FERTILIZATION

HORTICULTURE

MANISHA KUMARI
FACULTY ASSOCIATE
USHA MARTIN UNIVERSITY
 SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
 Fusionof male and female gametes to form a
zygote which develops into an embryo is
known as sexual reproduction
 Flower
 A flower usually contains sepals, petals, stamens and/or
pistil.
 A flower containing both stamen and pistil is a perfect
or hermaphrodite flower.
 If flower contains stamens but mo pistil is known as
staminate flower and flower containing pistil but no
stamens is known as pistillate flower.
 In crop plants, meiotic division of specific cells in
stamen and pistil yields microspores and megaspores
respectively. This is followed by the mitotic division of
the spore nuclei to produce gametes.
 Sporogenesis
 Production of microspores and megaspores is known as
sporogenesis. Microspores are produced in anthers
(microsporogenesis), while megaspores are produced in ovules
(megasporogenesis).
 Microsporogenesis – Each anther has four pollen sacs, which
contains numerous pollen mother cells (PMCs). Each PMC
undergoes meiosis to produce four haploid cells or microspores, this
is known as microsporogenesis. The microspores mature into pollen
grains mainly by thickening of their walls.
 Megasporogenesis – Megasporogenesis occurs in ovules , which are
present inside the ovary. A single cell in each ovule differentiates into
a megaspore mother cell, which undergoes meiosis to produce four
haploid megaspores. Three of the megaspores degenerate leaving one
functional megaspore per ovule.
 Gametogenesis
The production of male and female gametes in the microspores and
megaspores respectively is known as gametogenesis.
 Microgametogenesis – This refers to the production of male
gametes. During maturation of pollen , the microspore nucleus
divides mitotically to produce generative and a vegetative or tube
nucleus. Pollen is generally released in binucleate stage. When
pollen lands onto stigma of a flower, it is known as pollination.
Shortly after pollination, the pollen germinates and pollen tube enters
the stigma and grows through the style. The generative nucleus now
undergoes a mitotic division to produce two male gametes or sperms.
The pollen, along with the pollen tube , is known as
microgametophyte. The pollen tube finally enters the ovule through a
small pore, micropyle, and discharges the two sperms into the
embryo sac.
 Contd…
 Megagametogenesis – The nucleus of a functional megaspore
divides mitotically to produce four or more nuclei. In most of the
crop plants, megaspore nucleus undergoes three mitotic divisions to
produce eight nuclei. Three of these nuclei move to one pole and
produce a central egg cell and two synergid cells situated on either
side of the egg cell. Another three nuclei migrate to the opposite pole
to give rise to antipodal cells. The two nuclei remaining in the centre,
the polar nuclei, fuse to form a secondary nucleus. The megaspore
thus develops into a mature megagametophyte or embryo sac. The
development of an embryo sac from a megaspore is known as
megagametogenesis. An embryo sac generally contains one egg cell ,
two synergids, three antipodal cells (all haploid), and one diploid
secondary nucleus.
 FERTILIZATION
 The fusion of male and female gamete is called
fertilization.
 First of all, fertilization discovered by Strasburger
(1884) in Monotrapa plant.
 This process is completed in the following steps :-
1. Germination of pollen grains
2. Entry of pollen tube into ovule
3. Entry of pollen tube into embryosac
4. Fusion of gametes
 A. Germination of pollen grains
 After pollination, pollen grains germinate on the stigma.
They absorb moisture and sugar contents from stigma and
swell up. The intine of pollen grain grows out through any
one germinal pore of exine, in the form of tube like growth
called pollen tube. When the pollen tube comes down from
the stigma into the style first of all vegetative nucleus enter
into the pollen tube and then it is followed by generative
cell. The vegetative nucleus controls the growth of pollen
tube. In the same time, the generative cell divides
mitotically to form two male gametes. Both of the male
gametes are non motile.
 B. Entry of pollen tube into ovule
 Finally, the pollen tube enters into the ovary at that
time, ovule becomes mature. There are three paths
for the entry of pollen tube into the ovule.
1. Porogamy – In this the pollen tube enters into
the ovule through the micropyle (most
common).
2. Chalazogamy - In this the pollen tube enters into
the ovule through the chalaza.
3. Mesogamy - In this the pollen tube enters into
the ovule either through integuments or
funiculus.
 C. Entry of the pollen tube into
embryo sac
 Pollen tube can enter into the ovule through any passage but inside
embryo sac, it enter only through the egg apparatus. After the
entrance inside the ovule, it grows towards the egg apparatus because
synergid cells secrete the chemical which attracts the growth of
pollen tube.
 Any one synergid starts degenerating when the pollen tube comes
near egg apparatus. The pollen tube enters into the embryo sac
through the degenerating synergids.
 When tip of the pollen tube enters into the embryo sac vegetative
nucleus degenerates. The tip of the pollen tube swells and burst after
reaching inside the embryosac. The pollen tube released all contents
including both male gametes inside the degenerating synergids of
embryosac.
 D. Fusion of Gametes
 Before or after the entrance of pollen tube into the embryosac,
both polar nuclei and central cell fuse together to form a diploid
nucleus. It is known as secondary nucleus.
 Out of the two, one male gamete fertilized with egg cell and to
form a diploid zygote. This fusion is known as syngamy.
 The second male gamete fused with diploid secondary nucleus
which is formed by the fusion of two polar nuclei. This fusion is
known as triple fusion resulting a triploid structure formed
known as primary endosperm nucleus.
 Fertilization takes place twice at a time is called double
fertilization.
 A zygote formed by the true fertilization develops into embryo
and Primary endosperm nucleus develops into endosperm.