Alternation of generations (also known as alternation of phases or metagenesis) is a term primarily used in describing the life cycle of plants (taken here to mean the Archaeplastida). A multicellular diploid sporophyte, with N paired chromosomes (i.e. 2N in total), alternates with a multicellular haploid gametophyte, with N unpaired chromosomes. A mature sporophyte produces spores by meiosis, a process which results in a reduction of the number of chromosomes by a half. Spores germinate and grow into a gametophyte. At maturity, the gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis. Two gametes (originating from different organisms of the same species or from the same organism) fuse to produce a zygote, which develops into a diploid sporophyte. This cycle, from sporophyte to sporophyte (or equally from gametophyte to gametophyte), is the way in which all land plants and many algae undergo sexual reproduction.
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