Question

Gametophyte and sporophyte are independent of each other in which of the following groups?

A. Pteridophytes

B. Angiosperms

C. Gymnosperms

D. Bryophytes

Answer 1

Hint: Plants are classified into some categories like bryophyte, pteridophyta, etc. in order to make the study of different kinds of plant easier.

Complete answer:

(I) Gametophyte: Gametophyte is one of the important phases of the life cycle in plants.

- The gametophyte is the haploid sexual phase of the plant life cycle.

- In the gametophyte phase, haploid male and female organisms develop and produce eggs and sperms through simple mitosis for sexual reproduction. 

(II) Sporophyte: The sporophyte is the diploid multicellular stage of the life cycle of plants. 

- Sporophyte develops from the zygote produced by the fusion of haploid male gamete and haploid female gamete. 

- It is the non-sexual phase of the plant life cycle.

This gametophyte is formed by the germination of each spore, which is known as prothallus. Because gametophytes are formed in the soil, they are both free and autotrophic. The major sporophytic plant and prothallus have no relationship. The fertilisation process in pteridophytes is called zooidogamy, and the zygote is created as a result of fertilisation. The zygote grows into an embryo. This embryo now matures into a sporophytic plant with roots, stems, and leaves.

The diploid sporophyte is represented by a dominant, independent, photosynthetic vascular plants (Bryophytes and pteridophytes) which alternates with multicellular, sporophytic, independent but short-lived haploid gametophyte, Such a pattern is known as haplo-diplontic life cycle. 

All pteridophytes exhibit this pattern.

Hence, option A. Pteridophytes is the right answer.

Note: The gametophyte stage of plant life cycle is haploid and denoted by ‘n’. And the sporophyte stage of the plant life cycle is diploid and is represented by ‘2n’.