NEETBotanyPlant Kingdom
Read the following statements regarding the male gametophyte in gymnosperms and choose the incorrect statement.
Options
- AThe male gametophytes are carried by water currents to the mouth of the archegonia.
- BIt develops from a microspore within the microsporangium.
- CIt is highly reduced and is confined to only a limited number of cells, called a pollen grain.
- DIt does not have an independent, free-living existence and remains retained within the sporangia.
Correct answer
A. The male gametophytes are carried by water currents to the mouth of the archegonia.
Step-by-step solution
In gymnosperms, the male and female gametophytes do not have an independent free-living existence. They remain within the sporangia retained on the sporophytes. The microspores develop into a highly reduced male gametophyte called a pollen grain. The development of pollen grains takes place within the microsporangia. Once released from the microsporangium, the pollen grains are carried by air currents, not water currents. They come in contact with the opening of the ovules borne on megasporophylls, where the pollen