Male gametes are formed in the anther of angiosperms, in the pollen cones of gymnosperms, and in the archegonial head of liverworts and moss. All gametes are formed through meiosis and come from a single mother cell.
There are two separate meiotic divisions that are called the alternation of generations in plants. During the n generation one set of haploid cells from each parent will combine to form a zygote. This means that one set of chromosomes will be taken from the male and the female to form a full chromosome set. A zygote is formed through a process known as fusion and will go through mitosis in this phase.
Once a zygote is formed, it enters into a new generation called 2n. During this phase, two chromosomes will be taken from one parent cell to create new spores. This is also known as the diploid phase which happens through meiosis. Meiosis is the process by which gametes form.
 |
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
The male gamete formation in plants will be formed differently depending on the type of plant. An angiosperm develops the male gamete through pollen while gymnosperms will develop the male gamete through pinecones. Each species of plant will also develop the male gamete in a different area of the plant. Like in most organisms, it is common for there to be multiple sperm made at a time when there is only one egg.
Where is the male gamete found in plants? The male gamete will be either found in pollen grains, for angiosperms, or in pinecones, for gymnosperms.
Male Gametes in Angiosperms
An angiosperm is a type of plant that produces flowers through the production of seeds that are enclosed in fruit. The anther is the part of the plant that contains the pollen. The pollen grains contain sperm, which are the male gametophytes used in reproduction. Pollen develops in the microsporangium, which is also known as pollen sacs. All pollen develops from a central mother cell which will undergo meiosis, these new cells called microspores will develop into pollen grains. Before becoming pollen grains, they will undergo meiotic division to form four separate groups of gametes which are called tetrads. Once the tetrads have formed, they will morph eventually into pollen grains. The pollen grains will eventually grow a pollen tube which helps to fertilize the egg through pollination in the ovary.
 |
Male Gametes in Gymnosperms
A gymnosperm is a type of plant whose seeds are not enclosed in fruits and do not have flowers. Gymnosperms are different than flowering plants in that pollen grains are not found in the anther because they do not have flowers. Instead, pollen is found in specialized pollen cones or pinecones which hold the male gametes for gymnosperms. The male pollen cones differ from the female pinecones drastically and are easily distinguishable from each other. Female pinecones can be found higher in the tree above the male cones, which tend to be located on the end of the tree branches.
 |
Male Gametes in Liverworts and Mosses
Some plants like liverworts and mosses lack seeds and pollen but still have specialized areas that have sperm cells. Both moss and liverworts have specialized separate male and female gametophytes, however, they look different on either plant. The female gametophyte is known as the archegonial head, which contains the egg cells. The male gametophyte is known as the antheridial head which contains the sperm cells. Sperm from these antheridia will be released when water is sufficient to provide a pathway from the antheridium, through the center, and into the egg cell where fertilization will occur.
 |
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
A gamete is a mature sex cell that is haploid and is either sperm, which is male, or an egg, which is female. Another name for sex cells in living organisms is gametes. The two types of gametes are the male gamete and the female gamete. Meiosis is the process by which gametes form. The sperm is the male gamete. There are two separate meiotic divisions that are called the alternation of generations in plants. One generation is known as haploid or n and the other is known as diploid or 2n. A bundle of four haploid gametes is called a tetrad.
The male gamete will be either found in pollen grains, for angiosperms, or in pinecones, for gymnosperms. An angiosperm is a type of plant that produces flowers through the production of seeds that are enclosed in fruit. The sperm will be found in the anther part of the angiosperm. A gymnosperm is a type of plant whose seeds are not enclosed in fruits and do not have flowers. Pollen cones store the male gametes in gymnosperms. Some plants like liverworts and mosses lack seeds and pollen but still have specialized areas that have sperm cells. At the tip of moss are structures called antheridia, which are storage areas for sperm cells.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Video Transcript
What Are Gametes?
Gametes can be described as sex cells of plants. Like humans, plants have sperm and egg cells that need to fuse in order to produce a zygote, or fertilized egg. Unlike humans, however, plants produce both types of these cells.
 |
The ovary of the plant produces the female ovule, or egg cell. The male sperm cell is generally encased by some sort of enclosure, like a pollen grain. This allows the egg and sperm cells to stay moist and safe from destruction.
The complexity of the different types of gametes will be seen shortly. However, they do have some commonalities; for example, each contains a sperm cell or, in some cases, multiple sperm cells. These sperm cells are all formed by a specialized cell division and, in the case of vascular plants, are usually encased by some sort of protective shell that also contains nutrients for the cell.
Different Types of Gametes
Remember, meiosis is a type of cell division that specializes in making haploid, or half chromosome, sex cells. In plants, there are actually two meiotic divisions; this way, you get haploid cells from the male and haploid cells from the female, forming a diploid, or full chromosome set, for the new offspring. So, we see two meiotic divisions before the gamete is fully formed.
Which plant you're looking at determines what types of gametes form. In flowering plants, or angiosperms, you typically see the male gamete form inside the pollen grain located on the anther.
Those male gametes that form in the anther start off as just a bunch of large nucleus-containing cells. These cells go through meiotic divisions, forming what are called tetrads, or four haploid (half chromosome) bundles of gametes. These will become pollen grains. Obviously, the more grains there are, the more chances for reproduction we have.
 |
Non-flowering plants will obviously not have flowers. In gymnosperms, for example, the pollen grains are not found in the anther like in flowering plants, but instead in a pollen cone or 'pine cone.' The pine cone will typically form the female gamete, while at the tip of the branch is the pollen cone, where the male gametes will come from.
 |
'Less complex' plants, such as liverworts and mosses, don't have pollen grains as their more complex brethren do. They lack a seed or pollen, but they still carry sperm cells. At the tip of the moss, there's a tiny area called the antheridia. It's here that the sperm cells are produced and stored. They'll open when enough water soaks the moss, allowing the sperm to swim out and find an archegonia, which is the female portion of the plant that stores the egg cell.
Lesson Summary
Plants cannot reproduce like human beings, but they still produce two separate sex cells, a female (egg) and a male (sperm). These sex cells are called gametes and are produced through the process of meiosis.
In the case of simpler plants, such as moss, the sperm cells are produced near the top of the moss in the antheridia. When properly moistened, the sperm cells will release into the water, making their way to the egg cell structures. In angiosperms, or flowering plants, the male gametes form in the anther, encased in a pollen grain. These are then transported via insects, animals, or wind to other plants, where they will attach and fertilize an egg. In gymnosperms, such as pine trees, pollen grains form, but at the end of a branch, not on anthers.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
