Interactions with the Environment during Plant Sexual Reproduction and Dispersal Consequences for the Concept of Sexual Reproduction and Life Michiel

The interaction between seed plants and animals during pollination and fruit and seed dispersal is well known, and marks the sexual reproduction process. During the history of the plant kingdom, the development of sexual reproduction has been governed by changes in the environment of the plant, together with the increasing complexity of organisms. The interactions between gametes and the environment are prepared during gametogenesis, and therefore reproduction and dispersal are related from the beginning. The dynamic environment should be considered as an interactive partner. The more intensive interactions in multicellular organisms make the interaction in seed plants far more complex. Sexual reproduction plays a key role in the progress of the interaction between the dynamic environment and the biosphere. Sexual reproduction embodies the renewal and dispersal of organisms. This means that the interactions between organisms and their environment are not only an essential element of sexual reproduction but also a characteristic of life, based on the unity of organism and environment. The driving force of the increasing complexity of life is the dynamic environment and the persisting organism.