BOTANISTS AND THEIR

SCIENCE
Reported By:

Bagundol, Jamie Gellamucho

BSED-BIOLOGY III
 WHAT IS A PLANT?

A plant is a multi-cellular eukaryotic that can produce

its own food in the form of glucose through the
process of photosynthesis. In addition, plant cells are
characterized by having thick cell walls made of
cellulose. The stem and leaves of plants have waxy
waterproof coating called a cuticle.
 WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Plants were the first multicellular organisms to

colonize land almost 500 million years ago. Since
then, plants have developed into an incredibly diverse
group of organisms that help provide us with food,
oxygen and shelter.
BOTANY The scientific
study of plants; also
called plant biology.
PALEOBOTANIST – botanists who conducts
research on fossilized plants
Kaspar Maria von Sternberg
His collection of minerals, fossils and plant
specimens formed the core collection of the
museum, and he is deemed to be the founder of
modern paleobotany. As of 1820 he was on
friendly terms with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
 ETHNOBOTANIST - Botanists possess specific
knowledge in ethnobotany which is the study of the
use of plants by different cultures.

Richard Evans Schultes

“Father of Ethnobotany,” he
carried out pioneering research on
the relationship between people and
plants in the Americas for many
decades.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - now
considered to be among the
greatest German writers and
philosophers, expected to be
remembered more for his work as a
scientist. Goethe developed the
science of morphology – the study
of form and shape – a concept
fundamental to the theory of
evolution.
Subdisciplines 1

 Plant molecular biology

 Structures and functions of important biological
molecules (proteins, nucleic acids)

 Plant cell biology

 Structures, functions, and life processes of plant
cells
Subdisciplines 2

 Plant physiology
 How plants function (photosynthesis, mineral
nutrition)

 Plant genetics
 Plant heredity and variation
Subdisciplines 3

 Plant ecology
 Interrelationships among plants, and between plants
ands their environment
Levels of Biological Organization
 Atoms
Biosphere

Molecule

Ecosystem

Community
Macromolecule

Population
Organelle

Cell
Epidermis
Organism

Tissue
Organ
Characteristics
 Characteristics Plants

Hereditary Materials DNA

Cell Type Eukaryotic

Cell Wall Present

Chloroplasts Present

Primary Structural Compound Cellulose

Growth Primary at tips

Size and Shape Continually Changes

Nervous System Absent

Muscles Absent

Nutrition Makes their own food (autotrophs)

Mobility Generally immobile

Reproduction Sexual and asexual reproduction

PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Biological process that includes capture of light energy and its
transformation into chemical energy of organic molecules that
are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water
- Quite opposite to aerobic respiration process
Importance of Photosynthesis

The process is as important for the humans and

animals as it is for plants. Other than glucose, which
is an important source of carbohydrates, even
proteins, fats, and water-soluble sugars are the
products of photosynthesis. We cannot produce
these nutrients on our own, and hence have to
depend directly on plants, or other animals (which
feed on these plants) to derive them. Plants, being
the only producers, have a crucial role to play in any
food chain.
KINDS OF PLANTS
What do plants need to survive?
 Tropisms
 External factors that influence plant growth and
development: Light, gravity, touch, water.

 Tropism: The growth of a plant in response to

the direction of a stimulus, such as light, gravity,
or touch.
 Positive tropism: Plant grows towards a stimulus
 Negative tropism: Plant grows away from a stimulus
 Phototropism: direction of light as a stimulus

 When a plant moves or

grows in response to light.

 Movement towards light

= Positive or negative
phototropism?
 Phototropism: direction of light as a stimulus
 Charles Darwin (1809-1882) found that he could
prevent phototropism by covering the growing tips of
seedlings (coleoptiles).

 Conclusion:
The tip of the
coleoptile
influences the
bending that
occurs in
phototropism.
 Phototropism: direction of light as a stimulus

We now know:

 The plant hormone auxin is produced in the tip of a

coleoptile that causes growth of cells. The tip is the
site of reception of the light stimulus.

 Auxin moves away from the light source to the darker

side of the tip. Increased concentration of auxin in
cells of that region increase the growth of the cells
(greater elongation). The uneven growth of cells
results in bending of the coleoptile.
 Geotropism: direction of gravity as a stimulus;
also called gravitropism
 Gravity causes most of the auxin produced to
accumulate in the lower sides of the horizontal shoot
and root.

Auxin

 Stimulates growth of cells in shoots.

 Inhibits the rate of growth of cells in roots.

 NOTE: Plant shoots grow away from gravity,
toward sunlight, while plant roots grow into the
soil in the direction of gravity.
 Thigmotropism: direction of touch as a stimulus
 E.g. Grapevines- Tendrils and twining parts of the climbing
plant wrap around support structures or other plants.

 The twisting is caused by uneven growth of cells along the

tendril as it comes into contact with an object.
Heliotropism/Solar Tracking
direction of the sun as a stimulus (also time)

 Also a rhythmic behaviour because

direction of the sun depends on the
time.

 Leaves and flowers of many plants are

able to move during the day so that they
are oriented either perpendicular (at
right angle to) or parallel to the sun’s
direct rays.
Rhythmic Behaviour
Plants also have a biological clock!
 Rhythmic Behaviour (Time as a stimulus)

 Circadian rhythm (or circadian cycle) = An activity that

follows a 24-hour cycle.

 Include the opening and closing of flowers, and nectar and

perfume production.

 This kind of movement is

called nastic movement:
Does not depend on the
direction of the stimulus.
 Rhythmic Behaviour (time as a stimulus)
Nastic Movement: Timing of flowering
 Photoperiodism: The response of plants to
particular periods of light and dark.
 Photoperiod: The relative of day and night
length

 Exposure to “darkness/night-time” is important

for the flowering of some plants (can affect the
timing of flowering).
 Short-day plants and long-day plants.
 Short-day plants
 Flower only after being exposed to day lengths that are
shorter than a certain critical length.

 E.g. Chrysanthemums, poinsettia, datura stramonisum.

 Long-day plants
 Flower only after being exposed to day lengths that are
longer than a certain critical length.
 E.g. Hibiscus, carnations.
 Day-neutral plants
 Flowering is not influenced by length of exposure to
light/darkness.
 Example: tomatoes, maize, dandelions.
 Key ideas
 Factors external to a plant influence growth and
development of the plant.

 The direction of response of a plant is sometimes

influenced by the direction of the external stimulus.

 Day-night lengths are critical for some plant activities.

How Plants Communicate?

 Plants also communicate with other plants—

even with plants of other species—through a
complex underground network that includes:
 The plants' rhizosphere (root ball)
 Aerial emissions (volatile gasses emitted by the
plants)
 Mycelial networks in the soil
 These three systems work together forming a "plant internet,"
where information about each plant's status is constantly
exchanged. One of the organisms responsible for this
amazing biochemical highway is a type of fungus called
mycorrhizae.

 The name mycorrhiza literally means fungus root. These

fungi form a symbiotic relationship with the plant, colonizing
the roots and sending extremely fine filaments far out into the
soil that act as root extensions.

 Not only do these networks sound the alarm about invaders,

but the filaments are more effective in nutrient and water
absorption than the plant roots themselves—mycorrhizae
increase the nutrient absorption of the plant 100 to 1,000
times.
Plant Communications Network Combats Pest
Infestation

• Previous study has shown, when a plant becomes

infested with a pest like aphids for example, it warns
surrounding plants of the attack via this network of
mycorrhizal fungi.

• This "heads up" gives the other plants time to mount

their chemical defenses in order to repel the aphids.
Mycorrhizae fungi can even connect plants of
different species, perhaps allowing interspecies
communication
 The study in question used bean plants and
aphids, and in this case, the alerted bean
plants deployed not only aphid-repelling
chemicals, but also produced other
chemicals that attract wasps, which are
aphids' natural predators!

 In bean plants where the researchers had

removed the mycorrhizae connecting them
together, the plants quickly succumbed to the
infestation, presumably because they didn't
receive the warning to mount their defenses.
 mycorrhizae-induced resistance as part of
plants' systemic "immune response," protecting
them from pathogens, herbivores, and parasitic
plants.

 More than 90 percent of plant species have

these naturally occurring symbiotic relationships
with mycorrhizae, the soil must be undisturbed.
Erosion, tillage, cultivation, compaction, and
other human activities simply destroy these
beneficial fungi networks, and they are slow to
colonize once disrupted. Therefore, cultivated or
tilled farmed plants don't develop mycorrhizae
and are typically less healthy, as a result.
Phylogenetic of Plants
THE HORMONES THAT GUIDE GROWTH
ARE KEYED TO THE ENVIRONMENT:
 Plant Hormones. Hormones are grouped into seven
classes.
 Auxin. Auxin is involved in the elongation of stems.
 Cytokinins. Cytokinins stimulate cell division.
 Gibberellins. Gibberellins control stem elongation.
 Brassinosteroids and Oligosaccharins. These are several
recent additions to the plant hormone family.
 Ethylene. Ethylene controls leaves and flower abscision.
 Abscisic Acid. Abscisic acid suppresses growth of buds and
promotes leaf senescence.
END!!!