Question

A single flowering plant produces pollen with a mutation that causes the pollen tubes to grow to only half their normal length. What will be the most likely long-term effect of this mutation on the local population of this type of plant? (2 points) The pollen tubes will reach the eggs sooner, which will result in seeds from this pollen being produced faster, making the mutation more likely to get passed on. Since the pollen tubes cannot grow long enough to reach the eggs, the mutation will not be passed on and will not affect the plant population. Plants produced from eggs fertilized by this pollen will only grow half as tall as the others, resulting in a population with short and tall plants. Within a few generations the mutation will have spread through the population, making all the pollen tubes shorter.

Answer 1

Since the pollen tubes cannot grow long enough to reach the eggs, the mutation will not be passed on and will not affect the plant population.

Step-by-step explanation:

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Answer 2

The main function of the pollen tube is to transfer the pollen to the stigma, where it is accepted and transferred to the ovules ("female" gamete in plants). The stigma is tall and if the pollen tubes are short, the pollen can never reach the stigma and thus the eggs will never be fertilized. Hence, this mutation will probably not spread in the population and technically it should go extinct after one generation. The correct answer is:
Since the pollen tubes cannot grow long enough to reach the eggs, the mutation will not be passed on and will not affect the plant population