transport in plants (9) Flashcards
what are dicotyledonous plants
these are plants that make 2 cotyledons (food stores) in their seeds.
what are the 3 reasons for a transport system in plants/ why do multicellular plants need transport systems
high metabolic demands - underground parts of plant don’t photosynthesise so they need waste substances removed and o2 and glucose transported to them. mineral ions need to be transported to all cells to make proteins.
size - bigger, taller plants need efficient transport systems to move substances up and down plant.
SA - plants have a large SA: volume ratio so they cant solely rely on diffusion to supply cells w everything
what are cotyledons
food stores
what are the 2 types of dicotyledonous plants. and give an example of each
herbaceous - soft tissues, short life cycle (little plants)
woody - lignified tissues, long lived (trees)
how are the xylem and phloem arranged in the stems, roots, leaves
vascular bundles
where in the stem are the vascular bundles located and why are they there
around the edge to give support and strength
where in the roots are the vascular bundles located
in the middle to help plant withstand tugging strains from the wind blowing the stem and leaves
where are the vascular bundles in the leaves and why there
in the midrib of a dicot leaf. helps support structure of leaves.
in a vascular bundle where are the phloem and xylem located
phloem on outside and xylem on inside
function of xylem tissue
structural support and transports water + minerals up plant.
what is the function of the spiral band of lignin in the xylem vessel
spiral bands allow vessels to elongate, thus allowing tissues to expand w/o breaking the vessel walls
what is the function of the bordered pits in the vessel
they act as channels for the transport of h20 +minerals between the adjacent cells
is their lignin in the phloem
no
are their bordered pits in the phloem
no
what is plasmodesmata
gaps in cell wall between companion cells + sieve tube elements
what feature would not be found in mature xylem vessels
cytoplasm
xylem vessels contain lignin carbohydrate. what is this for
allows water to pass into adjacent vessels
a feature of the sieve tubes
contains perforated cross walls
what roles does water have within plants
turgor pressure - provides a hydrostatic skeleton to support stems + leaves.
evaporation- keeps plants cool.
turgor drives cell expansion -
the force that enables plant roots to force their way thru tarmac + concrete.
transport - mineral ions + products of photosynthesis are transported in aqueous solutions
raw material - h20 is raw material for plants
adaptations of the root hair cell
they are microscopic so can penetrate easily between soil and branches.
large SA: V ratio
thin surface layer for fats diffusion =osmosis
the concentration of solutes in the cytoplasm of root hair cells maintains a water potential gradient between the soil water and cell
talk about soil water
has a very low concentration of dissolved minerals so has a high water potential. while RHCs have a high conc of solvents so the water potential in rhc is lower this drives more water into the RHCs by osmosis
what is another reason for the lignin in the xylem
lignin reinforces the xylem so it doesn’t collapse under the transpiration pull
how are sieve plates formed and what are they for
in the areas between the cells the cell walls become perforated = sieve plates.
they let the phloem contents flow through
as large pores appear in the phloem what happens
the tonoplast, nucleus and other organelles break down. so mature phloem cells have no nucleus
after the water is in the RHC how does it travel to the xylem. what are the 2 pathways water moves thru the plant to the xylem
apoplast + symplast pathways
explain symplast pathway
symplast is the continuous cytoplasm of the living plant cells that is connected thru the plasmodesmata - by osmosis.
the RHC has a higher water potential than the next cell along cos pf water diffusing in from the soil making the cytoplasm more dilute, so water moves from the RHC into the next cell by osmosis.
this process repeats cell to cell until the water has reached the xylem.
as water leaves a RHC the water potential of cytoplasm drops again, this maintains a a steep water potential gradient
explain apoplast pathway
this is the movement of water through cell walls + intercellular spaces. water fills the spaces between the open network of fibres in the cellulose cell wall. as water molecules move into the apoplast more are pulled behind due to cohesive forces between the water molecules. the pull from water moving up into the xylem and from the cohesive forces creates a tension that makes a continuous flow of water through the xylem w little resistance