ABSTRACT
An embryo can be defined as the earliest recognizable multicellular stage of an individual that occurs before it has developed the structures or organs characteristic of a given species. In most organisms, embryos are morphologically distinct entities that function as an intermediate stage in the transition between the gametophytic to sporophytic life cycle (Figure 14.1). For example, in higher plants, we are most familiar with embryos that develop within seeds; such embryos usually arise from gametic fusion products (zygotes) following sexual reproduction and are termed zygotic embryos, although seed-borne embryos also can develop apomictically (i.e., without sexual reproduction). However, plants are unique in that morphologically and functionally correct nonzygotic embryos also can arise from widely disparate cell and tissue types at a number of different points from both the gametophytic and sporophytic phases of the life cycle (Figure 14.2).
