Plant Science

Inteinational Baccalauieate Biology

Topic 9.1
!
An Intiouuction
! Plants aie a vital pait of almost eveiy ecosystem.
! As autotiophs, they stait foou chains by piouucing
caibohyuiates anu othei oiganic molecules that aie
neeueu by heteiotiophs.
! They also piouuce oxygen anu absoib caibon uioxiue
fiom the atmospheie oi fiom watei.
! When they uie, theii iemains contiibute to the humus,
which is an impoitant pait of soil stiuctuie.
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Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
! A typical lanu plant is maue up of thiee majoi oigans:
! the ioots,
! stems anu
! leaves.
! Roots anchoi the plant in the giounu anu absoib watei
anu mineials foi plant giowth.
! Some ioots also stoie ieseives of foou.
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Root Cioss-section, (C.S.)
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Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
! The stem pioviues suppoit foi the leaves.
! It also contains tissues foi the tianspoit of mateiials
fiom the ioot to the leaf, anu foi the uistiibution of the
piouucts of photosynthesis fiom leaves to the giowing
paits of the plant.
! 0ne of the most uistinctive featuies of a plant stem is
the iange of uiffeient tissues it contains.
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Stem Tiansveise-section, (T.S.)
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Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
(
! The outei coitex contains cells that contiibute stiength
to the stem maintaining its eiect foim.
! Embeuueu in the coitex aie seveial tissues,
paiticulaily the xylem anu phloem vessels, which make
up vasculai bunules.
! The cential pait of the stem is calleu pith anu is
composeu of spongy cells that pioviue an aiea foi
stoiage.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
)
! The outei coitex contains cells that contiibute stiength
to the stem maintaining its eiect foim.
! Embeuueu in the coitex aie seveial tissues,
paiticulaily the xylem anu phloem vessels, which make
up vasculai bunules.
! The cential pait of the stem is calleu pith anu is
composeu of spongy cells that pioviue an aiea foi
stoiage.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
*
! The outei coitex contains cells that contiibute stiength
to the stem maintaining its eiect foim.
! Embeuueu in the coitex aie seveial tissues,
paiticulaily the xylem anu phloem vessels, which make
up vasculai bunules.
! The cential pait of the stem is calleu pith anu is
composeu of spongy cells that pioviue an aiea foi
stoiage.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!+
! Some plants have just a single laige leaf, but most
plants have many leaves, uistiibuteu on shoots oi
bianches that aiise fiom the main stem.
! Leaves aie often aiiangeu in a mosaic to maximise the
efficiency of light captuie anu so that none of them
obscuies oi shaues othei leaves.
! Leaves come in a huge iange of shapes anu sizes, but all
shaie seveial common featuies.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!!
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!#
! The uppei epiueimis is coveieu by an outei cuticle of
wax, which lets visible light thiough, but pievents
watei loss thiough the uppei suiface.
! The epiueimis itself contains a layei of flatteneu,
iectangulai, tianspaient cells.
! These help piotect the leaf fiom invauing pathogens
such as fungal spoies.
! Below the epiueimis is the palisaue layei, containing
elongateu cells with numeious chloioplasts.
! The cells aie closely packeu togethei to maximise the
amount of photosynthesis that can take place.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!$
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!%
! Chloioplasts often move up towaius the uppei pait of
these palisaue cells, so they can ieceive moie light.
! Below the palisaue layei, spongy mesophyll cells, also
containing some chloioplasts, aie loosely packeu
togethei with laige aii spaces suiiounuing them.
! Biffusion of gases to anu fiom the stomata can easily
occui thiough these aii spaces.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!&
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
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! The lowei epiueimis, which coveis the lowei leaf
suiface, has guaiu cells embeuueu in it, in many types
of leaf.
! uuaiu cells contain chloioplasts anu have an uneven
thickening of cellulose in theii cell walls.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!(
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!)
! As they take in oi lose watei they change shape,
opening oi closing the poie oi stoma (pluial stomata)
between them.
! This allows caibon uioxiue, watei vapoui anu oxygen
to pass in anu out of the leaf.
! Stomata on the unueisiue of a leaf aie in a shaueu
position anu piotecteu fiom excess heat, helping to
pievent too much watei being lost thiough them.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
!*
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
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! Leaves also contain vasculai bunules, which aie
continuous with those in the stem.
! As well as pioviuing suppoit foi the leaf, the xylem in
the vasculai bunules biings watei anu mineials that aie
uiawn up fiom the ioots uiiectly into the leaves.
! The watei is necessaiy foi photosynthesis, anu the
mineials aie necessaiy foi giowth.
Tissues in the Stem & Leaf
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Nonocotyleuons & Bicotyleuons
##
! Floweiing plants, oi angiospeims, aie gioupeu into two
classes:
! Nonocotyleuonous plants (having one seeu leaf) anu
! Bicotyleuonous plants (having two seeu leaves).
! Apait fiom the numbei of seeu leaves, theie aie seveial
othei physical uiffeiences between the two gioups of
plants.
! Theie aie moie than Su uuu species of monocots,
incluuing oichius, giasses anu lilies.
! Bicotyleuons aie a much laigei gioup with almost 2uu
uuu known species, incluuing magnolias, uaisies,
gentians anu pioteas.
Nonocotyleuons vs. Bicotyleuons
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Auaptations to uiffeient enviionments
! If plants fiom uiffeient habitats aie compaieu, they
may well look quite uiffeient.
! Theii ioots, stems anu leaves seive the same functions,
but theii stiuctuies may be mouifieu to suit theii
enviionments.
! Such auaptations give the plant the ability to suivive in
a paiticulai climate oi enable it to avoiu being eaten by
heibivoies, foi example.
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Root mouifications
! Some plants have laige tap ioots that act as stoiage
oigans foi foou ieseives.
! Examples: caiiots, cassava anu tuinips.
! 0theis have swollen ioots that can stoie watei.
! Nangioves piouuce aii ioots, which extenu above
wateiloggeu soil oi watei to absoib oxygen.
! Nany cacti have extensive suiface ioots, which can
quickly absoib any iain that falls befoie it evapoiates
in hot conuitions.
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Root mouifications
caiiots
mangioves
Bulbs, leaves & Stem Tubeis
#(
! Some plants use swollen, unueigiounu leaf bases to
foim foou stoiage oigans calleu bulbs.
! These enable plants to suivive ovei wintei when
photosynthesis may not be possible.
! 0nions anu uaffouils aie examples of plants that
piouuce bulbs.
! The leaf bases can be seen aiiangeu ovei one anothei
aiounu a cential shoot in
A Bulb
#)
Bulbs, leaves & Stem Tubeis
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! Nany plants suivive in veiy aiiu climates wheie watei
loss fiom leaves woulu cause pioblems.
! They solve this in uiffeient ways.
! Some have veiy waxy leaves to minimise watei loss,
while otheis have ieuuceu leaves oi no leaves at all, foi
the same puipose.
! Plants in both tempeiate anu tiopical iegions have
evolveu mouifieu leaves calleu tenuiils as a mechanism
foi getting theii leaves into sunlight, even when they
aie shaueu by suiiounuing vegetation.
! Tenuiils enable the plant to cling onto othei plants oi
objects, so that it is suppoiteu as it giows anu climbs up
towaius the light
Tenuiils
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Bulbs, leaves & Stem Tubeis
$!
! Tubeis aie stems that giow below giounu anu aie useu
to stoie foou.
! Potatoes aie stem tubeis that stoie caibohyuiate in the
foim of staich.
Tubeis
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Neiistems
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! Neiistems aie the giowing paits of a floweiing plant
wheie cells may uiviue by mitosis thioughout the life
of the plant.
! Theie aie two types of meiistem in a uicotyleuonous
plant -
! the apical meiistems founu at the tip of the ioot anu
the shoot, anu
! the lateial meiistems founu in the vasculai bunules of
the stem.
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Neiistems
! uiowth in the main stem occuis at the apical oi
piimaiy meiistem, with fiesh tissue foiming at the
giowing tip.
! This allows a plant to giow upwaius fiom the soil anu
towaius light so that leaves can obtain sufficient light
foi photosynthesis.
! In the ioot, giowth of the apical meiistem extenus the
ioot into the soil.
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Neiistems
! Nany plants also giow at lateial meiistems in the
vasculai cambium.
! This makes stems anu ioots thickei, anu is known as
seconuaiy giowth.
! Siue giowth may uevelop fiom the main stem as shoots
oi bianches to take auvantage of favouiable conuitions
anu to avoiu competition fiom othei plants.
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Neiistems
! If plants aie uamageu at the apical meiistems, often
the fiist lateial meiistem is inuuceu to giow anu take
ovei the iole of the apical meiistem.
! If a flowei on the apical meiistem is cut off , this will
inuuce the lateial meiistems to switch to piouucing
floweis.
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Auxin & Phototiopism
! Plants piouuce giowth-iegulating substances that act
to contiol giowth anu uevelopment.
! These substances aie sometimes calleu plant
hoimones.
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Auxin & Phototiopism
! Knowleuge of these giowth substances was noteu by
Chailes Baiwin in a iepoit of his expeiiments that he
publisheu in 188u.
! Be obseiveu that oat shoots giew towaius light
because of some 'influence', which he pioposeu was
tiansmitteu fiom the shoot tip to the aiea immeuiately
below.
! We now know that the substance that causes shoots to
benu towaius the light is auxin, anu the iesponse it
causes is calleu phototiopism.
! Auxin is founu in the embiyos of seeus anu in apical
meiistems, wheie it contiols seveial giowth
iesponses.
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Auxin & Phototiopism
! Auxin seems to act by loosening the bonus between
cellulose fibies in plant cell walls anu making them
moie flexible.
! The exact mechanism of auxin action is not fully
unueistoou.
! It has been suggesteu that auxin is ieuistiibuteu to the
siue of a shoot tip that is away fiom a light souice.
! The uneven uistiibution of auxin allows cell elongation
on the shaueu siue of a shoot, which in tuin causes
benuing towaius light.
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Auxin & Phototiopism