Question

10. What is the relationship between the fern sporophyte and the fern gametophyte during the early development of the sporophyte (approximately two weeks)?

Answer 1

In vascular plants, the sporophyte generation is dominant. In seedless vascular plants such as ferns, the sporophyte releases spores from the undersides of leaves. Sporophytes are diploid plants that use meiosis to produce spores. These spores are haploid cells that grow into haploid gametophytes The spores develop into tiny, separate gametophytes, from which the next generation of sporophyte plants grows by fertilization of gametes produced in the gametophyte generation. Gametophytes are tiny, heart-shaped and only live for a few days. As the sporophyte grows, the prothallus to which it is attached eventually decays. Thus during initial days sporophyte is supplied by nutrients from the gametophyte.