Question

The dominant phase in the life cycle of Funaria is:

• A. Protonema
• B. Leafy gametophyte
• C. Spore mother cells
• D. Sporophyte

Answer 1

The correct option is B

Leafy gametophyte

The correct option is B.

Explanation for correct option:

1. Funaria is a moss that is a bryophyte.
2. The dominant phase in the life cycle of mosses is the gametophyte.
3. Moss is a bryophyte and all bryophytes are also known as the amphibians of the plant kingdom as they need water for survival and reproduction.
4. Leafy gametophyte develops from buds produced on protonema and consists of an axis with spirally arranged leaves.
5. In Funaria, the main plant body is a free-living gametophyte (n), which exists in 2 forms, i.e., protonema (juvenile gametophyte) and leafy gametophore (adult gametophyte).
6. The leafy gametophyte bears both male and female sex organs.
7. Bryophytes are nonvascular because they do not have tracheids; instead, water and nutrients circulate inside specialized conducting cells.
8. In a bryophyte, all the vegetative organs belong to the gametophyte.
9. As the vegetative body is represented by these leafy gametophores, the leafy gametophyte is the dominant phase of Funaria.
10. It goes through two stages of development: a prostrate filamentous alga-like protonema and an upright gametophore.

Final answer: Therefore, the dominant phase in the life cycle of Funaria is the leafy gametophyte.