Plant development I - plants are composed of repeated structural units Flashcards
plants are composed of…
repeated structural units
… coordinate plant development
plant hormones
Describe the roots
- highly explorative
- explore large areas and volumes of soil
- induce immobility
- allow social acquisition of nutrients
What are the constraints of immobility
exposed to aggregation and inclemency of weather and elements
Describe plant organs
can grow above- (shoot system) and under-ground (root system)
List some plant organs
- reproductive shoot (flower)
- modified leaves (petals)
- stamens and carpels
- bud
- leaf
- taproot
- lateral roots
List 3 directions of plant growth
- apical
- branching
- radial
Give some examples of apical growth
- shoots
- taproots
Give some examples of branching growths
- … branches
- lateral roots
Give some examples of radial growth
- tubers
List three different plant tissue systems
- epidermal system
- ground tissue system
- vascular tissue system
Describe permanent plant tissues
can be simple, complex or secretory
Describe the simple permanent plant tissues
- parenchyma
- schlerenchyma
- collenchyma
- epidermis
Describe plant organs
- composed of different tissue systems, each characterised by one or more cell types with characteristics that provide specific functions
How can plant tissues be divided?
meristems and the permanent tissues
Describe the SAM
- contained in the terminal bud
- responsible for the production of shoot-organs
SAM
shoot apical meristem
Describe the cambia
- vascular cambium and cork cambium
- meristematic tissues that enable increase in thickness of stems and roots
Describe the RAM
produces new cells at the tip of each root
RAM
root apical meristem
When does production of new organs occur mostly in plants?
post-embryonically
The root and shoot apical meristems are specified … during embryo development.
- early
- by heart-stage embryo
Meristems regenerate from…
differentiated tissues
Describe explants
- when supplemented with adequate amounts and ratios of phytohormones, they produce new shoot and root meristems
- can generate new plants
phytohormones
growth regulators
Describe adventitious roots
produced from de novo formed or inactive pre-existing meristems present along the stem
How do plants compensate
for sessility?
high regeneration (pretty much any organ can be regenerated)
Describe silent meristems
- can be reactivated by severely damaged plant parts to restore growth
- such as after wildfires
Why is regeneration essential?
grazing activity of herbivores.
How do we visualise plant meristems?
- signalling reporter proteins mark meristematic cells
- fluorescent markers: GFP, RFP
- chromogenic markers: GUS
- luminescent markers (luciferase)
Describe transcriptional reporters
reporter protein produced by reporter gene that follows the cell-specific promotor
Describe a post-transcriptional/translational reporter
cell-specific protein reporter fusion produced from reporter gene that follows a gene, which itself follows a cell-specific promotor
How a genetic reporters constructed?
fusing together promoters and/or coding ones with reporter genes
Describe the Arabidopsis root
- few cell types originate from the meristematic initials
- organised around a QC
- three root tip regions: division zone, elongation zone and differentiation zone
QC
- quiescent centre
- controls meristematic activity
Describe the division zone
where new cells are produced
Describe the differentiation zone
where adult cells acquire their final specific function
Describe root hair cell specialisation
- distal part of the RAM
- epidermal cells in contact with two dorsal cortex cells elongate into a root hair with high SA:Vol
- maximise exchange of water and minerals from the soil