PLS 622 - Unit 1: Plant Development and Anatomy

Lecture 1: Introduction to plant development.

Recommended reading: Goldberg, R.B. (1988). Plants: Novel Developmental
Processes. Science 240, p. 1460-1467.
Higher plant life cycle - some terms to review:
sporophytic
gametophytic
haploid
diploid
meiosis
mitosis

Plants and animals diverged about one billion years before they became
multicellular.
Plant versus animal development:
1. Plants cannot move to escape environmental pressures like animals
can.
2. No germ line is set aside during early plant development. What does
this mean in terms of mutations?
3. Plants have a longer haploid phase than in higher animals.
4. Dual fertilization event in flowering plants.
5. Role of post-embryonic development.
6. Higher plants are morphologically simple compared to higher animals
7. Cell walls - what do they mean for cell movement and communication?
8. Regeneration and totipotency.