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Which of the following in female gametophyte of an angiosperm helps in guiding the pollen tube for fertilizing the eggs?
Special thickenings to guide pollen tube = Filiform apparatus of SYNERGIDS!
Three cells are grouped together at the micropylar end and constitute the egg apparatus. The egg apparatus, in turn, consists of two synergids and one egg cell.
The synergids have special cellular thickenings at the micropylar tip called filiform apparatus, which play an important role in guiding the pollen tubes into the synergid.
Diagnose every choice: Know exactly why the right option works and why distractors fail.
Incorrect. Antipodal cells (three in number) are located at the chalazal end and degenerate before or soon after fertilization; they do not guide pollen tubes.
100% correct. Synergids possess the filiform apparatus that guides the pollen tube into the embryo sac.
Incorrect. The egg cell is the female gamete that fuses with a male gamete to form the zygote; it lacks filiform apparatus thickenings.
Incorrect. The large central cell contains two polar nuclei and undergoes triple fusion to form the primary endosperm nucleus (PEN).
Students sometimes think the egg cell attracts the pollen tube directly. In reality, the helper synergids produce chemotropic attractants and possess the physical filiform guide.
"The synergids have special cellular thickenings at the micropylar tip called filiform apparatus that guide the pollen tube."
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