Translocation in Plants

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to translocation and transpiration in plants.

Translocation

The movement of solutes, mainly sugars, through a plant from sources (where they are produced) to sinks (where they are used or stored).

Sources

Plant parts, such as mature leaves, that produce and export sugars to other parts of the plant.

Sinks

Plant parts, such as roots and developing leaves, that consume or store sugars received from sources.

Phloem

Vascular tissue responsible for the transport of nutrients and sugars produced by photosynthesis.

Xylem

Vascular tissue responsible for the transport of water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the rest of the plant.

Turgor pressure

Pressure exerted by the fluid in a cell against the cell wall, helping maintain the structure of the plant.

Concentration gradient

A difference in the concentration of a substance across a distance, driving solute movement from high to low concentration.

Bulk pressure flow

The mechanism by which high pressure near the source moves water and solutes through phloem to sinks.

Companion cells

Specialized cells in the phloem that assist in the transport of sugars and help maintain the health of sieve-tube members.

Active transport

The process that requires energy to move substances against their concentration gradient.

Passive transport

The movement of substances across a membrane without the need for energy input, following the concentration gradient.

Transpirational pull

The movement of water up through the plant, driven by evaporation of water from the leaves.

Sucrose

A common sugar that is transported in the phloem as a primary form of energy and carbon for plants.

Vacuole

A membrane-bound organelle in plant cells that stores nutrients, waste products, and helps maintain turgor pressure.

Sieve-tube members

Cells that form the main conducting tissue of phloem for transporting photosynthates.

Secondary active transport

A process that uses energy from an electrochemical gradient, rather than ATP, to move substances across membranes.