Question

Explain the development of an anther and the formation of microspores in angiosperms.

Answer 1

Anthers are two-lobed and are attached to the filament either at the base or in the middle area of the anther. The central cells of the anther, the pollen mother cells (meiocytes), differentiate and become selectively isolated from the mother plant through callose secretion by the meiocyte cytoplasm. The pollen mother cells undergo meiosis to form tetrads. The uninucleate young microspores are released from the tetrad. At the vacuolated stage, the microspores undergo an asymmetric division (pollen mitosis I) to produce the vegetative and generative nucleus. Microspores then develop into male gametophytes.