The Evolution of Seed Plants and Adaptations for LandThe evolution of seeds allowed plants to reproduce independently of water; pollen allows them to disperse their gametes great distances. Show
Learning Objectives Recognize the significance of seed plant evolution Key TakeawaysKey Points
Key Terms
Evolution of Seed PlantsThe lush palms on tropical shorelines do not depend upon water for the dispersal of their pollen, fertilization, or the survival of the zygote, unlike mosses, liverworts, and ferns of the terrain. Seed plants, such as palms, have broken free from the need to rely on water for their reproductive needs. They play an integral role in all aspects of life on the planet, shaping the physical terrain, influencing the climate, and maintaining life as we know it. For millennia, human societies have depended upon seed plants for nutrition and medicinal compounds; and more recently, for industrial by-products, such as timber and paper, dyes, and textiles. Palms provide materials including rattans, oils, and dates. Wheat is grown to feed both human and animal populations. The fruit of the cotton boll flower is harvested as a boll, with its fibers transformed into clothing or pulp for paper. The showy opium poppy is valued both as an ornamental flower and as a source of potent opiate compounds.  Seed plants dominate the landscape: Seed plants dominate the landscape and play an integral role in human societies. (a) Palm trees grow along the shoreline; (b) wheat is a crop grown in most of the world; (c) the flower of the cotton plant produces fibers that are woven into fabric; (d) the potent alkaloids of the beautiful opium poppy have influenced human life both as a medicinal remedy and as a dangerously-addictive drug. Seeds and Pollen as an Evolutionary Adaptation to Dry Land Unlike bryophyte and fern spores (which are haploid cells dependent on moisture for rapid development of gametophytes ), seeds contain a diploid embryo that will germinate into a sporophyte. Storage tissue to sustain growth and a protective coat give seeds their superior evolutionary advantage. Several layers of hardened tissue prevent desiccation, freeing reproduction from the need for a constant supply of water. Furthermore, seeds remain in a state of dormancy induced by
desiccation and the hormone abscisic acid until conditions for growth become favorable. Whether blown by the wind, floating on water, or carried away by animals, seeds are scattered in an expanding geographic range, thus avoiding competition with the parent plant. Fossilized pollen grains: This fossilized pollen is from a Buckbean fen core found in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The pollen is magnified 1,054 times. Evolution of GymnospermsSeed ferns gave rise to the gymnosperms during the Devonian Period, allowing them to adapt to dry conditions. Learning Objectives Explain how and why gymnosperms became the dominant plant group during the Permian period Key TakeawaysKey Points
Key Terms
Evolution of GymnospermsSeed ferns: This fossilized leaf is from Glossopteris, a seed fern that thrived during the Permian age (290–240 million years ago). The fossil plant Elkinsia polymorpha, a "seed fern" from the Devonian period (about 400 million years ago) is considered the earliest seed plant known to date. Seed ferns produced their seeds along their branches without specialized structures. What makes them the first true seed plants is that they developed structures called cupules to enclose and protect the ovule (the female gametophyte and associated tissues) which develops into a seed upon fertilization. Seed plants resembling modern tree ferns became more numerous and diverse in the coal swamps of the Carboniferous period. This appears to have been the result of a whole genome duplication event around 319 million years ago. Gymnosperms of the taiga: This boreal forest (taiga) has low-lying plants and conifer trees, as these plants are better suited to the colder, dryer conditions. Fossil records indicate the first gymnosperms (progymnosperms) most likely originated in the Paleozoic era, during the middle Devonian period about 390 million years ago. Following the wet Mississippian and Pennsylvanian periods, which were dominated by giant fern trees, the Permian period
was dry. This gave a reproductive edge to seed plants, which are better adapted to survive dry spells. The Ginkgoales, a group of gymnosperms with only one surviving species, the Gingko biloba, were the first gymnosperms to appear during the lower Jurassic. Gymnosperms expanded in the Mesozoic era (about 240 million years ago), supplanting ferns in the landscape, and reaching their greatest diversity during this time. It has been suggested that during the mid-Mesozoic era, pollination of some
extinct groups of gymnosperms was performed by extinct species of scorpionflies that had a specialized proboscis for feeding on pollination drops. The scorpionflies probably engaged in pollination mutualisms with gymnosperms, long before the similar and independent coevolution of nectar-feeding insects on angiosperms. Evolution of AngiospermsAngiosperms, which evolved in the Cretaceous period, are a diverse group of plants which protect their seeds within an ovary called a fruit. Learning Objectives Discuss the evolution and adaptations of angiosperms Key TakeawaysKey Points
Key Terms
Evolution of AngiospermsUndisputed fossil records place the massive appearance and diversification of angiosperms in the middle to late Mesozoic era. Angiosperms ("seed in a vessel") produce a flower containing male and/or female reproductive structures. Fossil evidence indicates that flowering plants first appeared in the Lower Cretaceous, about 125 million years ago, and were rapidly diversifying by the Middle Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago. Earlier traces of angiosperms are scarce. Fossilized pollen recovered from Jurassic geological material has been attributed to angiosperms. A few early Cretaceous rocks show clear imprints of leaves resembling angiosperm leaves. By the mid-Cretaceous, a staggering number of diverse, flowering plants crowd the fossil record. The same geological period is also marked by the appearance of many modern groups of insects, including pollinating insects that played a key role in ecology and the evolution of flowering plants. Fossil evidence of angiosperms: This leaf imprint shows a Ficus speciosissima, an angiosperm that flourished during the Cretaceous period. A large number of pollinating insects also appeared during this same time. Although several
hypotheses have been offered to explain this sudden profusion and variety of flowering plants, none have garnered the consensus of paleobotanists (scientists who study ancient plants). New data in comparative genomics and paleobotany have, however, shed some light on the evolution of angiosperms. Rather than being derived from gymnosperms, angiosperms form a sister clade (a species and its descendents) that developed in parallel with the gymnosperms. The two innovative structures of flowers and
fruit represent an improved reproductive strategy that served to protect the embryo, while increasing genetic variability and range. Paleobotanists debate whether angiosperms evolved from small woody bushes, or were basal angiosperms related to tropical grasses. Both views draw support from cladistic studies. The so-called woody magnoliid hypothesis (which proposes that the early ancestors of angiosperms were shrubs) also offers molecular biological evidence. Flowers and Fruits as an Evolutionary AdaptationAngiosperms produce their gametes in separate organs, which are usually housed in a flower. Both fertilization and embryo development take place inside an anatomical structure that provides a stable system of sexual reproduction largely sheltered from environmental fluctuations. Flowering plants are the most diverse phylum on Earth after insects; flowers come in a bewildering array of sizes, shapes, colors, smells, and arrangements. Most flowers have a mutualistic pollinator, with the distinctive features of flowers reflecting the nature of the pollination agent. The relationship between pollinator and flower characteristics is one of the great examples of coevolution. Coevolution of flowers and pollinators: Many flowers have coevolved with particular pollinators, such that the flower is uniquely structured for the mouthparts of the pollinator. It often has features considered attractive to its particular pollinator. Following fertilization of the egg, the ovule grows into a seed. The surrounding tissues of the ovary thicken, developing into a fruit that will protect the seed and often ensure its dispersal over a wide geographic range. Not all fruits develop from an ovary; such structures are "false fruits." Like flowers, fruit can vary tremendously in appearance, size, smell, and taste. Tomatoes, walnut shells and avocados are all examples of fruit. As with pollen and
seeds, fruits also act as agents of dispersal. Some may be carried away by the wind. Many attract animals that will eat the fruit and pass the seeds through their digestive systems, then deposit the seeds in another location. Cockleburs are covered with stiff, hooked spines that can hook into fur (or clothing) and hitch a ride on an animal for long distances. The cockleburs that clung to the velvet trousers of an enterprising Swiss hiker, George de Mestral, inspired his invention of the loop and
hook fastener he named Velcro. Licenses and AttributionsCC licensed content, Shared previously
CC licensed content, Specific attribution
Why pollen is a good adaptation for land plants?The evolution of seeds allowed plants to reproduce independently of water; pollen allows them to disperse their gametes great distances.
How did pollen grains enhance the success of land plants?What role did the adaptations of seed and pollen play in the development and expansion of seed plants? Seeds and pollen allowed plants to reproduce in absence of water. This allowed them to expand their range onto dry land and to survive drought conditions.
How does pollen grains help in reproduction?Pollen is essential for sexual reproduction of flowering plants and plants that produce cones. Each pollen grain contains male gametes necessary for fertilisation. The scientific study of living and fossilised pollen grains is known as palynology. The male part of flowering plants is the stamen.
Why was the development of pollen such an important feature for plants?Gymnosperms possess several key evolutionary innovations compared to earlier groups such as the clubmosses and ferns. They produce sperm-containing pollen, which is carried through the air by the wind to the female. This innovation has freed these plants from the need for water for sexual reproduction.
|
Why pollen grains were an important adaptation for successful reproduction on land?
Urheberrechte © © 2024 defrojeostern Inc.
