To produce 100 typical mature embryo sacs in an angiosperm, what is the total number of meiotic divisions required in the ovules and the total number of mitotic divisions required in the functional megaspores, respectively?

Step-by-step solution

In typical angiosperms, the development of the embryo sac is monosporic. This means one Megaspore Mother Cell (MMC) undergoes one meiotic division to form four megaspores, out of which three degenerate and only one remains functional. Therefore, to produce 100 functional megaspores (and thus 100 embryo sacs), 100 meiotic divisions are required. Each functional megaspore then undergoes three sequential free-nuclear mitotic divisions to form an 8-nucleate, 7-celled mature embryo sac. For 100 functional megaspores, th