In flowering plants, DNA content of the parent plant gets halved

In flowering plants, DNA content of the parent plant gets halved during

[amp_mcq option1=”Seed germination” option2=”Fruit formation” option3=”Flower bud formation” option4=”Pollen formation” correct=”option4″]

This question was previously asked in
UPSC NDA-2 – 2023
In flowering plants, DNA content gets halved during meiosis. Meiosis is a type of cell division that produces gametes (sex cells) with half the number of chromosomes (and thus half the DNA content) of the parent cell. In flowering plants, pollen grains contain the male gametes (sperm), and their formation (microsporogenesis) involves meiosis. Similarly, the formation of the female gametophyte and egg cell (megasporogenesis) also involves meiosis, halving the DNA content. Seed germination, fruit formation, and flower bud formation involve mitotic division and growth, not the halving of DNA content for gamete production.
Meiosis reduces the chromosome number (and DNA content) by half to produce gametes. Pollen formation involves meiosis.
Fertilization, the fusion of male and female gametes, restores the diploid number of chromosomes (and doubles the DNA content compared to the gametes) in the zygote, which then develops into the embryo.