SBL 1023: TECHNIQUES IN BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

1. Plant structure and cell functions

2. Plant system & supporting elements
◦ (transpiration, photosynthesis,
translocation)
3. Photosynthesis-Essential minerals
for plant growth
4. Utilization of plant
Plant
 Autotrophs - An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from
inorganic substances using light or chemical energy.

 Some bacteria and protists.

 Plant physiology is the study of how different parts of plants

function.

 It includes many aspects of plant life, including nutrition, movement,

and growth.
 Perform functions:

◦ Exchange gases with their surroundings.

◦ An internal transpiration system to move

water and nutrients around their body.

◦ To reproduce.
Leaves
Where photosynthesis occurs
Seeds
Method of sexual reproduction
Flower
Site where reproduction occurs
Stem
Transports nutrients and supports the plant
Root
Take in nutrients and anchor plant
IMPORTANT EQUATION FOR PHOTOYNTHESIS
 Movement of materials
from leaves to other
tissues throughout
the plant
Two Major Types:
◦ Xylem Tissue
◦ Phloem Tissue
 Conducts Water
 Provides Mechanical
Support
 2 Types Of Xylem Cells:
I. Tracheids:
II. Vessel Elements:
 Conducts Sugars
 Composed Of Two Cell Types:
I. Sieve-tube Members
II. Companion Cells
Xylem versus phloem
 In most plants, photosynthesis occurs primarily in the leaves,
in the chloroplasts.

 A chloroplast contains:
◦ stroma, a fluid
◦ grana, stacks of thylakoids

 The thylakoids contain chlorophyll

◦ Chlorophyll is the green pigment that captures light for photosynthesis
 Chloroplasts contain several pigments:
– Chlorophyll a
– Chlorophyll b
– Carotenoids

 Different pigments
absorb light differently
•Chlorophyll a and b - two common types of
chlorophyll found on the thylakoid membrane.
 to trap light to ultimately convert it into
energy.

•This is the base step of photosynthesis.

•Cholorphyll b is an accessory pigment,

meaning it always passes its excited electrons
to chlorophyll a.

•Chlorophyll a is the main absorber, meaning

only it can pass the excited electrons to other
molecules.
•Chlorophyll is a very poor
absorber of green wavelengths,
therefore it reflects green light the
best.

•Leaves are very rich in

chloroplasts - they reflect a lot of
green light wavelengths
•As the fall comes, less light during to undergo
photosynthesis.

•Plant’s leaves begin to change colour.

•Accessory pigments (carotene, xanthophyll) take

over the light capturing process - they are able to trap
different wavelengths of light.

•The combined trapping ability of the accessory

pigments and the regular pigments (chlorophyll a and
b) - allows greater combined absorption of light - more
pigments trapping greater range of light from the
visible light spectrum.
 Plant able to perform more photosynthesis because more
photons of light are being absorbed.

 Result in more glucose being formed which will ultimately be

stored as potential energy (in the form of sugars) during the
winter months when photosynthesis doesn't occur.
Chromatography
 Method of separating mixtures by using a moving solvent on
filter paper.

 Paper chromatography - useful technique in the separation

and identification of different plant pigments.

 The molecules migrate, or move up the paper, at different

rates because of differences in solubility, molecular mass, and
hydrogen bonding with the paper.
 The distance traveled by a particular compound can be used
to identify the compound.

 The ratio of the distance traveled by a compound to that of

the solvent front is known as the Rf value.

 Unknown compounds may be identified by comparing their

Rf's to the Rf's of known standards.

 Rf = distance traveled by compound

distance traveled by solvent
 The literature reports the following Rf values for each
component:

 Rf = 0.16 for xanthophyll

 Rf = 0.32 for chlorophyll b
 Rf = 0.44 for chlorophyll a
 Rf = 0.95 for β- carotene.