Pollen and Spore Unit

Pollen

An entire male gametophyte that contains 2 sperm and does not grow into a plant

Spore

A single cell that grows into a plant

Angiosperm

A flowering seed plant that reproduces using flowers

Gymnosperm

A seed plant that bears its seeds in cones (such as a pine tree)

Seedless plants

Plants that do not make seeds (such as moss and ferns)

Haploid

A cell that has one set of chromosomes

Diploid

A cell that has two sets of chromosomes

Sporophyte

The diploid stage of a plant's life cycle that makes spores

Gametophyte

The haploid stage of a plant's life cycle that makes gametes

Seed

A plant embryo and food supply encased in a protective covering

Palynology

The study of pollen and spore evidence to help solve a crime

Pollination

The transfer of pollen from the male part to the female part of a seed plant

Fertilization

When an egg comes in contact with a sperm to create a zygote

Self pollination

Pollen of a plant fertilizes the egg on the SAME plant

Cross pollination

Pollen of a plant fertilizes the egg on a DIFFERENT plant

Animal-pollinated flowers

Flowers with a fragrance and pollen with a spiky outer layer

Wind-pollinated flowers

Small white flowers that make a lot of simple thin-walled pollen

Exine

The hard outer layer of a pollen or spore grain

Pollen fingerprint

The number and type of pollen found in an area at a particular time of year

Pollen and spore preservation

They resist decomposition so they are found in sediment millions of years old

Anther

The part of the flower that contains the pollen

Stamen

The male part of a flower made of the anther and filament

Filament

The stalk that holds up the anther

Carpel

The female part of a flower made of the stigma and style and ovary and ovules

Stigma

The sticky top of the carpel that receives pollen

Style

The tube that connects the stigma to the ovary

Ovary

The base of the carpel that holds the ovules

Ovules

The structures inside the ovary that contain the eggs

Petal

The often colorful part of a flower that attracts pollinators

Sepal

The leaf-like part that protects the flower bud

Nucleotide

The basic unit of DNA

Nucleotide parts

A sugar and a phosphate and a nitrogen base

DNA backbone

Made of sugar and phosphate

DNA shape

Double helix

DNA location

The nucleus of a cell

Adenine

Complementary base is thymine

Thymine

Complementary base is adenine

Guanine

Complementary base is cytosine

Cytosine

Complementary base is guanine

Polymerase Chain Reaction

Process which makes multiple copies of DNA

Gel electrophoresis

Process that separates fragments of DNA using electricity

Loading DNA

Putting fragmented DNA into the wells of a gel

DNA charge

Negative because of the phosphate groups

Restriction enzyme

An enzyme found naturally in bacteria that cuts DNA at specific sequences

Wells

The holes in the gel where the DNA is loaded

Gel

The material that DNA fragments move through during electrophoresis

Negative end

The end of the gel chamber where the wells are located

Positive end

The end the DNA moves toward

Shortest DNA strand

Travels the farthest and ends up closest to the positive end

Gel chamber

The entire apparatus that holds the gel and buffer

Casting tray

The structure the gel sits on

Power supply

The part that provides electricity to the gel chamber