Gymnosperm the genome of "Picea abies" in 2013. Gymnosperm The gymnosperms , also known as Acrogymnospermae, are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, "Ginkgo", and gnetophytes. The term "gymnosperm" comes from the Greek composite word "γυμνόσπερμος" (γυμνός gymnos, "naked" and σπέρμα sperma, "seed"), meaning "naked seeds". The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds (called ovules in their unfertilized state). The non-encased condition of their seeds stands in contrast to the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves,
Naked cuticle Naked cuticle Naked cuticle (Nkd) is a conserved family of intracellular proteins encoded in most animal genomes. The original mutants were discovered by 1995 Nobel laureates Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric F. Wieschaus and colleagues in their genetic screens for pattern-formation mutants in the fruit fly "Drosophila melanogaster". The Nkd gene family was first cloned in the laboratory of Matthew P. Scott. Like many cleverly named fly mutants, the name "naked cuticle" derives from the fact that mutants lack most of the hair-like protrusions from their ventral cuticle and thus appear "naked". In Drosophila, nkd is a segment–polarity class gene that