Gametogenesis in Plants

Edexcel AS-level BiologyMeiosis and Sexual ReproductionLesson 19 of 28

In flowering plants gametes are made inside the flower. The male gametes form inside pollen grains made in the anthers, and the female gamete (the egg cell) forms inside the embryo sac of each ovule, in the ovary.

The key difference from animals is the order of cell division. In animals, meiosis produces the gametes directly. In flowering plants:
• diploid mother cells divide by meiosis to produce haploid cells (spores);
• these haploid cells then divide by mitosis to produce the nuclei, including the gametes.

Because the cells are already haploid before this mitosis, all the nuclei produced are haploid and genetically identical to the spore they came from.

More in Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction

• Spermatogenesis
• Oogenesis
• The Male Gamete
• The Female Gamete
• Formation of Pollen
• Formation of Plant Egg Cells
• Pollination
• Internal Fertilisation

All 28 lessons in Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics