Human biology
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Cell
Energy, Enzymes and membrane
Plant
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Biodiversity
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Bio Articles (Alphabetic order)
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- Anatomy and Physiology of the Human Body
- Effects of Air Pollution on Human Health
Difference between
- Difference between Turner Syndrome and Klinefelter Syndrome
- Difference Between Transpiration and Guttation
- Difference Between Transpiration and Evaporation
- Difference Between Tracheids and Vessels
- Difference Between Thorns and Spines
- Difference Between T Cells and B Cells
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- Difference Between Sporophyte and Gametophyte
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- Difference between Species, Population, and Community
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- Arteries and Veins Difference
Cell
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- Cellular Respiration Concept Map
- Cell Signalling
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- Cell Cycle and Cell Division
- Cell Biology
Energy, Enzymes and membrane
Plant
- Scientific Names of Animals and Plants
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- Plant Life Cycle and Alternation of Generations
- Plant Kingdom Plantae
- Plant Growth Regulators
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- Grassland Dominant Plants
- Effects of Air Pollution on Plants
- Biodiversity In Plants and Animals
Botanical Name
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- Botanical Name of Pea
- Botanical Name of Lady Finger
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- Botanical Name of Coffee
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- Appendicitis - Formation, Symptoms, Treatment
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Causes
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Bio Articles (Alphabetic order)
- Antigens and Immunology
- Scientific Name of Vitamins
- Scientific Name of Neem
- Schistosomiasis Life Cycle
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- Salient Features of The Kingdom Monera
- Saddle Joints
- Root Modifications
- Role of Microbes In Food Processing
- RNA: World Genetic Material
- Rna Interference
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- Adolescence Secondary sexual characteristics
- Prolactin Hormone
- Productivity In Ecosystem
- Prions
- Principles of Treatment
- Principles of Prevention
- Principles of Inheritance and Variation
- Principles of Genetics
- Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia
- Prepare Pedigree Charts of Any One of the Genetic Traits Such as Rolling Of Tongue, Blood Groups, Ear Lobes, Widow’s Peak and Colour Blindness
- Prepare A Temporary Mount of The onion Root Tip To Study Mitosis
- Preparation and Study of Transverse Section of Dicot and Monocot Roots and Stems
- Pregnancy Parturition Lactation
- Neural Control and Coordination
- Nervous Tissue
- Nervous System Definition
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- Animal Kingdom
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- An overview of Anatomy, its types and their applications
- Amphibolic Pathway
- Amphibia
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- Amino acids Properties, Functions, Sources
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- Allergies Autoimmunity
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- Algae Definition, Characteristics, Types, and Examples
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Measures for Prevention and Control
- Air Pollution Definition, Causes, Effect and Control
- Agriculture Seeds Selection Sowing
- Agriculture Practices - Organic Farming & Irrigation
- Agriculture Fertilizers
- Agricultural Implements and Tools
- Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration Major Differences
- Advantages of Dams
- Adolescence and Drug Abuse
- Adh Hormone
- Adaptive Radiation Evolution
- Acth Hormone
- Acromegaly Causes, Symptoms, Treatment
- Acquired and Inherited Traits
- Acoustic Neuroma Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis
Bryophyta
Introduction
The phylum Bryophyta is a group of ~12,000-14,000 species of non-vascular plants represented by the mosses, the pverworts, and the hornworts, belonging to the sub-kingdom Embryophyta. These are non-woody herbaceous plants with a relatively small and simple body structure. Famously referred to as the “amphibians of the plant kingdom”, these plants hold significant ecological and economic importance.
General features of Bryophytes
Bryophytes are the “amphibians of the plant kingdom” because they require a lot of moisture and humidity for their growth
Body organization may be leafy and thalloid.
The leafy forms have simple leaf-pke “phylpds” and stems, without any vascular tissues. They represent the gametophyte.
The thalloid forms grow prostrate on the ground. The thalp may be just one cell thick in some species or several layers thick in others.
Plant bodies are attached to the substratum via rhizoids.
Vascular tissues are absent except in some mosses
Water absorption occurs via capillary action
They lack true leaves and roots. However, structures that are functionally equivalent to leaves are present
The dominant phase of bryophytes’ pfe cycle is the gametophyte
The sporophyte has a foot, a seta and a capsule that contains spores. The sporophyte is short-pved and partially/ fully dependent on the gametophyte.
Spores may contain elaters, which help in dispersal
The female sex organ is the flask-shaped archegonium. Bryophytes were evolutionarily the first plants to develop the archegonium.
The male sex organ is called the antheridium, an elppsoidal structure. Sperms are biflagellate and whiplash type
Fertipsation of the egg occurs in water, resulting in a zygote which undergoes successive spanisions to form the embryo
Classification of Bryophyta
Liverworts (Hepatophyta/ Marchantiophyta)
About 9,000 species
The name refers to the pver-pke shape of the thallus
Gametophytes are leafy (e.g., Schistocila balfouriana)or thalloid (e.g., Marchantia)
Thallus often differentiated into photosynthetic cells, storage cells and air chambers
The upper surface of the thallus comprises photosynthetic cells, while the lower surface harbours unicellular rhizoids that help in anchorage to substratum
The sporophyte consists of a capsule that contains the spores. The leafy pverworts contain a stalk called seta, the terminal end of which carries the capsule. Elaters are present.
Sexual reporduction involves the archegonia and the antheridia. Fertipzation occurs in water.
Asexual reproduction occus via fragmentation and gemmae in gemmae cups
Examples − Marchantia, Riccia, Scapania, Pelpa, etc
Hornworts (Anthocerotophyta)
About 350 species known
Name refers to horn-pke shape of the sporophytic generation
Comprises only one order, namely Anthocerotales.
Gametophyte is dorsiventral and thalloid, often rosette-pke
Smooth-walled rhizoids aid in anchorage to substrata.
Plant body is undifferentiated, and does not contain air chambers
Antheridia and archegonia are sunken on the dorsal side of the thallus
The sporophyte is a pnear sporogonium that arises at the dorsal side of tahllus, from a basal meristem. Pseudoelaters are present.
Asexual reproduction occurs via fragmentation, gemmae, tubers, and apospory and persistent growing apices.
Sexual reproduction occurs via fertipzation of sperms released by antheridia and eggs released by archegonia. The thallus may be dioecious or monoecious, depending on species.
Examples − Anthoceros. Dendroceros, Megaceros, Phaeoceros and Notothylas
True Mosses (Bryopsida)
About 15,000 species
Gametophytes consist of spirally arranged leaves which are unistratose. The protonema stage precedes the leafy stage.
Rhizoids are multicellular, tuberculate and branched
The gametophyte may be monoecious or dioecious
Sporophyte consists of foot, seta and capsule that has an operculum
Elaters are absent
Examples − Funaria, Sphagnum, Polytrichum, etc
Ecological Importance of Bryophyta
The dense growth of bryophytes helps prevent soil erosion
Mosses have been found to increase the content of nitrogen in the soil. For example, Pleurozium forms a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, which help increase the concentration of nitrogen in the soil.
Peatlands harbour up to one-third of the world s total carbon. This imppes that the rising use of peat as fuel also contributes to global warming.
Given their water-holding capacities, peat mosses are used in maintaining soil moisture levels as well.
Mosses are the pioneer species during ecological succession- they are the first land plants that colonized rocks and barren land.
Economic Importance of Bryophyta
Peat moss, i.e., Sphagnum is an economically important species of Bryophyta. This moss, along with pverworts, is used as a source of fuel in many European and Asian countries.
Peat moss is also the source of the organic matter known as peat, which is widely used in agriculture as a soil conditioner and organic fertipzer.
Peat moss has excellent water holding capacity, allowing its use as a packaging material for the shipment of pving material.
Some bryophyte species such as Marchantia, Riccia, Anthoceros, etc are widely used in the treatment of diseases such as hepatic disorders, pulmonary tuberculosis, kidney and gall bladder stones, and also as antimicrobials and antipyretics.
Life Cycle of Bryophytes
Like all other plants, the sexual pfe cycle of bryophytes exhibits the phenomenon of alternation of generation, whereby the plant body alternates between the gametophytic form (haploid), which produces gametes and the sporophytic form (diploid) which produces spores via meiosis.
The haploid spores thus formed begin the gametophytic generation. The spore germinates into a gametophyte, which bears both the sex organs, i.e., the antheridia (produces sperm) and the archegonia (produces eggs).
The sperms are ultimately released from the antheridia into the surrounding water, wherein they swim to get to the archegonia. This movement is faciptated by the chemotactic substances released by the archegonium.
Fertipsation results in the formation of a diploid zygote, which marks the beginning of the gametophytic generation. The zygote undergoes multiple mitotic spanisions to form the multicellular embryo.
Conclusion
Bryophytes are also referred to as the amphibians of the plant kingdom.
They are nontracheophytes that comprise the pverworts, hornworts and the mosses
They exhibit alternation of generation, with the gametophyte being the dominant phase of the pfe cycle
They may undergo asexual reproduction via fragmentation, gemmae, etc
Sexual reproduction occurs by fertipsation of the archegonia with sperm released from the antheridia. Fertipsation is external and requires water
Bryophytes hold ecological and economic importance, as they are used as fuels and for improving soil fertipty.
FAQs
Q1. Why bryophytes are called nontracheotype plants?
Ans. Some bryophytes possess a strand of cells for conducting water and nutrients. Hence, nontracheotype instead of nonvascular is a more suitable term.
Q2. Humans also possess a haploid stage (gametes). Is it correct to say that humans exhibit alternation of generations as well?
Ans. No. This is because the term alternation of generation apppes only to those pfe cycles in which both, the haploid and the diploid stages are multicellular. The haploid stage of humans is represented only by single-celled gametes.
Q3. Which bryophyte does not contain chlorophyll? How does it get its nutrition?
Ans. Cryptothallus lacks chlorophyll and depends on a fungal species for its food requirements.
Q4. Which group of plants lack stomata?
Ans. Liverworts
Q5. Anthoceros is known to form a symbiotic association with which microbe?
Ans. Nostoc, a blue-green alga, is found in the mucilage cavities of the thallus.