Nutrient Transport in Plants

Three Levels of Transport

Transport in vascular plants occurs on

three scales
Transport of water and solutes by individual cells, such as root hairs Short-distance transport of substances from cell to cell at the levels of tissues and organs Long-distance transport (bulk flow within !ylem and phloem at the level of the whole plant

 ' variety of physical processes

're involved in the different types of transport

&%$ #$% %$ Sugar
5 Sugars are produced by photosynthesis in the leaves.

! Through stomata, leaves take in CO2 and e pel O2. The CO2 provides carbon for photosynthesis. Some O2 produced by photosynthesis is used in cellular respiration. % Transpiration, the loss of "ater from leaves #mostly through stomata$, creates a force "ithin leaves that pulls ylem sap up"ard.

Light

6 Sugars are transported as phloem sap to roots and other parts of the plant.

&ater and minerals are transported up"ard from roots to shoots as ylem sap.

( 'oots absorb "ater and dissolved minerals from the soil.

%$ #$% "inerals &%$

* 'oots e change gases "ith the air spaces of soil, taking in O2 and discharging CO2. )n cellular respiration, O2 supports the breakdo"n of sugars.

 To survive

(ffects of )ifferences in *ater Potential

Plants must balance water uptake and loss +s the movement of water from low solute concentration to areas of high solute concentration )etermines the net uptake or water loss by a cell +s affected by solute concentration and pressure

%smosis

 *ater potential

+s a measurement that combines the effects of solute concentration and pressure )etermines the direction of movement of water ,lows from regions of high water potential to regions of low water potential

*ater

Solutes and Pressure

The solute potential of a solution

+s proportional to the number of dissolved molecules +s the physical pressure on a solution

Pressure potential

Quantitative Analysis of Water Potential

#a$

The addition of solutes

+.( M solution

-educes water potential

-ure "ater ,2O

. + /-a

- . + S . +.2% . +.2% /-a

 'pplication of physical pressure

+ncreases water potential

#b$ #c$

,2O ,2O

. + /-a

- . +.2% S . +.2% . + /-a

. + /-a

- . +.%+ S . +.2% . +.+* /-a

 *ater potential

'ffects uptake and loss of water by plant cells

+f a flaccid cell is placed in an environment with a higher solute concentration the cell will
lose water and become plasmoly.ed
+.! M sucrose solution0 P 0 1 S 0 124 -lasmoly1ed cell at osmotic e/uilibrium with its surroundings P 0 1 S 0 124 . +.2 /-a . +.2 /-a )nitial flaccid cell0 P 0 1 S 0 123 . +.* /-a

 +f the same flaccid cell is placed in a

solution with a lower solute concentration

The cell will gain water and become turgid

)nitial flaccid cell0 P 0 1 S 0 123 . +.* /-a 3istilled "ater0 P 0 1 S 0 1 . + /-a Turgid cell at osmotic e/uilibrium with its surroundings P 0 123 S 0 123 . + /-a

 Turgor loss in plants causes wilting

*hich can be reversed when the plant is watered

Three "a5or &ompartments of 6acuolated Plant &ells

Transport is also regulated

7y the compartmental structure of plant cells )irectly controls the traffic of molecules into and out of the protoplast +s a barrier between two ma5or compartments, the cell wall and the cytosol

The plasma membrane

The third ma5or compartment in most mature plant cells

+s the vacuole, a large organelle that can occupy as much as 418 of more of the protoplast9s volume -egulates transport between the cytosol and the vacuole
&ell wall &ytosol 6acuole Transport proteins in the vacuolar membrane regulate traffic of molecules between the cytosol and the vacuole2

The vacuolar membrane

Transport proteins in the plasma membrane regulate traffic of molecules between the cytosol and the cell wall2

6acuolar membrane (tonoplast Plasmodesma Plasma membrane #a$Cell compartments. The cell wall, cytosol, and vacuole are the three main compartments of most mature plant cells2

4ey Symplast 5poplast Transmembrane route 5poplast The symplast is the continuum of cytosol connected by plasmodesmata. The apoplast is the continuum of cell "alls and e tracellular spaces.

Symplast

Symplastic route 5poplastic route #b$ Transport routes bet"een cells. 5t the tissue level, there are three passages0 the transmembrane, symplastic, and apoplastic routes. Substances may transfer from one route to another.

7ulk ,low in Long-)istance Transport

+n bulk flow

"ovement of fluid in the !ylem and phloem is driven by pressure differences at opposite ends of the !ylem vessels and sieve tubes

 -oots absorb water and minerals from the

soil *ater and mineral salts from the soil

(nter the plant through the epidermis of roots and ultimately flow to the shoot system "uch of the absorption of water and minerals occurs near root tips, where the epidermis is permeable to water and where root hairs are located -oot hairs account for much of the surface area of roots

Lateral transport of minerals and water in root hairs

Casparian strip 7ndodermal cell -ath"ay along apoplast -ath"ay through symplast

( 6ptake of soil solution by the

hydrophilic "alls of root hairs provides access to the apoplast. &ater and minerals can then soak into the corte along this matri of "alls.
2 /inerals and "ater that cross

Casparian strip -lasma membrane 5poplastic route 8essels # ylem$ 'oot hair 7pidermis Corte 7ndodermis 8ascular cylinder

the plasma membranes of root hairs enter the symplast.

% 5s soil solution moves along 2

the apoplast, some "ater and minerals are transported into the protoplasts of cells of the epidermis and corte and then move in"ard via the symplast.

Symplastic route

! &ithin the transverse and radial "alls of each endodermal cell is the

5 7ndodermal cells and also parenchyma cells "ithin the

Casparian strip, a belt of "a y material #purple band$ that blocks the passage of "ater and dissolved minerals. Only minerals already in the symplast or entering that path"ay by crossing the plasma membrane of an endodermal cell can detour around the Casparian strip and pass into the vascular cylinder.

vascular cylinder discharge "ater and minerals into thei "alls #apoplast$. The ylem vessels transport the "ater and minerals up"ard into the shoot system.

 *ater and minerals ascend from

roots to

shoots through the !ylem

Plants lose an enormous amount of water through transpiration, the loss of water vapor from leaves and other aerial parts of the plant The transpired water must be replaced by water transported up from the roots

Pushing Xylem Sap: Root Pressure

't night, when transpiration is very low

-oot cells continue pumping mineral ions into the !ylem of the vascular cylinder, lowering the water potential :enerating root pressure

*ater flows in from the root corte!

Pulling Xylem Sap: The Transpiration-Cohesion-Tension Mechanism

*ater is pulled upward by negative

pressure in the !ylem of the leaves

Transpirational Pull
*ater vapor in the airspaces of a leaf

diffuses down its water potential gradient and e!its the leaf via stomata Transpiration produces negative pressure (tension in the leaf which e!erts a pulling force on water in the !ylem, pulling water into the leaf

7vaporation causes the air9"ater interface to retreat farther into the cell "all and become more curved as the rate of transpiration increases. 5s the interface becomes more curved, the "ater film:s pressure becomes more negative. This negative pressure, or tension, pulls "ater from the ylem, "here the pressure is greater.

. =+.(5 /-a Cell "all 5irspace Cuticle 6pper epidermis 7vaporation /esophyll 5ir9 space ;o"er epidermis CO2 O2 <ylem CO2 O2 Stoma ;o" rate of transpiration

. =(+.++ /-a 5ir9"ater interface ,igh rate of transpiration

Cytoplasm 5irspace Cell "all

7vaporation &ater film

8acuole

Cuticle

&ater vapor

&ater vapor

)n transpiration, "ater vapor #sho"n as blue dots$ diffuses from the moist air spaces of the leaf to the drier air outside via stomata.

5t first, the "ater vapor lost by transpiration is replaced by evaporation from the "ater film that coats mesophyll cells.

&ohesion and 'dhesion in the 'scent of ;ylem Sap

The transpirational pull on !ylem sap

+s transmitted all the way from the leaves to the root tips and even into the soil solution +s facilitated by cohesion and adhesion

 'scent of

Outside air . =(++.+ /-a

<ylem sap /esophyll cells Stoma &ater molecule 5tmosphere <ylem cells &ater potential gradient 5dhesion Cell "all

!ylem sap

;eaf #air spaces$ . =*.+ /-a ;eaf #cell "alls$ . =(.+ /-a

Transpiration

Trunk ylem . = +.> /-a

Cohesion and adhesion in the ylem

Cohesion, by hydrogen bonding &ater molecule 'oot hair Soil particle

'oot ylem . = +.6 /-a Soil . = +.% /-a

&ater uptake from soil

&ater

-egulation of Transpiration
Stomata help regulate the rate of

transpiration Leaves generally have broad surface areas and high surface-to-volume ratios

 7oth of these characteristics

+ncrease photosynthesis +ncrease water loss through stomata

$1 <m

Stomata= "a5or Pathways for *ater Loss

'bout 418 of the water a plant loses

(scapes through stomata

 (ach stoma is flanked by guard cells

*hich control the diameter of the stoma by changing shape

Cells flaccid?Stoma closed

Cells turgid?Stoma open

'adially oriented cellulose microfibrils Cell "all

8acuole @uard cell

Changes in guard cell shape and stomatal opening and closing #surface vie"$. :uard cells of a typical angiosperm are illustrated in their turgid (stoma open and flaccid (stoma closed states2 The pair of guard cells buckle outward when turgid2 &ellulose microfibrils in the walls resist stretching and compression in the direction parallel to the microfibrils2 Thus, the radial orientation of the microfibrils causes the cells to increase in length more than width when turgor increases2 The two guard cells are attached at their tips, so the increase in length causes buckling2

 &hanges in turgor pressure that open and

close stomata

-esult primarily from the reversible uptake and loss of potassium ions by the guard cells
#$% #$% #$% #$% #$% #$%

>?

#$% #$% #$% #$%

'ole of potassium in stomatal opening and closing. The transport of >? (potassium ions, symboli.ed here as red dots across the plasma membrane and vacuolar membrane causes the turgor changes of guard cells2

Phloem Transport
%rganic nutrients are translocated through

the phloem Translocation

+s the transport of organic nutrients in the plant

"ovement from Sugar Sources to Sugar Sinks

Phloem sap

+s an a/ueous solution that is mostly sucrose Travels from a sugar source to a sugar sink +s a plant organ that is a net producer of sugar, such as mature leaves +s an organ that is a net consumer or storer of sugar, such as a tuber or bulb

' sugar source

' sugar sink