Practice question
Question
During microsporogenesis, the sporogenous tissue undergoes meiotic divisions to form microspore tetrads. If a microsporangium has 100 pollen mother cells (PMCs), what is the total number of male gametes expected to be produced eventually, assuming distinct functional viability?
Explanation
Each PMC (2n) undergoes meiosis to form 4 microspores (n). 100 PMCs x 4 = 400 microspores/pollen grains. Each pollen grain contains a generative cell that divides mitotically to form 2 male gametes. Therefore, 400 pollen grains x 2 = 800 male gametes.