"Reproductive cells and somatic cells are not separated early in development, as they are in animals。 Instead, plant somatic cells that have undergone many rounds of mitosis can undergo meiosis and produce gametes."

This is said in my notes under properties of plants that make this mode of speciation possible. Can someone explain this please?

Certainly! In plants, reproductive cells (gametes) and somatic cells (non-reproductive cells) are not separated early in development, unlike in animals. Instead, plant somatic cells that have undergone many rounds of cell division (mitosis) can undergo another type of cell division called meiosis to produce gametes.

To understand this, let's break it down step by step:

1. Mitosis: Mitosis is the process by which a single cell divides to produce two identical daughter cells. This is the type of cell division that allows somatic cells in plants to grow and multiply.

2. Meiosis: Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division that occurs in certain cells to produce gametes (reproductive cells). In plants, somatic cells that have undergone many rounds of mitosis can undergo meiosis and give rise to gametes.

3. Gametes: Gametes are specialized cells (such as sperm and egg cells) that are involved in sexual reproduction. In plants, meiosis in somatic cells results in the production of haploid gametes (with half the chromosome number). These gametes can combine during fertilization to form a new plant with a full complement of chromosomes.

The ability of plant somatic cells to undergo meiosis and produce gametes is one of the properties that makes this mode of speciation possible in plants. It means that plants have the potential to reproduce sexually and generate genetic variation, which can lead to the formation of new plant species over time.