Marginal notes: Seeds of disease, September 2022

Most plants are seed plants—characterized by seeds, pollen, and reduced gametophytes. Seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth

Disease surveillance is the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice. This process integrates data dissemination to entities responsible for preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. Surveillance systems provide crucial information for action, helping public health authorities make informed decisions to manage and prevent outbreaks, ensure public safety, optimize...

Seed structures are composed of a protective seed coat surrounding a plant embryo, and a food store for the developing embryo. The embryo contains the precursor tissues for leaves, stem, and roots. The endosperm and cotyledons—seed leaves—act as the food reserves for the growing embryo.

The diverse plant life on Earth—consisting of nearly 400,000 species—can be divided into three broad categories based on biological characteristics: nonvascular, seedless vascular, and seed plants.