Plant Responses and Animal responses Flashcards
What is abiotic stress?
Non-living environmental factor that could harm a plant e.g. mineral deficiency, drought, depleted oxygen supply, pollution.
How do plants respond to abiotic stress and herbivory?
● May produce antifreeze enzymes.
● May contain bitter-tasting tannins.
● May contain bitter-tasting nitrogen compounds
called alkaloids.
● Release cell-signalling pheromones to trigger
defensive responses in other organisms.
How does Mimosa pudica respond to being touched?
Seismonasty (touch sensitivity) causes leaves to fold.
What is a plant tropism?
directional growth response of plants ● phototropism: response to light ● geotropism: response to gravity ● hydrotropism: response to water ● thermotropism: response to temperature ● thigmotropism: response to touching a surface or object
How is leaf loss (leaf abscission) in deciduous plants
controlled?
- As leaf ages, cytokinin & auxin levels lower, ethene level increases.
- Triggers production of cellulase enzymes, which weaken leaves by breaking down cell walls in abscission layer.
- Leaves break from branch. Below abscission layer, suberin layer forms to prevent entry of pathogens.
List the functions of gibberellins.
Stimulate:
● germination
● elongation at cell internodes ● fruit growth
● rapid growth/ flowering
How is germination stimulated?
- Seed absorbs water, activating embryo to secrete gibberellins.
- Gibberellins diffuse to aleurone layer, which produces amylase.
- Amylase diffuses to endosperm layer to hydrolyse starch.
- Hexose sugars act as respiratory substrate to produce
ATP as ‘energy currency’.
List the functions of auxins.
● Involved in trophic responses e.g. IAA.
● Control cell elongation.
● Suppress lateral buds to maintain apical
dominance.
● Promote root growth e.g. in rooting
powders.
Explain why shoots show positive phototropism.
- Indoleacetic acid (IAA) diffuses to shaded side of shoot tip.
- As IAA diffuses down shaded side, it causes active transport of
H+ ions into cell wall. - Disruption to H-bonds between cellulose molecules & action of
expansins make cell more permeable to water. (acid growth
hypothesis) - Cells on shaded side elongate faster due to higher turgor
pressure. - Shoot bends towards light.
Explain why roots show positive gravitropism.
- Gravity causes IAA to accumulate on lower side of the root.
- IAA inhibits elongation of root cells.
- Cells on the upper side of the root
elongate faster, so the root tip bends downwards.
How do hormones stimulate stomata to close?
- Abscisic acid binds to complementary receptors on guard cell membrane, causing Ca2+ ion channels on tonoplast to open. Ca2+ ions diffuse from vacuole into cytosol.
- Positive feedback triggers other ion channels to open. Other ions e.g. K+ diffuse out of guard cell.
- Water potential of guard cell becomes more positive. Water diffuses out via osmosis.
- Guard cells become flaccid so stomata close.
What is apical dominance?
Phenomenon where during the growth of the shoot, the growth of side shoots does not take place. Maintained by the action of auxin, abscisic acid & cytokinins.
Explain the experimental evidence that auxins maintain apical dominance.
Auxin production in apex maintains high levels of abscisic acid. Inhibits growth of side shoots.
When apex is removed:
a) Auxin levels drop, causing abscisic acid levels to drop.
b) Cytokinins (initially concentrated near auxin reserve in bud) diffuse evenly to promote bud growth in other parts of plant = lateral buds.
Explain the experimental evidence that gibberellins control stem elongation and germination.
Stem elongation: Tall plants have higher gibberellin concentration than dwarf plants.
Germination: Mutant seeds with non-functional gibberellin gene do not germinate unless gibberellin is applied externally. Inhibitors of gibberellin production
prevent germination.
How are auxins and cytokinins used commercially?
Auxins: rooting powder, growing seedless fruit, herbicides, low concentrations prevent leaf & fruit growth, high concentrations promote fruit drop.
Cytokinins: prevent yellowing of lettuce leaves, promotes shoot growth.
How are gibberellins and ethene used commercially?
Gibberellins: delay senescence in citrus, elongation of apples & grape stalks, brewing beer for malt production, increase sugar cane yield, speed up seed formation in conifers, prevent lodging.
Ethene: speeds up ripening, promotes lateral growth, promotes fruit drop.
Outline the gross structure of the mammalian nervous system.
Peripheral/central diagram
Name the two main divisions of the nervous system.
Structural organisation:
● Central nervous system (Comprised of brain & spinal cord. Specialised system of nerve cells processes stimuli & propagates impulses.)
● Peripheral nervous system (all neurons that are not part of the CNS).