A typical angiosperm ovary contains 50 ovules. How many total meiotic and mitotic divisions are required to form mature female gametophytes in all of these ovules, starting from their respective megaspore mother cells?

Step-by-step solution

In a typical angiosperm ovule, a single Megaspore Mother Cell (MMC) differentiates in the nucellus. Each MMC undergoes 1 meiotic division to produce 4 megaspores. Three degenerate, leaving 1 functional megaspore. Thus, exactly 1 meiotic division is required per ovule to obtain the starting cell for the female gametophyte. The functional megaspore then undergoes 3 sequential mitotic divisions to form a mature female gametophyte (embryo sac). For an ovary with 50 ovules, the total number of divisions required will be