Plant evolution and characteristics

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Questions and Answers

Which evolutionary advantage primarily facilitated plants' transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments?

  • Greater ease of gaseous exchange. (correct)
  • Diminished risk of desiccation.
  • Reduced exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
  • Increased competition for resources.

What primary challenge did plants face in adapting to terrestrial environments, necessitating evolutionary adaptations?

  • Difficulty in maintaining support. (correct)
  • Abundant nutrient supply.
  • Excessive water availability.
  • Decreased competition for sunlight.

How does the alternation of generations in plants uniquely contribute to their adaptability and survival in diverse environments?

  • By eliminating the need for water in fertilization.
  • By promoting rapid asexual reproduction.
  • Through varying the dominance of haploid and diploid phases. (correct)
  • By reducing genetic diversity within populations.

What evolutionary advantage do multicellular, dependent embryos confer upon plants, enhancing their survival rates?

<p>Increased protection and nutrient supply during early development. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the production of walled spores in sporangia contribute to the evolutionary success of plants in terrestrial environments?

<p>By providing protection against desiccation and UV radiation. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what way do multicellular gametangia represent a significant evolutionary innovation for plants adapting to land?

<p>They provide enhanced protection to developing gametes and embryos. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role do apical meristems play in enabling plants to colonize diverse terrestrial habitats effectively?

<p>Facilitating continuous growth and differentiation of tissues and organs. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Considering the evolutionary timeline, what key adaptation marks the divergence of vascular plants from their non-vascular ancestors?

<p>The evolution of lignin for structural support. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did the evolution of seeds represent a critical innovation, enabling plants to thrive in a broader range of terrestrial environments?

<p>By providing a protective coat and nutrient supply for the embryo. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What ecological role do algae play in aquatic ecosystems, that underscores their significance in the evolution of plants?

<p>Producers forming the base of the food web. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How might the absence of vascular tissues in bryophytes constrain their ecological distribution and physical structure?

<p>Inhibits their ability to transport water and nutrients efficiently. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What evolutionary pressure might have favored the development of desiccation-resistant spores in early terrestrial plants?

<p>Increased exposure to air and sunlight on land. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the dominance of the gametophyte generation in bryophytes influence their reproductive strategies and habitat preferences?

<p>It necessitates reliance on moist environments for sexual reproduction. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What selective advantage did the evolution of a sporophyte-dominant life cycle confer upon early vascular plants?

<p>Greater efficiency in capturing and utilizing sunlight. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Considering the evolutionary progression, how does the emergence of true leaves and roots in pteridophytes represent an advancement over bryophytes?

<p>Enhanced structural support and efficient resource acquisition. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what crucial way does the presence of xylem and phloem tissues in pteridophytes contribute to their ecological success compared to bryophytes?

<p>Enabling efficient long-distance transport of water, minerals, and sugars. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best explains the ecological significance of bryophytes in terrestrial ecosystems?

<p>Contributing to soil formation and nutrient cycling. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the process of alternation of generations in land plants differ significantly from that in their algal ancestors?

<p>Land plants evolved mechanisms to protect the developing embryo on the parent plant. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic of early streptophyte algae is considered most critical in their evolutionary transition to land plants?

<p>Retention of the egg within the parent organism, providing protection and nutrients. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What innovation allowed vascular plants to grow tall, outcompeting non-vascular plants for sunlight?

<p>Evolution of lignin-reinforced vascular tissues. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The success of seed plants in diverse terrestrial habitats depends largely on which adaptation?

<p>The protection of the embryo within a seed, providing nutrients and protection. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In comparing algae and land plants, what photosynthetic pigment is uniquely present in certain groups of algae, influencing their ability to absorb light at different depths?

<p>Phycobilins, found in red algae, allowing light capture in deeper waters. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did the transition of plants to land influence global biogeochemical cycles?

<p>By accelerating the weathering of rocks and soil formation. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which symbiotic relationship was crucial for the early colonization of land by plants by enhancing nutrient uptake?

<p>With mycorrhizal fungi, improving phosphate absorption. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the ecological role of sphagnum mosses contribute to carbon sequestration in boreal and arctic ecosystems?

<p>Inhibiting decomposition through acidic and anaerobic conditions. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What evolutionary constraint do flagellated sperm impose on the reproductive strategies of bryophytes and pteridophytes?

<p>Requiring a film of water for sperm to reach the egg. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which adaptation in seed plants has most directly contributed to their ability to colonize drier habitats?

<p>The evolution of pollen allowing fertilization without water. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How might the secondary compounds produced by plants have influenced the evolution of herbivorous insects?

<p>By driving directional selection for detoxification mechanisms in insects. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The evolution of plant height in vascular plants is a response to selection pressure, which of the following describes this pressure best?

<p>Increased access to sunlight. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the life cycle of land plants, what evolutionary advantage does the diploid sporophyte stage offer over the haploid gametophyte stage in terms of dealing with mutations?

<p>The diploid sporophyte stage can mask the effect of deleterious recessive mutations. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant abiotic challenge that drove the evolution of drought tolerance in plants?

<p>Limited water availability. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What alteration in the plant life cycle is a result of the heterosporous condition?

<p>The evolution of seeds containing the embryo and stored food within a protective coat. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role do specialized metabolic pathways play in enhancing the ecological adaptation of plants to diverse environments?

<p>Producing defensive compounds against herbivores and pathogens. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between climate change and the geographical distribution of plant species?

<p>Climate change forces plant species to migrate to suitable habitats or face extinction. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How might the loss of genetic diversity within plant species affect their ability to adapt to environmental changes caused by human activities?

<p>Decreased capacity to evolve resistance to new diseases or adapt to altered climates. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of plant-animal interactions in the coevolutionary history of terrestrial ecosystems?

<p>Herbivory and pollination have driven the evolution of plant defenses and pollination strategies. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the impact of land plants on Earth's climate?

<p>By performing photosynthesis, land plants serve as a carbon sink to decrease the amount of atmospheric CO2 and stabilize the weather. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Plant Origin

The hypothesis that plants evolved from algae.

Benefits of Land

Gaseous exchange, increased light, and richer soil nutrients.

Land Challenges

Drying out and physical support challenges.

Alternation of Generations

Process in plants where generations alternate between diploid sporophytes and haploid gametophytes.

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Multicellular Embryos

Plant embryos develop within and are dependent on the maternal tissue.

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Protected Spores

Spores protected by a wall produced in a sporangium.

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Multicellular Gametangia

Multicellular structures producing gametes.

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Apical Meristems

Localized regions of cell division in plants.

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Phytoplankton

Algae that are part of the plankton, the free floating organisms of the ocean.

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Phytobenthos

Algae that live on the bottom of the ocean.

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Bryophytes

These plants don't have vascular tissue, the gametophyte stage is the longest.

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Bryophyte Importance

They help put nitrogen into the soil.

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Bryophyte traits

Has rizoids, coloids, and philoids, lack true tissues.

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Pteridophytes

Need humidity for reproduction, first vascular plants.

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Xylem

Carry water around the plant.

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Phloem

These plants carry nutrients throughout the plant.

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Pteridophyte advantage

Taller in height, more rigid.

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Study Notes

Origin of Plants

  • It is believed that plants came from algae, which are multicellular, eukaryotic, and autotrophic.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Terrestrial Environment

  • Terrestrial environments offer advantages such as ease of gas exchange, greater light availability, and nutrient-rich soil.
  • The disadvantages are desiccation and difficulty of support.

Evolutionary Origin

  • The ancestral alga evolved into several groups of algae, including red algae, chlorophytes, and charophytes.
  • Charophytes and eventually embryophytes (plants) branched out.

Plant Characteristics

  • Plants have unique characteristics, including alternation of generations, multicellular dependent embryos, spores coated and produced in sporangium, multicellular gametangia, and apical meristems.

Alternation of Generations

  • The alternation of generations has five generalized steps.
  • The gametophyte produces haploid gametes by mitosis.
  • Two gametes join (fertilization) to form a diploid zygote.
  • The zygote develops into a multicellular diploid sporophyte.
  • The sporophyte produces unicellular haploid spores by meiosis.
  • The spores develop into multicellular haploid gametophytes.

Multicellular Dependent Embryos

  • Embryos obtain nutrients from the maternal tissue through placental transfer cells.

Sporangia

  • Plants' spores are coated and produced in sporangia

Gametangia

  • Plants have multicellular gametangia
  • Archegonia hold oospheres
  • Antheridia contain spermatozoids.

Apical Meristems

  • Apical meristems are found in the roots and stems of plants, driving growth.

Vegetal Evolution

  • Land plants originated about 470 million years ago (maa).
  • Vascular plants originated approximately 425 maa.
  • Seed plants originated around 305 maa

Algae

  • Algae can be either phytoplankton or phytobenthos.
  • They contain various pigments like chlorophyll, carotenoids, and phycobilins, each with different types and colors to absorb light for photosynthesis.

Plant Evolution

  • Land plants emerged from algae and developed adaptations such as protected embryos, vascular tissues, visible reproductive structures, and eventually flowers and fruits.

Bryophytes

  • Bryophytes are the first terrestrial plants with gametophyte as the dominant phase.
  • Bryophytes are dependent on moisture for reproduction.
  • They have economic importance, aiding in soil nitrogenation and atmospheric cooling.
  • They feature rhizoids, phyllodes, and cauloids.
  • The absence of vascular tissues limits their growth.

Bryophyte Reproduction

  • Haploid spores develop into filamentous protonema.
  • Protonema produce buds that divide by mitosis into gametophores.
  • Sperm must swim through a film of moisture to reach and fertilize the egg.
  • This produces a diploid zygote within the archegonium.
  • The sporophyte grows from the archegonium and remains nutritionally dependent on the gametophyte.
  • Meiosis occurs in the sporangium, releasing haploid spores.

Pteridophytes

  • They are the first vascular plants, with a dominant sporophyte phase.
  • They can grow taller and their advantages include vascular system for nutrient transport, leading to increased height.
  • This also allows for more efficient spore dispersal.
  • Water and minerals are transported via xylem which is composed of dead cells.
  • Food is transported via pholem which has living cells.
  • Epiphytes can grow on other plants.

Pteridophyte Life Cycle

  • The sporophyte releases spores, which develop into a bisexual photosynthetic gametophyte.
  • The gametophyte produces sperm in antheridia and eggs in archegonia.
  • A sperm fertilizes an egg, forming a zygote, which develops into a new sporophyte in the archegonium.
  • Sori—clusters of sporangia—release spores.

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