What is Alternation of Generations?

Question

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Answer 1

A change between sexual and asexual reproduction to propogate the species. The development of particular organisms relies on the independent development of gametes separately (haploid) and later sexual combination of gametes (diploid). This is found in many species of plants, fungi, and protistans.

Answer 2

Alternation of generations describes the life cycles of plants, which alternate between multicellular diploid and haploid stages. While all sexual life cycles have diploid and haploid stages, only in plants and a few other organisms that also exhibit alternation of generations are both stages multicellular.

Answer 3

In an animal life cycle, male and female parents each create sex cells (sperm and eggs) that unite to form a fertilized egg and develop into an offspring organism. Plants, likewise, have sperm and eggs in their life cycles, but these are produced by an intermediate stage between the adult and the offspring.

These stages, which were explained by Dr. Judith Sumner in the video, can be thought of as different "generations" within the same life cycle. The adult generation produces spores, while the spore generation produces sex cells. The scientific terms for these generations are sporophyte (sporo = spore; phyte = plant; therefore, spore-producing plant) and gametophyte (gameto = sex cell; phyte = plant; therefore, sex-cell-producing plant).

Answer 4

Alternation of generations refers to a reproduction process of plants such as ferns.

This could also refer to other life-forms but is mostly referred to plant life.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

It's the alternation of BOTH the sexual and non-sexual stages of the life cycle in order to reproduce. This occurs in BOTH plants and animals. In plants it occurs in Bryophytes and Pterophytes: mosses, liverworts and ferns. In Cnidarian animals it occurs in hydroids which have a sexual medusa and an asexual polyp.