Question

Which of the following organisms exhibits alternation of generations?

• A. Amoeba
• B. Hydra
• C. Funaria
• D. Plasmodium

Hint:

Alternation of generations = Gametophyte (n) ↔ Sporophyte (2n). Common in mosses and ferns.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

In biology, alternation of generations refers to a life cycle that includes both asexual and sexual phases, typically seen in plants, algae, and some fungi. This cycle involves the alternation between a multicellular diploid form (sporophyte) and a multicellular haploid form (gametophyte).

Funaria, a type of moss, exhibits this form of life cycle. In mosses, the dominant, leafy green plant is the gametophyte. It produces gametes that fuse to form a zygote, which grows into a sporophyte. The sporophyte, dependent on the gametophyte for nutrition, produces spores through meiosis. These spores then germinate to form new gametophytes, continuing the cycle.

The other organisms listed do not exhibit alternation of generations:

• Amoeba is a single-celled organism that reproduces primarily through binary fission, lacking a lifecycle with distinct multicellular stages.
• Hydra, a simple freshwater animal, reproduces asexually by budding and sexually, but does not exhibit a life cycle that includes distinct multicellular haploid and diploid stages.
• Plasmodium, the parasite causing malaria, has a complex lifecycle, but it does not consist of multicellular haploid and diploid stages as seen in classical alternation of generations