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BIOLOGY

1. Seeds can be non-albuminous or albuminous, with albuminous seeds retaining some endosperm and non-albuminous seeds consuming all the endosperm during embryo development. 2. As ovules mature into seeds, the ovary develops into a fruit. True fruits develop only from the ovary, while false fruits also incorporate the thalamus. 3. Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that produces seeds without fertilization, mimicking sexual reproduction. In some species, the egg cell develops into an embryo without meiosis or fertilization.

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70 views

BIOLOGY

1. Seeds can be non-albuminous or albuminous, with albuminous seeds retaining some endosperm and non-albuminous seeds consuming all the endosperm during embryo development. 2. As ovules mature into seeds, the ovary develops into a fruit. True fruits develop only from the ovary, while false fruits also incorporate the thalamus. 3. Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that produces seeds without fertilization, mimicking sexual reproduction. In some species, the egg cell develops into an embryo without meiosis or fertilization.

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Ravindra
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BIOLOGY 12

TYPES OF SEED- In angiosperms, the seed is the final product of sexual


reproduction. It is often described as a fertilised ovule. Seeds are formed inside
fruits.
A seed typically consists of seed coat(s), cotyledon(s) and an embryo axis. The
cotyledons of the embryo are simple structures, generally thick and swollen due
to storage of food reserves (as in legumes).

Mature seeds may be non-albuminous or albuminous. Non-albuminous seeds


have no residual endosperm as it is completely consumed during embryo
development (e.g., pea, groundnut).
Albuminous seeds retain a part of endosperm as it is not completely used up
during embryo development (e.g., wheat, maize,

barley, castor,

sunflower).
Occasionally, in some seeds such as black pepper and beet,

remnants of nucellus are also persistent. This residual, persistent nucellus is the
perisperm.
Integuments of ovules harden as tough protective seed coats
The micropyle remains as a small pore in the seed coat. This facilitates entry of
oxygen and water into the seed during germination. As the seed matures, its
water content is reduced and seeds become relatively dry (10-15 per cent
moisture by mass).
The general metabolic activity of the embryo slows down. The embryo may
enter a state of inactivity called dormancy, or if favourable conditions are
available (adequate moisture, oxygen and suitable temperature), they germinate.
As ovules mature into seeds, the ovary develops into a fruit, i.e., the adequate
moisture, oxygen and suitable temperature), they germinate.
FRUITS-The wall of the ovary develops into the wall of fruit called pericarp.
The fruits may be fleshy as in guava, orange, mango,

or may be dry, as in groundnut, and mustard

Many fruits have evolved mechanisms for dispersal of seeds.


Most fruits however develop only from the ovary and are called true fruits.
However, in a few species such as apple, strawberry, cashew,
the thalamus also contributes to fruit formation. Such fruits are called false
fruits
Although in most of the species, fruits are the results of fertilisation, there are a
few species in which fruits develop without fertilisation. Such fruits are called
parthenocarpic fruits. Banana is one such example.

Parthenocarpy can be induced through the application of growth hormones and


such fruits are seedless.
SEED FUNCTION-Seeds offer several advantages to angiosperms. Firstly,
since reproductive processes such as pollination and fertilisation are
independent of water, seed formation is more dependable. Also seeds have
better adaptive strategies for dispersal to new habitats and help the species to
colonise in other areas. As they have sufficient food reserves, young seedlings
are nourished until they are capable of photosynthesis on their own. The hard
seed coat provides protection to the young embryo. Being products of sexual
reproduction, they generate new genetic combinations leading to variations.
Seed is the basis of our agriculture. Dehydration and dormancy of mature seeds
are crucial for storage of seeds which can be used as food through out the year
and also to raise crop in the next season. This period again varies greatly. In a
few species the seeds lose viability within a few months. Seeds of a large
number of species live for several years. Some seeds can remain alive for
hundreds of years. There are several records of very old yet viable seeds. The
oldest is that of a lupine, Lupinus arcticus excavated from Arctic Tundra. The
seed germinated and flowered after an estimated record of 10,000 years of
dormancy. A recent record of 2000 years old viable seed is of the date palm,
Phoenix dactylifera discovered during the archeological excavation at King
Herod’s palace near the Dead Sea
APOMIXIS AND POLYEMBRYONY -Although seeds, in general are the
products of fertilisation, a few flowering plants such as some species of
Asteraceae and grasses, have evolved a special mechanism, to produce seeds
without fertilisation, called apomixis. Thus, apomixis is a form of asexual
reproduction that mimics sexual reproduction.
There are several ways of development of apomictic seeds. In some species, the
several ways of development of apomictic seeds. In some species, the diploid
egg cell is formed without reduction division and develops into the embryo
without fertilisation.
Apomixis produces seed progeny that are exact replicas of the mother plant.
● Apomixis is important for producing hybrid varieties of fruits and vegetables,
and also for increasing crop yield multifold
More often, as in many Citrus and Mango varieties some of the nucellar cells
surrounding the embryo sac start dividing, protrude into the embryo sac and
develop into the embryos. In such species each ovule contains many embryos,
referred as polyembryony.
apomixis does not lead to seed formation. Polyembryony is the process in which
the fertilization of single egg leads to the formation of two or more embryos.
The difference between apomixis and polyembryony is that the apomixis does
not involve fertilization while polyembryony is the result of fertilization
Cultivation of hybrids has tremendously increased productivity. One of the
problems of hybrids is that hybrid seeds have to be produced every year. If the
seeds collected from hybrids are sown, the plants in the progeny will segregate
and do not maintain hybrid characters. Production of hybrid seeds is costly and
hence the cost of hybrid seeds become too expensive for the farmers.
If these hybrids are made into apomicts, there is no segregation of characters in
the hybrid progeny. Then the farmers can keep on using the hybrid seeds to
raise new crop year after year and he does not have to buy hybrid seeds every
year. Because of the importance of apomixis in hybrid seed industry, active
research is going on in many laboratories around the world to understand the
genetics of apomixis and to transfer apomictic genes into hybrid varieties.
The major advantage of apomixis over sexual reproduction is the possibility to
select individuals with desirable gene combinations and to propagate them as
clones. Apomixis might increase farmers' access to hybrids, but not their control
of them. Second and perhaps more important in the long run, apomixis would
allow farmers to fix the genetic characteristics of any of their individual crop
plants, by crossing them with an apomictic line
QUESTIONS OF WORKSHEET 12
Q1 .The phenomenon observed in some plants wherein parts of the sexual
apparatus is used for forming embryos without fertilisation is called:
Q2In case of polyembryony an embryo A develops from the synergids and the
embryo B develops from the nucellus. State the ploidy of embryo A and B
Q3. Can an unfertilised, apomictic embryo sac give rise to a diploid embryo? If
yes, then how?
Q4 Why do you think the zygote is dormant for sometime in a fertilized ovule?
Q5. Why is apple called a false fruit? Which part(s) of the flower forms the
fruit?
Q6 If one can induce parthenocarpy through the application of growth
substances, which fruits would you select to induce parthenocarpy and why?
Q7.Identify A,B,C,D in the given diagram

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