Chapter 22, Problem 2CT

Summary Introduction

To explain: The reason behind the recessive mutation would be more likely to persist in a plant with a sporophyte-dominated life cycle, such as a fern, than in a moss.

Introduction: The plants are multicellular, photosynthetic eukaryotes on land. They are close to green algae, as they have cellulosic cell walls, chloroplasts, and store starch. They have alternation of generations, that is, a haploid generation (gametophyte) alternates with a diploid generation (sporophyte). Double fertilization is the process of formation of a zygote and the endosperm in flowering plants. It occurs when a pollen tube releases two sperm cells in the ovule. One sperm cell fuses with the egg cell to form an embryo and the other sperm cell fuses with two polar bodies to form an endosperm.