gametophyteplant stage

Main

in certain plants, sexual phase (or an individual representing the phase) in the alternation of generations—a phenomenon in which two distinct phases occur in the life history of the plant, each phase producing the other. The alternate, nonsexual phase is the sporophyte.

In the gametophyte phase, male and female organs (gametangia) develop and produce eggs and sperm (gametes), which unite in fertilization (syngamy). The fertilized egg (zygote) develops into the sporophyte phase, which produces numerous unicellular spores. These, in turn, develop directly into new gametes. Almost the entire life cycle of many algae and fungi is gametophyte; in others it is almost all sporophyte. See also sporophyte.

Citations

MLA Style:

"gametophyte." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 07 Jan. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/224965/gametophyte>.

APA Style:

gametophyte. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 07, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/224965/gametophyte

Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.

If you think a reference to this article on "gametophyte" will enhance your Web site, blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article, and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.

You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.

copy link

We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.

Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.

A-Z Browse

Image preview