Gamete

A gamete is a cell containing half the amount of genetic material found in a somatic (body) cell that is capable of joining with another gamete and developing into a new individual. In this sense, the joined gametes (zygote) form the earliest stem cell since this one cell will form a completely new plant.

Each gamete carries one copy of each of the alleles. Thus, the process of fertilization is how each new embryo gets one copy of each allele from its father and the other half from its mother. Because each parent-plant has two copies of each allele, they pass only ...