🔬 Biology · Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants · NEET

Apomictic seeds that develop from diploid nucellar cells (as in many Citrus) are valuable to breeders because the seedlings are:

Answer: Genetically identical to the mother plant.

A Always triploid
B Genetically identical to the mother plant
C Free of any endosperm
D Formed entirely without any protective seed coat

Correct answer: B. Genetically identical to the mother plant

Explanation: Nucellar apomixis produces embryos from diploid sporophytic tissue, so the resulting seedlings are genetically identical clones of the parent, preserving hybrid vigour.

Double fertilization: pollen tube delivering two male gametes to the embryo sac, forming zygote and endosperm

Double fertilisation in angiosperms: one male gamete fuses with the egg to form the diploid zygote (syngamy), while the second fuses with the two polar nuclei to form the triploid primary endosperm nucleus (triple fusion). Image: Triploid, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Concept context

Flower structure, pollination, double fertilization, and seed/fruit development - the highest-scoring Class 12 biology chapter in NEET.

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Apomictic seeds that develop from diploid nucellar cells (as in many Citrus) are valuable to breeders because the seedlings are:

Concept context

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