NEET2026BiologyChapterActual
Which of the following statements accurately describes the sporophyte stage in the life cycle of bryophytes?
Options
- AIt is free-living, independent, and represents the dominant phase of the life cycle.
- BIt is not free-living but attached to the photosynthetic gametophyte to derive nourishment.
- CIt is a haploid structure that produces gametes through the process of mitosis.
- DIt develops directly from the germination of a haploid spore in the soil.
Correct answer
B. It is not free-living but attached to the photosynthetic gametophyte to derive nourishment.
Step-by-step solution
In bryophytes, the main plant body is haploid and produces gametes, representing the gametophyte stage, which is the dominant, independent, and photosynthetic phase. The male and female gametes fuse to form a diploid zygote. The zygote develops into a multicellular body called a sporophyte. The sporophyte is not free-living. It remains attached to the photosynthetic gametophyte and derives its nourishment from it. Some cells of the sporophyte undergo reduction division (meiosis) to produce haploid spores, which ger