Moss Lab Purpose
1.
Examine the general life cycle of bryophytes.
2.
Examine living Marchantia and compare
with a prepared cross section of a thallus.
3.
Examine a prepared slide of gemmae cups.
4. Examine live or prepared liverworts with
mature archegoniophores bearing archegonia and antheridiophores bearing
antheridia.
5.
Examine a prepared slide of a sporophyte of Marchantia.
6.
Observe the living mosses on display.
7.
Demonstrate water absorption by Sphagnum.
8. Examine prepared slides of moss archegonia and antheridia.
9. Examine living moss sporophyte capsules.
Objectives
By the end of this exercise you should be able to:
1. Describe the life histories and related reproductive
structures of mosses and liverworts.
2.
Describe the distinguishing characteristics of mosses and liverworts.
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER THOUGHT AND STUDY
1. List advances in complexity shown by bryophytes over algae
regarding their morphology, habitat, asexual reproduction, and sexual
reproduction.
2. What event begins the sporophyte phase of the life cycle?
Where does it occur in mosses and liverworts?
3. What event begins the gametophyte phase of the life cycle?
Where does it occur in mosses and liverworts?
4. What
features distinguish a moss from a liverwort?
5. Diagram the life cycle of a liverwort, indicating which
stages are sporophytic and which are gametophytic.
6. Diagram the life cycle of a moss, indicating which stages
are sporophytic and which are gametophytic.
7. Since water is required for the swimming sperm to reach the
archegonium, would you say that this means that bryophytes are not truly land
plants? Why or why not?
8. What
ecological roles might mosses and liverworts play in the environment?
9. Is the sporophyte of mosses ever independent of the
gametophyte? Explain.
10. Why do you think that bryophytes have sometimes been
referred to as the am
phibians of the plant kingdom?
11. How
did liverworts obtain their name?
Division Bryophyta consists mainly of mosses and liverworts,
and represents the most primitive group of terrestrial plants. Bryophytes are
green, have root-like structures called rhizoids,
and may have stem and leaf-like parts. Bryophytes do not possess vascular
tissues, which transport materials between roots and shoots. This absence in
bryophytes typically limits their distribution to moist habitats, since their
rhizoids neither penetrate the soil very far nor absorb many nutrients. Also,
the absence of vascular tissues necessitates that their photosynthetic and
non-photosynthetic tissues be close together. The absence of vascular tissues,
along with the absence of supporting tissues, results in bryophytes being
relatively small and inconspicuous. Despite their diminutive size, however,
bryophytes occur throughout the world in habitats ranging from the tropics to
Antarctica. There are approximately 24,000 species of bryophytes, more than any
other group of plants except the flowering plants. Bryophytes fix CO2,,
degrade rocks to soil, stabilize soil, and reduce erosion. Humans have several
uses for bryophytes-for example, various bryophytes are used as fuel, to
produce Scotch whiskey, and as packing materials.
The plant body of bryophytes is termed a thallus (thalli, plural). Liverwort thalli are dorsoventrally
flattened (flattened from back and front plane, rather than from side to side
plane) and bilaterally symmetrical (two equal halves). Whereas, moss thalli are
erect and radially symmetrical (circular).
The life
cycle of bryophytes is characterized by a distinct alteration of generations in
which the gametophyte is the predominant vegetative phase (Fig. 21-1).
Bryophytes have multicellular sex organs in which gamete-producing cells are
enclosed in a jacket of sterile cells. Antheridia are male sex organs that
produce swimming, biflagellate sperm. Bryophytes require water for sexual
reproduction because their sperm must swim to eggs. These sperm fertilize eggs
produced in archegonia, the female
sex organs. The fertilized egg is called a zygote-this zygote divides and
matures in the archegonium to produce the sporophyte.
The sporophyte remains attached to and nutritionally dependent on the gametophyte. The mature sporophyte
produces haploid spores (via meiosis), each of which can develop into a
gametophyte.
GEMMAE
CUP, Fig. 21-2 FEMALE THALLUS, Fig. 21-2 ARCHEGONIUM, Fig. 21-4 ANTHERIDIUM,
Fig. 21-5
Fig. 21-1
Life cycle of a liverwort (Marchantia).
Class
Hepaticae: Liverworts
Although many liverworts appear "leafy", we will
restrict our observations to a thallustype liverwort, Marchantia. The gametophytic thallus of this liverwort grows as a
large, flat, photosynthetic structure on the surface of the ground (Fig. 21-2).
Liverwort Gametophyte
Observe some living Marchantia, and note the Y-shaped
(dichotomous) growth. Rhizoids extend downward from the lower (ventral) surface
of the thallus.
QUESTION 1
What
are the functions of rhizoids?
PORE
Fig. 21-3 Marchantia
thallus.
View the upper (dorsal) surface of the thallus with a
dissecting microscope, and note the pores in the center of the diamond shaped
areas. Obtain a prepared slide of a thallus of Marchantia, and compare what you see with Fig. 21-3. Notice that
the pores in the dorsal surface of the thallus overly air chambers containing chlorenchyma (chloroplast containing)
cells.
Asexual Reproduction in Liverworts
Liverworts can reproduce asexually
via fragmentation. In this process, the older, central portions of the thallus
die, leaving the growing tips isolated to form individual plants.
On the dorsal surface of some thalli near the midrib may be
structures called gemmae cups (see
Plate XVII, Fig. 40). These structures represent another means of asexual
reproduction by liverworts. Inside the gemmae cups are lens-shaped outgrowths
called gemmae (sing. gemma), which
are splashed out of the gemmae cup by falling drops of rain. If a gemma lands
in an adequate environment, it can produce a new gametophyte plant. Examine a
prepared slide of gemmae cups. Also examine available live or preserved
material. In the space below, diagram and label what you see, and compare it to
Fig. 21-2.
Sexual Reproduction in Liverworts
Many species of Marchantia
are dioecious, meaning that they
have separate male and female plants. Gametes from each plant are produced in
specialized sex organs borne on upright stalks. Archegoniophores are specialized stalks on female plants and bear
archegonia. Each flask-shaped archegonium is comprised of a neck and a venter, which contains the egg (Fig. 21-4). Examine live or
prepared liverworts with mature archegoniophores bearing archegonia. Archegonia
at various stages of development are located on the ventral surface. Locate an
egg in an archegonium.
Antheridiophores are specialized stalks on male plants that bear antheridia.
Examine live or preserved liverworts with mature antheridiophores bearing
antheridia. Sperm are produced in antheridia (Fig. 21-5). Flagellated sperm are
released from the antheridia, and eventually fertilize the egg located in the
venter. The zygote remains in the venter, and grows into a sporophyte plant.
Examine a prepared slide of cross sections of an
antheridiophore. Antheridia are located just below the upper surface of the
disc in a chamber that leads to the surface of the disc through a pore.
What
is the function of these pores?
QUESTION 3
How
does the position of the archegonium and antheridium relate to their
reproductive needs?
Fig. 21-4 Marchantia archegonia
. Fig. 21-5 Marchantia antherdia
. QUESTION 4
What is the function of the foot?
QUESTION 5 Are spores haploid
or diploid?
QUESTION 6 What is the
functional significance of the response of elaters to moisture?
Liverwort Sporophyte
Examine a prepared slide of a sporophyte of Marchantia. The non-photosynthetic sporophyte is connected to
the gametophyte by a structure called the foot.
Spores are produced by meiosis in a capsule
located on a stalk that extends
downward from the foot. Among the spores you can see elongate cells called elaters. Elaters help disperse spores
by twisting. In humid conditions the elaters coil, but when it is dry the
elaters expand, pushing the spores apart and rupturing the spore case to
release the spores.
Class Musci: Mosses
Mosses are seen more frequently than liverworts because of
their greater numbers, more widespread distribution, and the fact that
gametophyte plants of mosses are leafy and usually stand upright. Mosses also
withstand desiccation better than liverworts. Therefore mosses have less
specialized habitats. The moss gametophyte is radially symmetrical, and is the
most conspicuous phase of the moss life-cycle (Fig. 21-6).
ANTHERIDIUM
Fig.
21-6 Life cycle of a moss (Polytrichum).
Moss Gametophyte
Observe the living moss on display, Polytrichum (Fig. 21-7). The "leafy" green portions of
the plant are the gametophytes, and are often only one cell thick (except at
the midrib).
Moss gametophytes have specialized cells that
aid in the absorption and retention of water. Mats of moss act, in effect, like
sponges. The following exercise demonstrates the water-absorbing potential of
mosses.
1.
Weigh out 3 g of Sphagnum, a peat
moss, and 3 g of paper towel. 2. Add the moss and towel to
separate beakers each containing 100 ml of water. 3. After several minutes, remove
the materials from the beaker. 4. Measure the amount of water
left in each beaker by pouring the water into a |
100 |
ml graduated cylinder. Remember that 1 ml of water weighs 1
g. 5.
Record your data. |
|
Asexual Reproduction in Mosses
Unlike
liverworts, mosses lack structures such as gemmae for asexual reproduction.
Mosses reproduce asexually by fragmentation.
Sexual Reproduction in Mosses
Most mosses, like liverworts, are dioecious. Archegonia or
antheridia are borne either on tips of the erect gametophyte stalks or as
lateral branches on the stalks. The apex of stalks of the female plant (the
plant bearing archegonia) appears as a cluster of leaves, with the archegonia
buried inside. Examine live or preserved material of mosses with mature
archegonia.
Examine a prepared slide of moss archegonia
(Fig. 21-8). Note the canal that leads through the neck and terminates in the
venter of the archegonium. When the archegonium matured, cells lining the neck
disintegrated and formed a canal leading to the egg. Sperm, following a
chemical attractant released by the archegonium, swim through this canal to
reach the egg. Try to relate what you see in a cross section to a whole plant.
The male plant (the plant bearing antheridia) has a plate-like
structure or the tip with the "leaves" expanding outward to form a
rosette. This terminal structure is sometimes called a "moss flower"
due to its appearance, or a "splash cup" due to its function (the
dispersal of sperm by falling raindrops). Examine live or preserved material of
mosses with mature antheridia.Examine a prepared slide of moss antheridia,
which appear as elongate, sac-like structures (Fig. 21-9). Locate the outer
sterile jacket and the inner mass of cells destined to become sperm.Moss SporophyteMoss sporophytes consist
of capsules located atop stalks
(seta) that extend upward from the moss gametophyte. A sporophyte is attached
to the gametophyte by a structure called a foot.The
capsule atop the seta is covered by the calyptra (upper portion of archegonium
that covers capsule apex), which falls off when the capsule matures. Inside the
capsule are numerous haploid spores formed via meiosis.If enough living
material is available in the lab, remove the calyptra from a sporophyte
capsule. On the tip of the capsule is a cap-like structure called the operculum. Remove the operculum and
notice the hair-like teeth lining the opening of the capsule. These teeth help
controlling the release of spores from the capsule. In wet weather, these teeth
bend inward and prevent release of the spores. In dry weather, these teeth bend
outward, thus facilitating distribution of spores by the wind. Crush the
capsule in water on a microscope slide and note the large number of spores that
are released.Moss spores germinate and form a photosynthetic protonema, which resembles a branching,
filamentous alga. Leafy moss plants arise from "buds" located along
the protonema.
QUESTION 7 How does the symmetry of a moss gametophyte compare
with that of a liverwort gametophyte?
QUESTION 8
a. How many times its own weight did the moss absorb?
b. How does this compare
with the paper towel?
c. Why is Sphagnum often
used in shipping items that must be kept moist?
QUESTION 9 Where is the egg
located in the archegonium?
Fig.
21-9 Polytrichum antherdia.
Fig.
21-8 Polytrichum archegonia
QUESTION 10 Is the sporophyte more
prominent in mosses or liverworts?
QUESTION 11What is the adaptive
significance of having spores released from atop a seta?
QUESTION 12a. What process
produces spores?
b. Is the sporophytic capsule
haploid or diploid
QUESTION 13Can you think of any
evolutionary implications of the similarity between a moss protonema and a
filamentous green alga?