THE PLANT

GROUPS
THE ARCHEGONIATE
PLANTS
For 2 Year Students
nd

Department of Biology
College of Sciences
 1 lecture
st

ARCHEGONIATE PLANTS
An introduction

Dr. Basheer Ali Basheer

Retired professor
College of Sciences-University of Mosul
Archegoniate Plants:
are very widely varied individuals of plant
kingdom having archegonia.

The name of this group has been derive from the

name of a reproductive organ known as
archegonium (singular)
and archegonia (plural).
Archegonium: from Greek arkhegonos = original parent.
Is a multicellular organ, often flask-shaped, producing and
containing the ovum or female gamete occurring in
mosses, ferns, and most gymnosperms .
 GENERAL CHARACTERS OF
ARCHEGONIATAE PLANTS

1-It includes both living and fossil plants.

2-The presence of a female (♀) sexual organ called
archegonium in all members of the group.
3-The presence of a male (♂) sexual organ called
antheridium in all members of the group.
4-The members of these, group–under normal
conditions, have a regular alternation of hetero-
morphic generations throughout their life cycles.
 :Archegonium
is a flask – shaped organ that consists of two main parts:
1. A basic swollen fertile part known as venter that includes two
unequal cells;
Larger fertile cell (egg) and a smaller elongated sterile cell
(venter canal cell)
2. An upper elongated slender part known as neck that usually
contains a row of cells (4-6) known as neck canal cells.

A sterile wall formed of one or more layers of cells that extend to

cover the neck and venter protects the whole structure. This
archegonia may be stalked or sessile and its tip is usually cover by
four special cells known as cover cells
Antheridium:
Is a stalked club– shaped structure
consists of spermatogenous tissue
that develops into several cubic
sperm–mother cells. These cells
produce slightly twisted sperms
that may be bi-flagellated or multi-
flagellated.

After being release from the antheridium, they swim

in water and are attracted to the opened channel of
archegonial neck (this phenomenon known as
chemo taxis) for fertilization of the egg cell.
 Life cycle and
alternation of generations
There is a regular alternation between the
gamete–producing generation or gametophyte
and the spore-producing generation or
sporophyte. The male gametes or Antherozoids
swim in water searching for female gametes or
egg cells where they are non- motile and borne
singly in the venter of the archegonium.
Life cycle and alternation of generations

At maturity of archegonium and shortly before

fertilization, the neck-canal cells and venter
canal cells degenerate usually from top to
downwards forming a mucilaginous mass which
imbibes water and swells causing separation of
cover cells from one another by breaking the
middle lamella of these cells. Thus narrow
passage (the neck canal) is formed from the apex
of the archegonium to the egg.
Life cycle and alternation of generations

The fusion between the two gametes results in the

formation of a zygote (2n) where its nucleus contains
double the number of chromosomes present in the
nucleus of both antherzoid and egg. The zygote
develops directly by mitotic divisions into the
sporophyte, which is also diploid (2n). Finally, and after
meiosis, a number of non-motile spores are produce
from the sporophyte. The spores germinate to give rise
to haploid gametophytes.
 The spores in archegoniate plants

may be of similar size

or different sizes.
 In the first case the plant is known as
“homosporous”
 In the second case the plant is known
as “heterosporous”
 The spores in archegoniate plants
In Heterosporous type:
The larger spore (megaspore or macrospore) gives rise to
female gametophyte.
The smaller one (microspore) gives rise to male
gametophyte.
Accordingly, there are two patterns of life cycles
1) Homosporous life cycle found in all Bryophyta
and a part of Pteridophyta.
2) Heterosporous life cycle found in a part of
Pteridophytes and all Gymnospermae.
Homosporous life cycle
Heterosporous life cycle
 Which plant groups
comprise
The Archegoniate plants?
They are comprised from
the following groups
 Common name Division
I- Non Vascular plants
Mosses 1- Division Bryophyta
Liverworts 2- Division Marchantiophyta
Hornworts 3- Division Anthocerotophyta
II- Seedless Vascular plants
Whisk ferns 1- Division Psilophyta
Club mosses 2- Division Lycopodophyta
Horestails 3- Division Equisetophyta
Ferns 4- Division Pteridophyta
III- Seed Vascular plants
Conifers or Pines 1- Division Pinophyta
Cycads 2- Division Cycadophyta
Ginkgo 3- Division Ginkgophyta
Gnetae 4- Division Gnetophyta
 Archegoniate plants belong to
subkingdom Embryophyta
One of the Classification systems classify Kingdom Plantae to
I- Subkingdom Thallophyta:
Comprises bacteria, actinomycetes, myxomycetes, fungi, algae, and
lichens.
The body of Thallophytes, the thallus, is not divided into a root, stem,
and leaf; multicellular reproductive organs are absent.
II- Subkingdom Embryophyta:
Comprises hornworts, liverworts, mosses, ferns and their allies,
gymnosperms and flowering plants. All are complex multicellular
eukaryotes with specialized reproductive organs.
The name derives from their characters of nurturing the young
embryo during the early stages of its development within the tissues
of the parent gametophyte.
 What is the advantage of being Embryophyte?
When the zygote undergoes meiosis (as in most algae), only four
spores can be produced, while Delaying meiosis, which results in
the production of a multicellular body through mitotic divisions,
offers the opportunity for more cells to divide meiotically, each
meiotic division resulting in four spores. Hence, more spores are
produced per zygote, and more spores are dispersed per sexual
reproductive event. As more spores are produced, the number of
newly established gametophytes is likely to rise. In organisms
with unisexual gametophytes, higher population densities may
reduce the distance between male and female plants and thereby
favors sexual reproduction.
GOOD LUCK