Alternation of generations Notes: Definitions & Explanations PDF | Download eBooks

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Alternation of generations Notes:

Alternation of generations, which is also known as metagenesis, is the type of life cycle that occurs in those plants and algae in the Archaeplastida and the Heterokontophyta that have distinct sexual haploid and asexual diploid stages. In these groups, a multicellular gametophyte, which is haploid with n chromosomes, alternates with a multicellular sporophyte, which is diploid with 2n chromosomes, made up of n pairs. A mature sporophyte produces spores by meiosis, a process which reduces the number of chromosomes to half, from 2n to n. Alternation of generations is a type of life cycle found in terrestrial plants and some algae in which succeeding generations of individuals alternate between haploid and diploid organisms. This can be contrasted to sexual reproduction in animals, in which both haploid and diploid cells are found in every generation. This process does not happen in humans and rarely ever happens in any animals and is exclusive to plants only.

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