Solved by a verified expert:BackgroundAquatic species occur in a wide array of plant lineages. Water lilies, for example, are in a distinctive, early branching group of angiosperms; wild rice is a grass; watercress and wasabe are in the mustard family. Most of these species have a specialized, spongy tissue called aerenchyma that allows oxygen from the above-water parts of the plant to diffuse down to the below-water portions. Most aquatic plants do not have the water-transporting tissue called xylem. In addition, their cells lack thick secondary walls that provide structural support, and the below-surface portions lack cuticle.Questionsa) Is the tissue called aerenchyma homologous in aquatic plants? Explain why or why not.b) What genetic or developmental data would you collect to test your hypothesis about homology in aerenchyma, and what prediction would you make about the data?c) Propose a hypothesis to explain why aquatic plants lack one of the following traits (your pick): xylem, secondary cell walls, or cuticle.d) Explain how, in terms of allele frequencies, the trait loss in part c) occurred.
Recent Comments