Reproduction (Plants) – Post-fertilisation: NEET MCQs with Answers

15 free questions on Reproduction (Plants) – Post-fertilisation for NEET (UG), starting with previous-year NEET and AIPMT questions. Try each one, then tap Show answer for the answer and a short explanation.

Syllabus covered: Post-fertilisation: Structures and Events: - Development of endosperm and embryo, Development of seed and formation of fruit;

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Question 1

Previous-year question
Endosperm is consumed by developing embryo in the seed of [AIPMT 2008]
  1. coconut
  2. castor
  3. pea
  4. maize
Show answer
Answer: (C) pea
Explanation: In pea (Pisum sativum) the endosperm is entirely consumed by the growing embryo, so the mature seed is non-endospermic and food is stored in the cotyledons. Coconut, castor and maize retain endosperm in the mature seed.

Question 2

Previous-year question
Cotyledons and testa respectively are edible parts in [AIPMT 2009]
  1. walnut and tamarind
  2. french bean and coconut
  3. cashew nut and litchi
  4. groundnut and pomegranate
Show answer
Answer: (D) groundnut and pomegranate
Explanation: In groundnut the two fleshy cotyledons form the edible part, whereas in pomegranate the juicy outer seed coat (testa) is eaten. A cotyledon is the seed leaf of the embryo and the testa is the outer protective coat of the seed.

Question 3

Previous-year question
The scutellum observed in a grain of wheat or maize is comparable to which part of the seed in other monocotyledons? [AIPMT 2010, 2006]
  1. Cotyledon
  2. Endosperm
  3. Aleurone layer
  4. Plumule
Show answer
Answer: (A) Cotyledon
Explanation: In members of the family Poaceae the scutellum is regarded as a modified single cotyledon (seed leaf). It lies against the endosperm and secretes enzymes that digest and absorb the stored food during germination.

Question 4

Previous-year question
The coconut water and the edible part of coconut are [AIPMT 2012]
  1. endosperm
  2. endocarp
  3. mesocarp
  4. embryo
Show answer
Answer: (A) endosperm
Explanation: Both are endospermic in nature. Coconut water is the free-nuclear endosperm consisting of thousands of nuclei in a liquid medium, and the white kernel around it is the cellular endosperm.

Question 5

Previous-year question
Albuminous seeds store their reserve food mainly in [NEET 2013]
  1. perisperm
  2. endosperm
  3. cotyledons
  4. hypocotyl
Show answer
Answer: (B) endosperm
Explanation: Albuminous (endospermic) seeds retain a part of the endosperm at maturity because it is not completely used up during embryo development, and the endosperm serves as the main food store, e.g. wheat, maize, barley, castor and sunflower.

Question 6

Previous-year question
The viability of seeds is tested by [NEET 2013]
  1. safranine
  2. 2, 6 dichlorophenol indophenols
  3. 2, 3, 5 triphenyl tetrazolium chloride
  4. DMSO
Show answer
Answer: (C) 2, 3, 5 triphenyl tetrazolium chloride
Explanation: The tetrazolium test uses 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride. Dehydrogenases of living respiring tissue reduce the colourless salt to red, water-insoluble formazan, so viable embryos stain red while dead tissue remains unstained.

Question 7

Previous-year question
Seed coat is not thin, membranous in [NEET 2013]
  1. coconut
  2. groundnut
  3. gram
  4. maize
Show answer
Answer: (A) coconut
Explanation: The seed coat develops from the integuments of the ovule. In coconut it is thick and hard, protecting the embryo from mechanical injury and drying, whereas in groundnut, gram and maize it is thin and membranous.
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Question 8

Previous-year question
Perisperm differs from endosperm in [NEET 2013]
  1. having no reserve food
  2. being a diploid tissue
  3. its formation by fusion of secondary nucleus with several sperms
  4. being a haploid tissue
Show answer
Answer: (B) being a diploid tissue
Explanation: Perisperm is the persistent, unused remnant of the nucellus and is therefore purely maternal and diploid (2n). Endosperm arises by triple fusion and is triploid (3n). Perisperm does store reserve food, e.g. in black pepper and castor.

Question 9

Previous-year question
Non-albuminous seed is produced in [AIPMT 2014]
  1. maize
  2. castor
  3. wheat
  4. pea
Show answer
Answer: (D) pea
Explanation: In non-albuminous (ex-albuminous) seeds the endosperm is completely consumed during embryo development and food is stored in the fleshy cotyledons, e.g. pea, gram and bean. Maize, wheat and castor retain endosperm at maturity and are albuminous.

Question 10

Previous-year question
The coconut water from tender coconut represents [NEET 2016, 2015, Phase II]
  1. fleshy mesocarp
  2. free-nuclear proembryo
  3. free-nuclear endosperm
  4. endocarp
Show answer
Answer: (C) free-nuclear endosperm
Explanation: Coconut water is free-nuclear endosperm — the primary endosperm nucleus divides repeatedly without cell wall formation, so the nuclei remain free in a liquid medium. It is rich in the plant hormone cytokinin.

Question 11

Previous-year question
Cotyledon of maize grain is called [NEET 2016, Phase II]
  1. coleorhiza
  2. coleoptile
  3. scutellum
  4. plumule
Show answer
Answer: (C) scutellum
Explanation: In grasses (Poaceae) the single large, shield-shaped cotyledon is called the scutellum. Coleorhiza is the sheath protecting the radicle and coleoptile the sheath covering the emerging shoot, while the plumule is the rudimentary shoot.

Question 12

Previous-year question
The morphological nature of the edible part of coconut is [NEET 2017]
  1. perisperm
  2. cotyledon
  3. endosperm
  4. pericarp
Show answer
Answer: (C) endosperm
Explanation: The white edible kernel of coconut is the cellular endosperm, and the coconut water is the free-nuclear (liquid) endosperm. Both therefore represent endospermic tissue.

Question 13

Previous-year question
Which one of the following statements regarding post-fertilisation development in flowering plants is incorrect? [NEET (National) 2019]
  1. Zygote develops into embryo
  2. Central cell develops into endosperm
  3. Ovules develop into embryo sac
  4. Ovary develops into fruit
Show answer
Answer: (C) Ovules develop into embryo sac
Explanation: The statement that ovules develop into embryo sac is incorrect. During post-fertilisation events the ovule develops into the seed. The embryo sac is a pre-fertilisation structure that develops from the functional megaspore inside the ovule.

Question 14

Previous-year question
Persistent nucellus in the seed is known as [NEET 2019]
  1. tegmen
  2. chalaza
  3. perisperm
  4. hilum
Show answer
Answer: (C) perisperm
Explanation: In some seeds the nucellus is not completely consumed during embryo development and persists as a residual nutritive tissue called perisperm, e.g. in black pepper and beet. The tegmen is the inner seed coat and the hilum is the scar of attachment.

Question 15

Previous-year question
In some plants thalamus contributes to fruit formation. Such fruits are termed as [NEET (Oct.) 2020]
  1. false fruits
  2. aggregate fruits
  3. true fruits
  4. parthenocarpic fruit
Show answer
Answer: (A) false fruits
Explanation: A fruit in which floral parts other than the ovary — such as the thalamus, base of sepals or petals — fuse with the pericarp and contribute to the fruit is called a false fruit or pseudocarp, e.g. apple, mulberry and strawberry.

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