REPRODUCTION IN POLYSIPHONIA
Sexual reproduction is advanced oogamous type.
Polysiphona is dioceious.
The male sex organ is called spermatangium(pl. spermatangia) borne on the male plant
and the female ones are called carpogonia(sin. carpogonium) borne on the female
plant.
Ploysiphona doesn’t show any sexual dimorphism i.e. male and female plants are
morphologically alike.
SPERMATNGIUM
Borne on the short monosiphonous branches of the male gametophyte called male
trichoblasts
They borne in dense cluster and are closely packed forming a compact cone like
structure
The male trichoblast is consist of 2 basal cells forming the stalk which usually get forked
into 2 banches.
Both the branches may be fertile (P.lanosa) or one fertile and one sterile.
The sterile branch is repeatedly forked while the fertile one remain unbranched and
bear the spermatangia.
Development
The cells of fertile branch of the male trichobalst undergoes periclinal division
forming a encircling layer of pericentral cells and become polysiphonous
Now each pericentral cell divide anticlinally one or more times producing a
number of spermatangial mother cells which are arranged in a dense comapact
layer external to the central siphon
Each spermatangial mother cell now cuts off 2-4 spermatangia along its free
surface.
Each spermatangium is unicellular, spherical or oblong in shape and white or pale yellow
in colour
The protoplast content of each spermatangium metamorphosed into a single spherical
non-motile spermatium .
Spermatium is liberated through a narrow apical slit in the spermatangial wall.
CARPOGONIUM
Borne on the female trichoblast of the female gametophyte
They are flask shaped in structure consisting of a basal swollen portion which ends in a
long tubular trichogyne.
There is a single uninucleate spherical egg or ovum develop inside the basal swollen
portion and the trichogyne functions as receptive organ
Development
The female trichoblast is a reduced 5-7 celled filament, of which only the three
lowermost cell divide periclinally thereby forming a ensheathing layers of
pericentral cells. These are arranged in three tires one above another
Now one of the adaxial pricentral cell in middle tire act as supporting cell
This supporting cell now cuts off a small initial cell on its free surface called
procarp initial.
This procarp initial form divide and redivides to form a 4 celled filament, the
terminal cell of which get modified into the carpogonium while the three cell
below the carpogonium and the supporting cell (3+1) together constitute the 4
celled filament called the carpogonial branch or carpogonial filament or procarp
( supporting cell is actually the basal cell of the carpogonial branch).
Meanwhile the supporting cell cuts off two sterile initial cell one at the base
called basal sterile filament initial and other towards lateral side called the lateral
sterile filament initial
The lateral sterile filament initial divide again to form a 2 celled lateral sterile
filament.
FERTILIZATION
The liberated non-motile spermatia are carried passively by the water currents to the
vicinity of the carpogonia
As soon as they come in contact with the trichogyne of carpogonium, the wall at the
point of contact dissolves. The spermatia(male nucleus) enters the carpogonium moves
down to the base and fertilize the egg thereby a diploid zygote (2n) is formed.
POST FERTILIZATION CHANGES/EVENTS
After fertilization a number of changes takes place in the female gametophyte, are referred as
‘post fertilization changes’ which results into the development of carposporophytes
The changes are following-
The 2 celled lateral sterile filament become 4-10 celled and the basal sterile filament
initial divides to form a 2-celled basal sterile filament. These sterile filaments are
nutritive in function.
The supporting cell is now cuts off an auxiliary cell at its upper end, which lies at the
base of the carpogonium.
Soon after the auxilliary cell establishes a tubular connection termed ooblast, with the
base of the carpogonium.
The diploid nucleus occurring in the carpogonium divides mitotically and one of which
migrates into the auxiliary cell through ooblast.the own resident haploid nucleus of
auxiliary cell degenerates. At that time the capogonial branch along with the
carpogonium begins to shrivel/wither.
The migrated diploid nucleus in the auxiliary cell divides mitotically into two,then one of
which passes into the small lateral outgrowths or bulges developing from the auxiliary
cell and become separated by a septum.This is known as gonimoblast initials. In the
same way several gonimoblast initials are formed.
These gonimoblast initials divide and redivides to form a short gonimoblast filaments.so
there are several gonimobalst filaments form a dense compact mass
The terminal cell of each gonimoblast filament elongates to form a pear shaped
carposporangium . the protoplast content of each carposporangium metamorphoses into
a single spherical non-motile diploid carpospores.
Just simultaneous with the nucleus migration in the auxiliary cell, the pericentral cells
adjacent to the supporting cell develop a outgrowth thereby forming an urn shaped
envelope termed pericarp surrounding the developing fruitbody/fructification leaving an
opening called ostiole at the top
The pericarp is two layered.
Now the supporting cell, auxiliary cell,carpogonium together with the basal and lateral
sterile filaments fuse with each other forming a large amorphous gelatinous matrix called
the placental element. The gonimoblast filaments draws nutrition from this placenta.
The entire structure consisting of placenta, gonimoblast filaments with terminal
carposporangia, the surrounding pericarp called the cystocarp-- the fructification. So it is
partly haploid and partly diploid.
CARPOSPOROPHYTE
Only the diploid(2n) portion of the cystocarp i.e. gonimoblast filaments with their terminal
carposporangia represent the carposporophyte, the second generation of Polysiphonia
It is actually dependent on the gametophytic plant.
At maturity the carposporangia dehisce and the diploid carpospores escape the
cystocarp through the ostile, carried by the water current until it attaches to a suitable
substratum.
On attachment with the substratum the carpospores secretes a thin wall around it and
starts germinationwhich leads to the formation of tetrasporophyte.
DEVELPOMENT OF TETRASPOROPHYTE
the carpospore undergoes an asymmetric transverse division to form a smaller
lower cell a larger upper cell.
Now each of these cell divide transversely again to form a 4-celled filament.
The basal cell become the rhizoidal cell.
The terminal cell cuts off a cell below which elongates to form the central siphon
and lower axial cells divide periclinally to form pericentral siphons, thus alike the
gametophytic plant, tetrasporophyte is developed.
TETRASPOROPHYTE
This is the diploid free living individual plant represents the third generation of
Polysiphonia.
This tetrasporophyte bears tetrasporangia on the fertile branches-termed stichidia.
Tetrasporangia are sac like structure develops from only one of the pericentral cell in
each tire, so there are one tetrasporangia in successive tires of stichidia.
DEVELOPMENT OF TETRASPORANGIUM
the pericentral cell of each transverse tire which is destined to form the
tetrasporangiaum is generally smaller than the other pericentral cells of the same
tire.
The pericentral cell divides vertically forming an outer and inner cell. The outer
one divides again to form 2-cover cells. The inner one is the fertile one being the
tetrasporangial mother cell.
The tetrasporangial mother cell divides by transverse wall into a lower stalk cell
and an upper tetrasoprangium proper which increase considerably in size.
The diploid nucleus of the tetrasporangium divides meiotically into 4 haploid daughter
nuclei. Now cleavage starts from the periphery towardas the centre forming 4
tertaspore(n) which are arranged in tetrahedral tetrad.
After liberation from the tetrasporangium out of 4 tetraspores two gives rise to 2-male
gametophyte and the other two gives 2-female gametophyte.
