alleryStart learning →What is the function of the suspensor in a developing embryo?
AIt anchors the pollen tube to the ovule wall
BIt carries nutrition from the mother plant
CIt divides to form the two cotyledons
DIt protects the plumule from soil abrasion
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. It carries nutrition from the mother plant
1. After fertilisation the zygote divides into an upper terminal cell and a lower basal cell.
2. Division of the basal cell gives rise to the suspensor, which connects with the maternal tissue.
3. The suspensor provides a route for nutrition to be transported from the mother plant to the growing embryo.
4. The terminal cell takes the other path, dividing to give a globular proembryo.
5. Cotyledons appear later, giving the dicot embryo its heart shape.
6. Protection of the plumule during emergence is the job of the plumule hook, much later in the story.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 32 "Plant Reproduction", section 32.2 Pollination and Fertilization_
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