Unit V - Plants Anatomy and Physiology  

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Ch 13.6 - Control of Plant Growth and Development

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Plant growth regulator: a chemical produced by plant cells that regulates growth and differentiation

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Plants can modify their growth and differentiation through plant growth regulator

  • act by signaling plant cells to undergo particular changes
  • auxins, gibberellins, cytokinin, ethylene, and abscisic acid
  • can be categorized in tropism and nastic movement

Tropisms and Plant Growth Regulators

Tropism

Tropism: a directional change in growth/ movement in response to a stimulus and occurs slowly / not noticeable

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Phototropism: a change in direction of a growing plant in response to light

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Gravitropism: a directional change in growth pattern in response to gravity

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Thigmotropism: a directional change in growth pattern in response to touch

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Tropism is a change in the direction of growth/movements of a plant in response to a stimulus

  • controlled by plant growth regulators

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Phototropism: a change in direction of growth of a plant in response to light

  • plant can bend towards areas of higher light in an attempt to maximize the amount of light they received
  • positive phototropism: towards the light
  • negative phototropism: away from the light

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Gravitropism: a change in the direction of growth in response to gravity

  • regardless of the orientation of the plant, the root will always grow downwards - positive gravitropism
  • regardless of the orientation of the plant, the stem will always grow upwards - negative gravitropism
  • also known as “ geotropism”

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Thigmotropism: a change in the direction of growth in response to contact

  • slow responses to touch/pressure
  • eg. vines have positive thigmotropism

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Chemotropism: a change in the direction of growth in response to chemicals

  • eg. root grow towards useful minerals but away from acids

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Hydrotropism: a change in the direction of growth in response to water

  • eg. root exhibit positive hydrotropism

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Nastic movements

Turgor response/nastic movements: quick responses to stimuli

  • does not depend on the direction of the stimulus
  • movement is reversible
  • turgid cells filled with water quickly lose water and pressure
  • eg. venus fly traps, Mimosa plants

Hormones

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Hormone: a chemical that affects how organism functions, causing the organisms to respond in various ways to the chemical signal

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The growth and development of many plants and development of plants are regulated by the activity of plant hormones

  • auxin, cytokinin, gibberellins, abscisic acid, ethylene

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Auxin: promotes cell elongation and suppresses the growth of lateral branches and leaves drop in spring

  • shoot apical meristem is the main site of auxin synthesis
  • diffuse down from the shoot tip to cells on its shaded side → stimulate cells elongation by loosening up cellulose → causing the shoot to bend towards the light
  • stimulate cell division in the vascular cambium and promotes the formation of new lateral meristems and new root apical meristems
  • eg.1 - synthetic auxins may also be applied to fruits to induce cell elongation
  • eg.2 - spraying auxins on orchard can artificially synchronize the ripening in all plants → reduce the cost of harvesting the fruits as most of the fruits can be picked at one time

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Apical Dominance: the condition in which most shoot growth from apical bud and not lateral buds

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Apical dominance is an example of auxin inhibiting cell division

  • cell division occurs in the apical bud but is inhibited in the lateral buds
  • caused by the high level of auxin released in the apical meristem
  • grower can cause a plant to produce more flowers, fruits/leaves by removing the apical bud
  • eg.1 - basil plants can be made bushier by removing the apical bud

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Gibberellins: promotes cell division and cell elongation

  • produced by the young tissues of shoots and by developing seed, but from leaves and young roots as well
  • help make the stored carbohydrate reserve available to the growing embryo
  • eg.1 - grapes are sometimes sprayed with gibberellins to induce fruit production → cause fruit stem to elongate → give each grape more space to grow → grape grows larger → make the grape bunch look larger and more appealing

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Cytokinins: promote cell division and differentiation through mitosis

  • found in tissues that are actively diving, such as meristems, young leaves, and growing seeds
  • stimulate adventitious buds
  • slow cell aging by inhibiting protein breakdown and stimulating protein synthesis
  • eg.1 - synthetic cytokinins are sprayed on lettuce and mushrooms to keep them from spoiling

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Ethylene: “plant stress hormone” as it induces changes that protect a plant against environmental stress

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Senescence: developmental events in a plant tissue/organ from maturity to death

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  • regulates the growth of roots and shoots around obstacles → causes the roots to grow sideways → no longer produced when root cells no longer touch the stone
  • stimulate fruit ripening, shoot and root growth and differentiation, and flower opening
  • stimulate fruit drop and flower and leaf senescence, losing leaves in drought conditions
  • release ethylene as fruits ripen, which induces further ripening and eventually spoilage
  • eg.1 - an increase in ozone leads to the increase of ethylene production in plants → reduces crop yield
  • eg.2 - producers ship fruits in well-ventilated trucks that contain ethylene-absorbing filters or shipped separately to make sure all products all ripen at the same time → helps the product sell more steadily

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Abscisic Acid: respond to changes in temperatures and light, maintains dormancy in leaf buds and seeds

  • reason why deciduous trees are dormant over winter and grass, becomes dormant and turns brown during hot, dry periods as dormant plants are less vulnerable to damage
  • control the closing of stomata → Abscisic Acid diffuses to the guard cells of the stomata and induces them to close → leaves can conserve their internal water
  • eg.1 - Abscisic Acid is applied to plants before they are shipped from nurseries to garden centers so they can be less vulnerable to damage

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Ch 12.5 - Transport in Vascular Plants

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Phloem: transport of sugars

Xylem: transport of water and nutrients

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Basic Overview of transportation:

Water and dissolved nutrients from soil enter plant roots by passive active transport through the plasma membrane of root hairs → Water and dissolved nutrients travel from root hairs into xylem vessels by passing through/between cells → Vascular tissue distributes substances throughout the plant, sometimes over great distances → Cells load and unload sugars into and out of the phloem


Transport in the Roots

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Water enters the root by osmosis, but nutrients enter by active transport

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Osmosis: the diffusion of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane, from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration

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The key role of the Casparian strip is to prevent substances from leaking back into the cortex

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The cytoplasm of plant cells has a lower concentration of water molecules than soil water, and the cell membrane allows water molecules to cross freely → water molecules enter cells in the plant roots by osmosis → water flows through the epidermal cells, cortex → water molecules move towards the vascular cylinder

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The concentration of nutrients in the cytoplasm of a plant cell is higher than the concentration of nutrients in the soil water → must use active transport to move nutrients from the soil to roots cells → moved through the cells of the cortex towards the endodermis

  • movement is made easier since the adjacent plant cells have interconnecting stands of cytoplasm

→ once nutrients/water enter a root cell, they would not need to cross another cell membrane until they reach the vascular cylinder

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Water molecules and nutrients reach the endodermis → pass directly through the endodermal cell → nutrients are actively pumped across cell membranes into the xylem once they’re inside the vascular cylinder


Transport into the Stem

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Root pressure: the osmotic force pushing xylem sap upwards in root vascular tissue

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Capillary action: the tendency of a liquid to rise/fall because of attractive forces between the liquid molecules

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Water molecules and dissolved nutrients cross the Casparian strip → form xylem sap → create root pressure and help push the xylem sap upwards as concentration increases and water molecules follow by osmosis

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Capillary action: the tendency of a liquid in a narrow tube to rise and fall

  • Adhesion - a column of liquid is held together by weak attractive forces between molecules and rises because of attractive forces between the liquid and the side of the tube

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Cohesive-tension: Attractive forces occur between water molecules and molecules in the cell walls

  • water molecule in xylem sap stick to each other and are drawn up from the sides of the xylem tubes → water column moves upward → xylem sap move from one xylem tube to another through pits in the cell wall/move out of the xylem through pits into the surrounding tissue

→ ensure all cells in the plant body receive water and nutrients


Transport to the leaves

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Transpiration: evaporation of water through the stomata of plant leaves

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The main driving force of transport up the xylem is Cohesion-tension (transpiration)

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Turgor: pressure caused by the fluid contents of central vacuole, which pushes against the wall of a plant cell

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Plants release water vapor through stomata during transpiration → water evaporates through the stomata when they are open → water molecule moves up the xylem column → pulls neighboring water molecules with them and etc.

  • due to the attractive force between water molecules, one is able to pull another up

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  1. Water and dissolved nutrients enter the root by osmosis and active transport → 2) Release of water molecules through transpiration in the leaves drives the uptake of replacement water molecules from soil → 3) Transpiration continues to pull the column of water up the xylem tubes w/ root pressure and capillary action → 4) Transpiration pulls the column of water up through the xylem tubes and evaporates

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A plant cell stores water and dissolved substances in its central vacuole → exerts pressure against the cell wall when it’s full → Turgor

  • help support the plant
  • water moves out of the vacuole when the plant is unable to take up water from soil → plant wilt

Transport of Sugar

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Source: plant cell with a high concentration of sugars and other solutes

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Sink: plant cells with a low concentration of sugar → may be converted to starch for storage/used for energy/building blocks for carbohydrates

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Angiosperm - companion cells transport sugar from source cells to the sieve tube elements

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Gymnosperm - sugars are transported from source cells directly into sieve cells

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Sugar can move bi-directional

  • depends on the location of source cells relatives to sink cells
  • generally, sugars are transported from a source to a sink, which is connected by columns of phloem cells

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Eg.1 - the location of sink and source cells in plants often changes in seasons

  • winter: many plants are dormant → do not grow or photosynthesize
  • spring: plants depend on carbohydrates stored in roots and stems → plant breaks down starch as sugar
  • spring: root and stem cells are sources, and sink is mainly the leaves → phloem moves up
  • summer: leaves produce sugar → sources, and the roots and stem cells are the sinks → phloem moves down

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The produced sugar transport to the phloem involves active transport → concentration of sugar in the phloem sap increase → water are drawn from the xylem cells into the phloem cells by osmosis → increase the turgor of phloem cells

  • concentration of sugars in phloem cells is generally higher than the concentration in the source cell

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Translocation

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Translocation: long-distance transport of substances through the phloem, particularly glucose

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Phloem tubes are not hollow, substances in the phloem sap have to move between living cells

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It is suggested that translocation is driven by the difference in turgor between the phloem cells near source cells and the turgor of phloem cells near sink cells

  • differences in turgor push the phloem sap towards the direction of sink cells

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Sugar molecules leave the phloem once they reach a sink cell → sugar moves from the phloem to the sink by passive transport → sieve tube elements have a lower concentration of sugar → water returns to the xylem from the phloem

  • maintains the relatively low turgor of phloem cells near the sink
  • recirculates the water back into the xylem

Ch 12.4 - Roots

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The main role of plant roots: is to anchor the plant and keep it upright, to absorb water and nutrients other than carbohydrates

→ some roots store water and carbohydrates for the plant

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Types of Root Systems

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Taproot system: a root system composed of a large, thick, root; can have smaller lateral roots → Eudicot

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Fibrous root system: a root system made up of many small, branching roots → Monocot

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Lateral root: a smaller root that branches from a larger root

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Root hair: a microscopic extension of the epidermal cells of the root

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General Structure of Roots

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Root cap: the mass of cells that form a productive covering for the meristem at the root tip

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Root cortex: a region of parenchyma cells under the epidermis of a root

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Endodermis: the innermost layer of cells in the cortex of the root

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Casparian strip: the wax-like strip that runs through the cell wall of an endodermis cell

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Vascular Cylinder: the central portion of a root that contains the xylem and the phloem

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The tip of the root contains the root cap and a meristem. and behind the apical meristem is the region of elongation followed by the region of maturity

  • root cap produces a slippery substance that helps the root to penetrate the soil → minimize the damage to the root cells
  • meristem produces new cells to increase the length of the root

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The Root hairs are found above the root tip, projecting outward from the epidermis

  • increase the surface area of the epidermis → the root can absorb water and dissolve nutrients more efficiently

The root cortex is a region of parenchyma cells beneath the epidermis

  • store carbohydrates and help transport water from the epidermis to the xylem
  • ends at the endodermis → walls are wrapped with a wax-like substance which forms the Caparian strip

The vascular tissues of roots are contained in the vascular cylinder

  • gymnosperms and eudicot - in the center of the root, forming an X/star shape
  • Monocot - the center of the root contains parenchyma cells, surrounded by a ring of xylem and a ring of phloem cells

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Root specialization

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Tuberous Root: a lateral root specialized in storing carbohydrates

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Adventitious Root: a root that develops from somewhere other than the root apical meristem that emerges from the seed

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Root specialization may help roots to

  • more efficiently absorb water and nutrients
  • anchor the plant
  • store carbohydrates
  • help protect the roots from being eaten

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Almost all plants have relationships with other organisms

  • The roots of over 80% of plants have a mutualistic relationship with Mycorrhizal - the fungi can get into smaller spaces and are able to release digestive enzymes that break down organic matter → receive carbohydrate
  • some root species and nitrogen-fixing bacteria - the bacteria take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that plants can use → receive carbohydrates and live within the nodules
  • strangler fig and other organisms - the fig will obtain water and nutrients from the host tree and the roots will prevent the host’s trunk from growing outwards → host tree dies and loses its leaves, and leave behind a large hollow space within the strangler fig → strangler fig engulf the trunk of the host and becomes the host
  • humans and plants - most roots eaten by organisms are specialized for carbohydrates storage (eg. carrots and beets → taproot, Yams, cassava and sweet potatoes → tuberous roots)

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Some roots produce chemicals to avoid the risk of being eaten by other organisms

  • eg.1 - bitter roots - the bear root taste so horrible that few animals would eat them
  • eg.2 - Cassava roots produce a deadly toxin to protect them
  • eg.3 - black walnut root secretes a toxin that inhibits the growth of other plants
  • eg.4 - common reed releases a corrosive acid that breaks down the roots of the neighboring plants

Human Uses of Roots

We use roots for food, for ourselves and our livestock

  • food - parsnip, turnips, beets, taro, and sweet potato
  • Ourselves - licorice roots can be used in candies, roots can be used for beverages
  • livestock - Cassava, turnips, yams, rutabaga, and other roots
  • chemicals - can be used to dye textiles (eg. beet/madder for red, and dandelion for brown), pesticides (eg. Rotenone)
  • Medicine - Ipecac (induce vomiting and prevent further absorption of poison), Kava kava (eg. reduce anxiety)

Erosion Control

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Roots are useful in controlling erosion

  • fibrous roots can form a mat that holds the upper soil layers in place during heavy rain, snow/wind
  • trees can be planted to control erosion → often done after an area of the forest has been clear-cut since it exposes the soil surface which makes it vulnerable to erosion

Ch 12.3 - Stems

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Roots connect the vascular tissue in the leaves to the vascular tissue in the root → allowing water and dissolved substances to be transported throughout the plant body

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Roots also raise and support the leaves and reproductive organs

→ maximize their exposure to sunlight so they are able to photosynthesize more efficiently

→ place the organs in an ideal position to photosynthesize more effectively

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Some can store water/carbohydrates, and to protect the plant from injuries and herbivores


Stem Structure

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Herbaceous: describes plants with stems that do not have wood

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Woody: describes plants with stems that contain wood

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Herbaceous plants’ stems are relatively pliable, carry out photosynthesis and have a thin epidermis

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Woody plants’ stems are relatively hard, have bark, and do not usually carry out photosynthesis

  • all gymnosperms/eudicots have woody stems

Anatomy of Herbaceous Stems

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Vascular Bundle: arrangement of vascular tissue that consists of xylem and phloem

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Vascular bundles run continuously from the roots to the leaves

  • xylem is always close to the center while phloem is always closer to the outside of the stem

  • vascular bundles are scattered throughout the parenchyma - monocot

  • vascular bundles are arranged in a ring around the margin of the stem and occupied by pith - dicot

Anatomy of Woody stems

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Vascular Cambium: the meristematic cell layer in vascular tissue

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Bark: the protective outermost layer of the stems and roots of woody plants; consists of phloem, cork cambium and cork

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Cork cambium: the meristematic layer in a woody plant that produces cork

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Vascular cambium is a layer of meristematic cells in the vascular tissues that divide to form new xylem and phloem cells

  • secondary xylem grows to the inside of the vascular cambium, and secondary phloem to the outside → increase the width of the plant

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Sapwood is the younger xylem through which water and minerals are transported to the leaves → older xylem layers fills up with resins and oils and no longer conduct water → form heartwood

  • heartwood helps support the tree

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Bark consist of phloem, cork cambium, and cork

  • phloem transport sugars made in leaves throughout the plant
  • protect plants from herbivores and low-temperature fires (eg. Ontario’s red and white pine)

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Cork cambium is a layer of meristematic tissue that produce cork

  • cork prevents water loss from the stem

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The apical meristem is embedded in the tip of the stem within the Terminal bud

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Along the side of the stem are lateral buds that forms new branches and twigs → leaves unfold at intervals as terminal bud moves up

  • leaves attached at points - nodes
  • spaces between nodes - internodes
  • openings - lenticels → permit gas exchange between stem and surrounding air

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Spring wood - the vascular cambium grows rapidly in spring, producing large xylem cells that have thin walls → wood is less dense and in light color

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Summer wood - fewer xylem cells are produced and have thicker cell wall → wood is more dense and in dark color


Cell Types in Vascular Tissues

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Xylem: thick walled and dead at maturity, cell walls are rich in lignin

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Phloem: contain cytoplasm, living at maturity

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Tracheid: elongated, tapered xylem with thick cell walls containing small pits, that overlap one another to form continuous tubes from root to shoot

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Vessel element: a shorter blunt-ended xylem cell with thick cell walls containing small pits, stack end to end to form vessel tubes that run from root to shoot

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Perforation plate: perforated end wall of a vessel element

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Sieve cell: phloem cell with pores in its cell walls, contains all necessary cell organelles

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Sieve tube element: a phloem cell with pores in its side cell walls, lack organelles and depend on associated companion cell

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Sieve plate: the perforated end wall of a sieve tube element

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Companion cell: a small nucleated phloem cell that is always associated with a sieve tube element

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Xylem

  • Tracheid all have pits → allow water and solutes to pass up or across to neighboring xylem cells

  • Vessel element is shorter and wider and have less tapered end

  • Perforation plates are end walls with one/more openings → allow water and solutes to pass through

    → gymnosperm: tracheid

    → angiosperm: tracheid and vessel elements

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Phloem

  • Sieve cells have narrow pores, organelles including a nucleus

  • Sieve tube element have cytoplasm but lack cell organelles

  • Sieve plates are perforated → allow sugars solution to pass to neighboring phloem cell

  • Companion cell have a nucleus and organelles

    → gymnosperm: sieve cells

    → angiosperm: sieve tube element and companion cell

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Stem Specialization

  • stolons are modified stems that grow along the soil instead of upright
  • spider plants produce new plants on the ends of stolons
  • vines take advantage of other objects to raise and support their leaves

Human Uses of Stems

Fuel

  • ethanol
  • wood

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Food

  • sugar canes
  • potato
  • yams
  • maple syrup
  • asparagus

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Textiles

  • flax - manufacture linen
  • hemp - produce textiles
  • bamboo - make clothing w/ other natural fibers such as cotton

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Dyes

  • indigo - dye jeans
  • hematoxylin - stain used to prepare microscope slides

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Chemicals

  • tannin - wood stains
  • turpentine - solvent
  • latex rubber - gloves, tubing and erases

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Medicine

  • salicylic acid - pain reliever made from willow bark
  • taxol - anti-cancer drug from bark and needles of yew trees

Ch 12.2 Leaves

Functions of Leaves

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Chloroplast: organelle found in large numbers in many plant cells, site of photosynthesis within a plant cell

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Photopigment: a pigment that undergoes a physical/chemical change in presence of light

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Leaves are the primary site of photosynthesis

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The plant used glucose as a building material and as an energy source for cellular processes

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Leaf absorb energy from sunlight in a chloroplast → which contains various photopigments

  • photopigments are chemicals that absorb particular wavelengths in the light
  • chloroplasts also
  • eg.1 - chlorophyll absorbs light at the red and blue ends of visible lights → gives leaves their green color

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Leaves carry out the gas exchange between the interior of the plant and its environment

  • epidermis contains many pores → allow for gas to pass in and out
  • photosynthesis (use CO2 and release O2) and cellular respiration (use O2 and produce CO2) requires gas exchange

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Leaves may offer protection from herbivores

  • protect themselves with surface hair w/ irritating compounds → make leaves unpalatable
  • produce toxins or bad-tasting chemicals → deter herbivores
  • eg.1 - leaves in cacti are reduced to sharp spines → protect photosynthetic stem

Structures of Leaves

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Blade: the flat part of a leaf

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Petiole: stalk that attached the leaf blade to the plant stem

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Venation: the arrangement of veins within a leaf

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Monocots

  • have parallel venations
  • have narrow leaves

Dicot

  • have branching venation
  • have broad leaves

Internal Structures of Leaf

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Mesophyll: the photosynthetic middle layer of cells in the lead of a terrestrial plant

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Palisade mesophyll: the later of elongated photosynthetic cells arranged in columns under the upper surface of a leaf on a terrestrial plant, part of mesophyll

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Spongy mesophyll: the latter of loosely packed photosynthetic cells with large air spaces between them under the lower surface of a leaf on a terrestrial plant, part of the mesophyll

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Stoma: opening in leaves through which gases pass in and out of leaves

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Guard cells: one of two kidney-shaped cells that control the opening and closing of a stoma

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The epidermal cells are tightly packed in a single layer and covered by a waxy coating called the cuticle

  • cuticle prevents water loss → provides a physical barrier against bacteria, molds, and insects
  • transparent → so light can pass through to the cells within → does not carry out photosynthesis

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Mesophyll

  • Palisade mesophyll are elongated and closely packed, and contain many chloroplasts → maximizing amount of light collected and use for photosynthesis
  • Spongy mesophyll are loosely packed and have large air spaces → allowing for gas exchange between the mesophyll cells and the atmosphere through stomata

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Stomata

  • an opening in the epidermis, through which gases pass in and out
  • regulates the rate of gas exchange

Guard cells

  • are thicker on their inner side → when swollen with water, they bow outwards → open stomata
  • turgor pressure - the pressure exerted on the guard cell to open
  • low concentration of CO2 and an accumulation of potassium ion + environmental conditions (i.e. temperature) → instigate the opening

Aerenchyma

  • tissue composed of loosely packed parenchyma with large pores
  • help leaves float on the surface of the water for aquatic plants

Leaf Specialization

Leaves have a specialization that protects the plants

  • produce chemicals in their leaves to repel herbivores

    → eg.1 - tobacco plants produce nicotine

  • deters herbivores from structural specialization

    → eg.2 - cacti have spines that protect the stem from being eaten

  • plants will lose their leaves in fall → help conserve water and nutrients during winter

  • Gymnosperm have small leaves, a thick epidermis, and cuticle, and stomata are recessed below the epidermis, and chemicals that prevent them from freezing → prevent water loss

    → conifers (i.e. spruce and pines) have needle-shaped leaves → allow shedding snow more readily


Human Uses of Leaves

Dark green leafy vegetable (spinach)

  • contain calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamins B, C, E, and K,
  • provide nutrients that protect our cells from damage such as beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin
  • contain a small amount of omega-3 essential for brain and heart function

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Cuticles

  • wax produced by carnauba palm leaves is used to make car and furniture polishes, surfboard wax, coating for candies, and ingredient in chocolate
  • Candelilla produced by Euphorbia Cerifera is used to make lipstick

Leaves

  • leaves of sweet grass plants are used in NA Aboriginal people’s religious ceremony
  • braided sweet grass is burnt at the start of ceremonies to purify spirits by the Cree and Anishinaabe Algonquian people
  • palm leaves are used to make thatched roofs

Leaves and Chemicals

Many species protect themselves by synthesizing toxic chemicals in their leaves

  • eg.1 - hydrangea leaves can cause vomiting, diarrhea, or even coma
  • eg.2 - leaf blades of rhubarb plant can cause vomiting, nausea, or even kidney damage

Some plant poisons can be beneficial in cancer treatments → used to kill the rapidly dividing cancer cells

  • eg. 1 - vincristine → treat childhood leukemia and vinblastine → treat Hodgkin’s disease produced by rosy periwinkle

Psychotropic drugs

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Psychotropic drugs: mind-altering

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some plants produce chemicals that alter perception, emotion/behavior

  • eg.1 - marijuana produce psychotropic compound tetrahydrocannabinol → increases appetite and reduces nausea and may reduce muscle spasms, reduce internal pressure in the eye → useful in treating glaucoma
  • eg.2 - coco plants produced cocaine→ that suppresses hunger, pain, and fatigue. and help lessen the symptoms of altitude sickness; produce euphoria, talkativeness, and alertness, and produce paranoia, irritability, and nervousness

Ch 12.1 - The characteristics of plants

Basic Needs of Plants

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Carbohydrate: a molecule that contains only atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a ratio of 1:2:1

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Plant capture energy from incoming solar radiation and convert it to chemical energy through photosynthesis

  • carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen

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Carbohydrate is a molecule that consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atom

  • main source of chemical energy needed for maintenance, growth, and development

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Plants have developed different adaptations to capture as much light as possible

  • eg. adjusting the position of their leaves to maximize their exposure to light

Plants also developed ways to protect themselves

  • produce toxic/bad-tasting substances
  • produce a tough, hairy/prickly later

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Plants need specific nutrients (i.e. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) in order to synthesize proteins, lipids, and other compounds

  • plants absorb nutrients as dissolved substances in water with the help of mycorrhizal fungi

The Vascular Plant Body: Roots and Shoots

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Meristematic tissue: issue consisting of dividing undifferentiated cells found in areas of the plant where growth can take place

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Dermal Tissue

  • epidermis and periderm
  • outermost cell layers
  • often have thicker cell walls
  • covered by a waxy cuticle

→ protect against injury, herbivores, diseases, and water loss

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Vascular Tissue

  • xylem and phloem
  • xylem - thick-walled cells, dead, and maturity
  • phloem - thin-walled cells, living at maturity

→ transport water and nutrients and support the plant body

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Ground Tissue

  • Parenchyma - thin-walled cells, living at maturity

→ perform cellular processes to support growth and development

→ store carbohydrates, especially starch

  • Collenchyma - thick-walled cells, living at maturity

→ perform cellular processes to support growth and development

→ support and protect plant body

  • Sclerenchyma - cells with lignin in their cell walls, dead at maturity

→ support and protect plant body

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Meristematic Tissue

  • the undifferentiated cell → become vascular, ground, or dermal tissue
  • primary growth of plant occurs in the apical meristem
  • second growth occurs in lateral meristem tissues

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Updating the Phylogeny of Vascular Plants

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom: Bryophyte, Tracheophytes

→ division: seed producing, Spore producing

Class: Gymnosperm, Angiosperm, Lycophytes and Pteridophyte

Order: Monocotyledon, Eudicotyledon


Basic Overview of Monocot vs Dicot

Seed leaves

  • monocot: one cotyledon
  • dicot: two cotyledon

Vascular Bundle

  • monocot: scattered throughout the stem
  • dicot: forms a ring around the stem

Flowering parts

  • monocot: multiples of 3
  • dicot: multiples of 4/5

Leaf Venation

  • monocot: parallel veins and narrow leaves
  • Dicot: branching veins and broad leaves

Roots

  • monocot: fibrous roots
  • dicot: taproot

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