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Diagram showing the alternation of generations between a diploid sporophyte (bottom) and a haploid gametophyte (top) A sporophyte (/ ˈ s p ɔːr. ə ˌ f aɪ t /) is the diploid multicellular stage in the life cycle of a plant or alga which produces asexual spores. This stage alternates with a multicellular haploid gametophyte phase.
The 'alternation of generations' in the life cycle is thus between a diploid (2n) generation of multicellular sporophytes and a haploid (n) generation of multicellular gametophytes. [17] Gametophyte of the fern Onoclea sensibilis (flat thallus, bottom) with a descendant sporophyte beginning to grow from it (small frond, top)
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers.They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissues that conduct water and nutrients, and in having life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase.
In this life cycle, there is an alternation between two different forms (gametophytes and sporophytes) that are alternately sexual and asexual. The alternation of generations in ferns can be generalized in five steps: [3] Gametophytes produce haploid gametes via mitosis; Two gametes unite (one from another plant) and form a diploid zygote
In most ferns, for example, in the leptosporangiate fern Dryopteris, the gametophyte is a photosynthetic free living autotrophic organism called a prothallus that produces gametes and maintains the sporophyte during its early multicellular development.
Prothallus of the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica (note new moss plants for scale) Spore-bearing plants , like all plants, go through a life-cycle of alternation of generations . The fully grown sporophyte , what is commonly referred to as the fern , produces genetically unique spores in the sori by meiosis .
Some liverworts, such as Marchantia, have a cuticle, and the sporophytes of mosses have both cuticles and stomata, which were important in the evolution of land plants. [ 3 ] All land plants have a life cycle with an alternation of generations between a diploid sporophyte and a haploid gametophyte , but in all non-vascular land plants, the ...
Ferns produce large diploid sporophytes with rhizomes, roots and leaves. Fertile leaves produce sporangia that contain haploid spores. The spores are released and germinate to produce small, thin gametophytes that are typically heart shaped and green in color.