Argentine researchers reconstruct the evolutionary process of the origin of seeds

A study led by paleobiologist Leandro Martínez (CONICET) and Marcela Quetglas (UNLP) analyzed the morphological and reproductive transformations that gave rise to seeds over millions of years. The research was published in the scientific journal Annals of Botany.

The work details that primitive land plants reproduced via spores and that evolution toward seeds required a complex sequence of changes, including heterospory and the retention of the megaspore in the parent plant.

Likewise, the study highlights key intermediate fossils such as Runcaria and Elkinsia polymorpha, which show how protective envelopes and integuments evolved to protect the embryo and facilitate fertilization without dependence on external water.

The scientists conclude that the seed must be understood as an integrated modular biological system whose gradual appearance favored the expansion of vegetation into dry terrestrial environments.