Chapter 26.1 Evolution of Seed Plants

Photo A shows a palm tree on a beach. Photo B shows a field of wheat. Photo C shows white cotton balls on a cotton plant. Photo D shows a red poppy flower.

Figure 26.1 Seed plants dominate the landscape and play an enormous and integral role in the success of all human societies. Here are a few examples: (a) Palm trees grow along the shoreline, serving numerous purposes for food, shelter, and even transportation; (b) wheat is an important crop grown throughout most of the world; (c) the fruit of the cotton plant produces fibers that are woven into fabric; (d) the potent alkaloids of the beautiful opium poppy have long influenced human life both as a medicinal remedy and as a dangerously addictive drug. (credit a: modification of work by Ryan Kozie; credit b: modification of work by Stephen Ausmus; credit c: modification of work by David Nance; credit d: modification of work by Jolly Janner)

The lush palms on tropical shorelines do not depend on water for the dispersal of their pollen, fertilization, or the survival of the zygote—unlike mosses, liverworts, and ferns living within the same terrain. These palms are seed plants, which have broken free from the need to rely on water for their reproductive needs. The seed plants play an integral role in all aspects of life on the planet, shaping the physical terrain, influencing the climate, and maintaining life as we know it. For millennia, human societies have depended on seed plants for nutrition and medicinal compounds. Somewhat more recently, seed plants have served as a source of manufactured products such as timber and paper, dyes, and textiles.

Learning Outcomes

Describe the two major innovations that allowed seed plants to reproduce in the absence of water
Discuss the purpose of pollen grains and seeds
Describe the significance of angiosperms bearing both flowers and fruit

The first plants to colonize land were most likely related to the ancestors of modern day mosses (bryophytes), which are thought to have appeared about 500 million years ago. They were followed by liverworts (also bryophytes) and primitive vascular plants—the pterophytes—from which modern ferns are descended. The life cycle of bryophytes and pterophytes is characterized by the alternation of generations, which is also exhibited in the seed plants. However, what sets bryophytes and pterophytes apart from seed plants is their reproductive requirement for water due to flagellated sperm.

In seed plants, the evolutionary trend led to a dominant sporophyte generation accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the size of the gametophyte from a conspicuous structure to a microscopic cluster of cells enclosed in the tissues of the sporophyte. Whereas lower vascular plants, such as club mosses and ferns, are mostly homosporous (producing only one type of spore), all seed plants, or spermatophytes, are heterosporous, producing two types of spores: megaspores (female) and microspores (male). Megaspores develop into female gametophytes that produce eggs, and microspores mature into male gametophytes that generate sperm. Because the gametophytes mature within the spores, they are not free-living, as are the gametophytes of seedless vascular plants.

Both seeds and pollen distinguish seed plants from seedless vascular plants. These innovative structures allowed seed plants to reduce or eliminate their dependence on water for gamete fertilization and development of the embryo, and to conquer dry land. Pollen grains are male gametophytes, which contain the sperm of the plant. The small haploid (1n) sperm cells are encased in a protective coat that prevents desiccation (drying out) and damage. Pollen grains can travel far from their original sporophyte, spreading the plant’s genes. Seeds offer the embryo protection, nourishment, and a mechanism to maintain dormancy for tens or even thousands of years, ensuring that germination can occur when growth conditions are optimal. Seeds therefore allow plants to disperse the next generation through both space and time. With such evolutionary advantages, seed plants have become the most successful and familiar group of plants.

Evolution of Gymnosperms

Fossil records indicate the first gymnosperms ("naked seed" plants such as pine trees and cypress trees) most likely originated in the Paleozoic era about 390 million years ago. The previous Mississippian and Pennsylvanian periods, were wet and dominated by giant fern trees. But the following Permian period was dry, which gave a reproductive edge to seed plants, which are better adapted to survive dry spells. Gymnosperms expanded in the Mesozoic era (about 240 million years ago), supplanting ferns in the landscape, and reaching their greatest diversity during this time. The Jurassic period was as much the age of the cycads (palm-tree-like gymnosperms) as the age of the dinosaurs. Although angiosperms (flowering plants) are the major form of plant life in most biomes, gymnosperms still dominate some ecosystems, such as the taiga (boreal forests) and the alpine forests at higher mountain elevations (Figure 26.4) because of their adaptation to cold and dry growth conditions.

Photo shows a boreal forest with a uniform low layer of plants and tall conifers scattered throughout the landscape. The snowcapped mountains of the Alaska Range are in the background.

Figure 26.4 Conifers. This boreal forest (taiga) has low-lying plants and conifer trees. (credit: L.B. Brubaker, NOAA)

Seeds and Pollen as an Evolutionary Adaptation to Dry Land

In the seed plants, the female gametophyte consists of just a few cells: the egg and some supportive cells, including the endosperm-producing cell that will support the growth of the embryo. After fertilization of the egg, the diploid zygote produces an embryo that will grow into the sporophyte when the seed germinates. Storage tissue to sustain growth of the embryo and a protective coat give seeds their superior evolutionary advantage. Several layers of hardened tissue prevent desiccation, and free the embryo from the need for a constant supply of water. Furthermore, seeds remain in a state of dormancy until conditions for growth become favorable. Whether blown by the wind, floating on water, or carried away by animals, seeds are scattered in an expanding geographic range, thus avoiding competition with the parent plant.

Pollen grains (Figure 26.5) are male gametophytes containing just a few cells and are distributed by wind, water, or an animal pollinator. The whole structure is protected from desiccation and can reach the female organs without depending on water. After reaching a female gametophyte, the pollen grain grows a tube that will deliver a male nucleus to the egg cell. The sperm of modern gymnosperms and all angiosperms lack flagella. The pollen grows into a fertilization chamber, where the motile sperm are released and swim a short distance to an egg.

The micrograph shows four different kinds of fossilized pollen. The pollen is oval or round in shape, with a bumpy texture.

Figure 26.5 Pollen fossils. This fossilized pollen is from a Buckbean fen core found in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The pollen is magnified 1,054 times. (credit: R.G. Baker, USGS; scale-bar data from Matt Russell)

Evolution of Angiosperms

The roughly 200 million years between the appearance of the gymnosperms and the flowering plants gives us some appreciation for the evolutionary experimentation that ultimately produced flowers and fruit. Angiosperms (“seed in a vessel”) produce a flower containing male and/or female reproductive structures. Fossil evidence indicates that flowering plants first appeared about 125 million years ago and were rapidly diversifying by about 100 million years ago.

New data in comparative genomics and paleobotany (the study of ancient plants) have shed some light on the evolution of angiosperms. Although the angiosperms appeared after the gymnosperms, they are probably not derived from gymnosperm ancestors. Instead, the angiosperms form a sister clade (a species and its descendents) that developed in parallel with the gymnosperms. The two innovative structures of flowers and fruit represent an improved reproductive strategy that served to protect the embryo, while increasing genetic variability and range. There is no current consensus on the origin of the angiosperms. Paleobotanists debate whether angiosperms evolved from small woody bushes, or were related to the ancestors of tropical grasses. Most modern angiosperms are classified as either monocots or eudicots, based on the structure of their leaves and embryos.

Flowers and Fruits as an Evolutionary Adaptation

Angiosperms produce their gametes in separate organs, which are usually housed in a flower. Both fertilization and embryo development take place inside an anatomical structure that provides a stable system of sexual reproduction largely sheltered from environmental fluctuations. With about 300,000 species, flowering plants are the most diverse phylum on Earth after insects. Flowers come in a bewildering array of sizes, shapes, colors, smells, and arrangements. Most flowers have a mutualistic pollinator, with the distinctive features of flowers reflecting the nature of the pollination agent. The relationship between pollinator and flower characteristics is one of the great examples of coevolution.

Following fertilization of the egg, the ovule grows into a seed. The surrounding tissues of the ovary thicken, developing into a fruit that will protect the seed and often ensure its dispersal over a wide geographic range. Like flowers, fruit can vary tremendously in appearance, size, smell, and taste. Tomatoes, green peppers, corn, and avocados are all examples of fruits. Along with pollen and seeds, fruits also act as agents of dispersal. Some may be carried away by the wind. Many attract animals that will eat the fruit and pass the seeds through their digestive systems, then deposit the seeds in another location.

Evolution Connection: Building Phylogenetic Trees with Analysis of DNA Sequence Alignments

All living organisms display patterns of relationships derived from their evolutionary history. Phylogeny is the science that describes the relative connections between organisms, in terms of ancestral and descendant species. Phylogenetic trees, such as the plant evolutionary history shown in Figure 26.7, are tree-like branching diagrams that depict these relationships. Species are found at the tips of the branches. Each branching point, called a node, is the point at which a single taxonomic group (taxon), such as a species, separates into two or more species.

The image depicts a branching diagram (a tree-like structure) where the branches spread horizontally from a main ancestor on the left. On the right, organism names are labeled. The cascading branching starts with a single stem at the upper left corner labeled ‘Ancestral green algae’. This has a branching point giving rise to three horizontal branches. The top two branches extend all the way to the right and are labeled ‘Coelochaetes (green algae)’ and ‘Charophytes (green algae) from top to bottom. The third branch is a short branch labeled ‘Embryophytes’ on the left. It branches into two new branches. The top branch extends all the way to the right and is labeled ‘Marchantiopsida (liverworts)’. The bottom branch divides into two additional branches, the top labeled ‘Anthocerotopsida (hornworts)’. The bottom branch splits into two branches, the top labeled at the right ‘Bryopsida (mosses)’. The liverworts, hornworts, and mosses are collectively labeled Bryophytes. The bottom branch splits into additional two branches, the top labeled at the right ‘Aglaophyton (extinct)’. The bottom splits into two branches, labeled ‘Rhynopsida (extinct)’, and one branch which splits again. The top branch splits into several branches which all end in several organisms collectively labeled ‘Lycophytes’. The order of organisms in this group from top to bottom is ‘Drepanophycales (exctinct); Lycopodiaceae (club moses)’; Protolepidodendrales (exctinct); Selaginellales (spike mosses); Isoetales (quillworts); Zosterophyllopsida (extinct). The bottom branch splits in two additional branches, the first labeled ‘Psilophyton (extinct)’, and the bottom splits again. The top branch gives rise to two branches that are labeled ‘Sphenopsids (horsetails)’; and ‘Pteriodophyta (ferns)'. The Psilophyton, horsetails, and ferns are collectively labeled 'Pterophytes'. Finally the bottom branch splits into two branches, the top labeled ‘Gymnosperms’ and the bottom 'Angiosperms’. These are collectively labeled ‘Spermatophytes’.

Figure 26.7 Plant phylogeny. This phylogenetic tree shows the evolutionary relationships of plants.

Phylogenetic trees have been built to describe the relationships between species since the first sketch of a tree that appeared in Darwin's Origin of Species. Traditional methods involve comparison of homologous anatomical structures and embryonic development, assuming that closely related organisms share anatomical features that emerge during embryo development. Some traits that disappear in the adult are present in the embryo; for example, an early human embryo has a postanal tail, as do all members of the Phylum Chordata. The study of fossil records shows the intermediate stages that link an ancestral form to its descendants. However, many of the approaches to classification based on the fossil record alone are imprecise and lend themselves to multiple interpretations. As the tools of molecular biology and computational analysis have been developed and perfected in recent years, a new generation of tree-building methods has taken shape. The key assumption is that genes for essential proteins or RNA structures, such as the ribosomal RNAs, are inherently conserved because mutations (changes in the DNA sequence) could possibly compromise the survival of the organism. DNA from minute samples of living organisms or fossils can be amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced, targeting the regions of the genome that are most likely to be conserved between species. The genes encoding the 18S ribosomal RNA from the small subunit and plastid genes are frequently chosen for DNA alignment analysis.

Once the sequences of interest are obtained, they are compared with existing sequences in databases such as GenBank, which is maintained by The National Center for Biotechnology Information. A number of computational tools are available to align and analyze sequences. Sophisticated computer analysis programs determine the percentage of sequence identity or homology. Sequence homology can be used to estimate the evolutionary distance between two DNA sequences and reflect the time elapsed since the genes separated from a common ancestor. Molecular analysis has revolutionized phylogenetic trees. In some cases, prior results from morphological studies have been confirmed: for example, confirming Amborella trichopoda as the most primitive angiosperm known. However, some groups and relationships have been rearranged as a result of DNA analysis.