Spore
hideIn biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoans. A chief difference between spores and seeds as dispersal units is that spores have very little stored food resources compared with seeds.
Spores are usually haploid and unicellular and are produced by meiosis in the sporangium by the sporophyte. Once conditions are favorable, the spore can develop into a new organism using mitotic division, producing a multicellular gametophyte, which eventually goes on to produce gametes.
Two gametes fuse to create a new sporophyte. This cycle is known as alternation of generations, but a better term is "biological life cycle", as there may be more than one phase and so it cannot be a direct alternation. Haploid spores produced by mitosis (known as mitospores) are used by many fungi for asexual reproduction.
Many ferns, especially those adapted to dry conditions, produce diploid spores. This form of asexual reproduction is called apogamy. It is a form of apomixis.
Spores are the units of asexual reproduction, because a single spore develops into a new organism. By contrast, gametes are the units of sexual reproduction, as two gametes need to fuse to create a new organism.
For more information about Spore, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with spores
After mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 19, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (12) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground ...
New explanation for nature's hardiest life form
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (8) |
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Got food poisoning? The cause might be bacterial spores, en extremely hardy survival form of bacteria, a nightmare for health care and the food industry and an enigma for scientists. Spore-forming bacteria, present almost ...
Termites travel with fungi as take-away food
Oct 08, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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Fungi travelled to Madagascar in the intestines of termites. Fungus serves as a source of food and helps in cellulose conversion.
Researchers find high numbers of heat-loving bacteria in cold Arctic Ocean
Sep 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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A team of scientists led by U of C grad Casey Hubert has detected high numbers of heat loving, or thermophilic, bacteria in subzero sediments in the Arctic Ocean off the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The ...
Late-blight fungus ruining crops in 13 states
Jul 27, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
A fungus that caused the infamous 1840s Irish potato famine has hit this summer's commercial and homegrown tomato crop in 13 states, putting farmers and agricultural experts on edge.
'Long-haired' water moulds are the most virulent
Jul 22, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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The water mould Saprolegnia can cause skin disease in salmon during its freshwater phase. The mould attacks both fish and eggs and has at times caused great economic loss for the fish farming industry, both in ...
Basis for potato blight control becomes visible
Jun 15, 2009 |
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Potato blight, false mildew, sudden oak death and a disease in salmon are all caused by a group of miniscule, yet destructive, organisms called Oomycetes. Because of their changeability and huge numbers, they are able to ...
Air conditioning in cars cuts down microbes, particles: study
May 17, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
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Air conditioning in cars cuts out more than 80 percent of germs, fungal spores and particles from outside air, providing a boon for people with respiratory problems or allergies, German scientists say.
Science agency to review FBI's anthrax inquiry
May 09, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
1
(AP) -- The National Academy of Sciences said Friday it will review the lab work behind the FBI's conclusion that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was responsible for the anthrax mailings that killed five people in 2001.
Babies born during high pollen and mold seasons have greater odds of wheezing by age two
Feb 24, 2009 |
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Newborns whose first few months of life coincide with high pollen and mold seasons are at increased risk of developing early symptoms of asthma, suggests a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
In many fungi, reproductive spores are remarkably aerodynamic
Dec 23, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
2
The reproductive spores of many species of fungi have evolved remarkably drag-minimizing shapes, according to new research by mycologists and applied mathematicians at Harvard University.
In decision to grow, bacteria follow the crowd
Biology /
Oct 30, 2008 |
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When it comes to the decision to wake up and grow, bacterial spores "listen in" to find out what their neighbors are doing and then they follow the crowd, according to a new report in the October 31st issue of the journal ...
FBI unveils science of anthrax investigation
Aug 22, 2008 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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They have worked for almost seven years in secret. Most people did not know that the work in Ray Goehner's materials characterization department at Sandia National Laboratories was contributing important information ...
