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However, not all heteromorphic gametophytes come from heterosporous plants. That is, some plants have distinct egg-producing and sperm-producing gametophytes, but these gametophytes develop from the same kind of spore inside the same sporangium; Sphaerocarpos is an example of such a plant. In seed plants, the microgametophyte is called pollen.
The main difference between spores and seeds as dispersal units is that spores are unicellular, the first cell of a gametophyte, while seeds contain within them a developing embryo (the multicellular sporophyte of the next generation), produced by the fusion of the male gamete of the pollen tube with the female gamete formed by the ...
Heterospory evolved due to natural selection that favoured an increase in propagule size compared with the smaller spores of homosporous plants. [2] Heterosporous plants, similar to anisosporic plants [clarification needed], produce two different sized spores in separate sporangia that develop into separate male and female gametophytes.
However, in ferns and their allies there are groups with undifferentiated spores but differentiated gametophytes. For example, the fern Ceratopteris thalictrioides has spores of only one kind, which vary continuously in size. Smaller spores tend to germinate into gametophytes which produce only sperm-producing antheridia. [28]
If the spores are deposited onto a suitable moist substrate they germinate to produce short, thin, free-living gametophytes called prothalli that are typically heart-shaped, small and green in color. The gametophytes produce both motile sperm in the antheridia and egg cells in separate archegonia. After rains or when dew deposits a film of ...
Gametophytes produce haploid sperm and eggs which fuse to form diploid zygotes that grow into sporophytes. Sporophytes produce haploid spores by meiosis , that grow into gametophytes. Bryophytes are gametophyte dominant, [ 11 ] meaning that the more prominent, longer-lived plant is the haploid gametophyte.
Microscopic photo of spores (in red) of Selaginella. The large three spores at the top are megaspores whereas the numerous smaller red spores at the bottom are microspores. Microspores are land plant spores that develop into male gametophytes, whereas megaspores develop into female gametophytes. [1]
In all seed plants, spores are produced by meiosis and develop into gametophytes while still inside the sporangium. The microspores become microgametophytes (pollen). The megaspores become megagametophytes (embryo sacs). [citation needed]