple Response to Mechanical
Stress

◼ Ethylene induces the

triple response, which
allows growing shoot to
avoid obstacles.

◼ The triple response

consists of:
◼ slowing of stem elongation
◼ thickening of the stem
◼ horizontal growth

Figure 39.12 The ethylene-induced triple response.

 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF PLANT HORMONES

Auxins Cell elongation, phototropism, gravitropism

Gibberellins Stem elongation, fruit growth, seed germination

Cytokinins Cell division, movement of nutrients

Ethylene Fruit ripening, abscission, triple response

Abscisic Acid Seed dormancy, drought tolerance

See Table 39.1 in Campbell

Photoperiodism and Responses to
Seasons

◼ Photoperiod, the relative lengths of night and day, is

the environmental stimulus plants use most often to
detect time of year.

◼ Photoperiodism is a physiological response to

photoperiod.

◼ Some developmental processes, especially flower

production, require a certain photoperiod.
 Short-day plants flower in early
spring or autumn.
Must have a light period shorter
than a critical length.

Long-day plants flower mainly in

summer.
Flower only if the light periods
are longer than a critical length.

◼ Figure 39.19 Photoperiodic control of flowering.

 Critical Night Length

◼ Short-day plants are

governed by whether the
critical night length sets a
minimum number of
hours of darkness.

◼ Long-day plants are

governed by whether the
critical night length sets a
maximum number of
hours of darkness.

Figure 39.19 Photoperiodic control of flowering.

BIOLOGY 1210 Week 9
◼ Study Units
◼ Introduction to Reproduction
◼ Reproduction in Plants
◼ Plant Development & Hormones

Lab
◼ Flowers & Fruit

◼ Plant Growth