Faculty of biotechnology

HETEROSPROTY
AND EVOLUTION
OF SEED HABITAT
Submitted By : Mankiran kaur
Roll No : BSB/16/237
SEMESTER 1
Lecturer : DR. Sanjeev Kumar
( FACULTY OF PLANT SCIENCE)

Submission date: 30 sep 2016

INDEX
SNO.
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TOPIC

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HETEROSPORY
HISTORY OF SEED
HABIT
CONDITION FOR
EVOLUTION OF SEED

THE EARLIST SEED

LATE DEVONIAN SEED

LATE PERMIAN SEED

FERNS

SEED IN GYMNOSPERM

SEED IN ANGIOSPERM

HETROSPORY
A seed consists of an embryo, stored food and a seed
coat. The seed habit is the most complex and evolutionary successful
method of sexual reproduction. It is found in vascular pIants. Today,
seed plants, gymnosperms and angiosperms flowering plants are the
most diverse lineage within the vascular plants. Most of this diversity
in angiosperms occurred during Cretaceous time. The seed plants
have an adaptive advantage. They occur in a wide variety of habitats
and dominate todays flora. This evolutionary success is due to the
seed. It is one of the most dramatic innovations during land plant
evolution. The origin and evolution of the seed habit was started in
late Devonian times about 385 M.

HISTORY OF SEED HABITAT

a) The earliest seed plants, progymnosperms, emerged in the late
Devonian . Progymnoperm fossils show vegetative morphologies to
seed plants. But all proaymnosperms did not have seeds or seed-like
structures (ovules or ore-ovules). Archaeopteris spp. was the first
modern tree. But it produced spores rather than seeds. However, it
exhibited an advanced system of spore production called heterospory.
Heterosporous plants produce two sets of specialized spores:
megaspores (haploid female-like megaspores) and microspores
(haploid male-like microspores). Heterospory, has been evolved
independently in several lineages. It is believed to be a precursor to
seed reproduction. The progymnosperms are regarded as the ancestors
of the seed plants.
b) Fossils of seed-bearing seed ferns (Lyginopteridopsida) exhibit a
variety of seed and seed-like structures. The seed. might have
evolved once or several times during evolution.

Conditions for evolution of Seed

Three major evolutionary trends were important for the transition
from the seed ferns to the gymnosperms, from the spore to the
gymnosperm seed:
1. The evolution from homospory to beterospory. It is connected
with this from megasporangia with many spores to Megasporangia.
But it has just one functional megaspore.
2. The evolution of the integument. It is a maternal tissue that
protects the ovule. Ovule form the integument forms the seed coat.
3. The evolution of pollen-receiving structures. This includes
the transition to water-independence of the pollination/fertilization
process (water is required for fern fertilization)

The earliest seeds (Devonian seed ferns)

The oldest fossils of ovules or seeds are from the late Divonian (365
M). The earliest seed plants with seeds or seed-like structures
are Devonian seed ferns (Lyginopteridposida. Pteridosperms).
Several different types of preovules or preovule-like structures are
known. The oldest seed-bearing seed fem (Middle Devonian, 385 M)
had a small, radially symmetrical, integumented megasporangium. It
was surrounded by a cupule. The megasporangium bears an
unopened distal extension. It protruded out above the multilobed
integument. This extension was involved in wind pollination
(anemophily). In general, a seed is simply a mature ovule containing
an embryo.

An immature yule consists of a diploid megasporangium (nucellus).

It contains a singlet functional megaspore that develops into a haploid
megagametophyte. The megasporangium is surrounded by diploid
covering layers, the integuments (which evolve into the seed coat). An
integumentary opening at the apical end is important for pollination,
wind pollination in seed ferns. In modern gymnosperms, this opening
evolved into the micropyle.

Late Devonian seed

The Late Devonian and Early Carniferous seeds ferns are sometimes
collectively called Lyginopterids. These earliest seed-bearing seed
plants produced their preovules or ovules on dichotomously branched,
sterile structures called cupules. Cupules are cup-like structures that
partially enclose the ovule. In these early ovules the nucellus was
surrounded by integumentary tissue consisting. The integumentary
lobes curved inward at their tips. They form a ring around the apical
end. The integuments of the ovules evolved through gradual fusion of
the integumentary lobes. The integuments later evolved into the seed
coat. An opening that was left at the apicil end, evolved into
the mieropyle. In several cases a specializedlagenostome was used
for pollen capture. A lagenostome is a funnel-like structure of the
nucellus. It projects from the top of the megasporangium. It functions
as a trumpet-like pollen-trapping device. The important issue was that
pollination and/or fertilization became more water-independent during
evolution. It facilitated the diversification of seed plants from
Carboniferous through to the present day. So far, embryos have not
been found in Devonian seed fern fossils.

Late Permian seed ferns

Seed ferns with angiosperm-like features are known from the late
Permin (Paleozoic seed ferns) and early Triassic (Mesozoic seed
ferns). It has been proposed the leaf of this series becomes much
reduced in size. The seeds attached to the leaf of the plants in later
stages are subsequently much smaller. The morphological leaf
characters of gigantopterids are more similar to dicotyledonous
angiosperms than those of glossopterids. Among several other
possibilities, the glossopterids, gigantopterids, Caytoniales,
Pentoxylales and Bennettitales have been proposed as ancestors of the
angiosperms.

Seed in Gymnosperms
The gymnosperms have naked seeds, i.e. their ovules and seeds
(fertilized ovules) are exposed on the surface of sporophylls.
The megagametophyte (female gametophyte, n) develops from the
functional megaspore (n) within the nucellus (megasporangium,
2n). The megagametophyte of the gymnosperms is homologous to
the megaprothallium (n) of the ferns. It is sometimes called primary
endosperm (n). The megagametophyte of seed plants is retained and
nourished by the parent plant within the ovule.
Ovule = megagametophyte + megasporangium (nucellus) +
integument (seed coat). The megagametophytes of the gymnosperms
produce several archegonia (n) with egg cells (n). Fertilization by the
sperm from the pollen grain (microgametophyte, male
gametophye, n) often leads to the development of several embryos

(2n) within a single ovule. Polyembryony of gymnosperm seeds is a

known phenomenon. In most cases only one embryo survives.
Therefore relatively few fully developed gymnosperm seeds contain
more than one embryo.

Seed in Angiosperms
The:r ovules and seeds are enclosed inside the ovary. Ovary is the
base of a modified leaf and is calledcarpel. Another very important
difference to gymnosperms is the angiosperm double
fertilization. This leads to an additional novel tissue with maternal
protuberance, the triploid endosperm. In mature seeds of most
angiosperm species, the embryo is enclosed by endosperm tissue. In
addition, angiosperm seeds can be dispersed as fruits. The Triassic
and Jurassic age was dominated by gymnosperms. The first
angiosperms also evolved during at this time. The rapid rise and early
diversification of the angiosperms occurred during
the Cretaceous time.