Plant Form and Function
present at the nodes.
Basic Structure of a plant
 Roots—absorb the water &
nutrients from the soil and helps
provide support by anchoring the
plant to the ground.
 Stem – holds up the buds,
flowers, leaves and fruits of the
plants. Serves as the transport
for water and minerals from the
root and distributes it to the
different parts of the plant.
 Leaves- contain the chlorophyll
(green pigment) and the site for
photosynthesis.
 Flowers – reproductive part of
the plant
 Fruits- contains the vitamins
and minerals and is the bearer of
seeds.
Shoot system – stem bears leaves,
buds, flowers and fruits. It lies above
the ground. They function to support
leaves and flowers as well as for
transporting and distribution of food,
water and minerals.
Structure – may be soft and green or
woody.
 Nodes- place where leaf or
branch arises
 Internodes- gap between two
nodes
 Buds- develops into branches,
leaves or flowers
 Petiole- supports the leaves and
holds it upright to the plant.
 Axil – angle between the
upperside of the stem and leaf,
branch, or petiole.
Types of buds
 Apical or terminal buds-
present at the tip of the stem
 Lateral or axillary buds –
Root System- roots usually grow below
the ground
Structure
 When a seed germinates, radicle
emerges which gives rise to
primary root.
 Primary root develops further
into tap root or fibrous root
system based on the type of
seed.
Function: helps in root fixation,
absorption of food and minerals.
Vegetative organs- organs that allow
the plant to live and grow.
Examples: roots, stems and leaves.
Reproductive organs: flower, fruits
and seeds.
Functions and parts of the flower
Female parts
 Pistil- female part of the plant
 Stigma – collects the pollen from
the pollinating agent.
 Style- positions the stigma for
pollen collection.
 Ovary- site of fertilization,
protects the developing seeds,
aids in seed dispersal.
Male parts
 Stamens-
 Anther- produce and release
pollen grains
 Filament- positions the anther
for effective pickup of pollen by
the pollinating agent.
Sepals- protects the flower during the
bud stage.
Petals- attract insect pollinators by o Guard Cells – regulate
color and scent. the size of the stomata.
Peduncle (flower stalk)- the stalk of Mesophyll- Ground tissue;
the flower. chloroplast-rich
Receptacle – thickened portion at the  Palisade – under upper-
bottom of the flower that holds all the epidermis, tightly packed
major organs of the plant and it is  Spongy- under palisade layer;
where the stalk is attached. loosely packed, air spaces.
Two main types of tissues Veins- bundles of vascular tissue
(parallel vs. branched)
 Meristematic tissues
 Permanent tissues Types of lead
Permanent tissue – the tissue which is Simple leaf- has one single blade
composed of mature and differentiated
cell that has already undergone definite Examples: Elm, Maple, Magnolia
growth and has assume definite size, Compound leaf has more than a single
shape and function. blade.
Tissue Tissue Examples: Pecan, Locust, Ash
System
Surface  Epidermis 3 types of plant cells
(dermal) (primary
Parenchyma Cells
growth)
 Periderm  Thin flexible cell walls, cube-
(secondary shaped
growth)  Large central vacuole
Fundamental  Parenchyma  Function: photosynthesis,
(ground)  Collenchyma
storage & healing
 Sclerenchyma
 Example: flexible green stems &
Vascular  Xylem fleshy fruit like apples, potato
 Phloem Collenchyma Cells
 Thicker cell walls, irregular
Leaf Structures shape
Epidermis – outside layer of cells  Function: support for growing
plant parts
 Cuticle – waxy covering;  Example: areas still lengthening
prevents water loss (celery stalks)
 Hairs – protect against
insects & sun Sclerenchyma Cells
 Stomata – tiny air pores,  Thickest/rigid cell wall
areas for gas exchange;  Function: strength & support for
number & location vary on non-growing plant parts, usually
plants. dies at maturity
  Example: a frame to support the
plant (shell on nut)
Dermal tissue system – the outer
covering of the plant
Ground tissue system- carries out
photosynthesis, stores photosynthetic
products and helps support the plant.
Vascular tissue system- conducts
water and solutes throughout the plant.
Vascular plants- have vascular tissue
(vessels) that carry nutrients up and
down plant. It includes all plants that
grow in height.
Xylem- carriers water and nutrients
that enter the plant in the root up
through the stem and out to all parts of
the leaf.
 Conducts water and minerals
(movement in one way only)
 Composed of tracheid (all plants)
and vessel elements
(angiosperms)
 Walls composed of dead cells and
pitted (allows water exchange)
 Walls impregnated with lignin
(spiral or annular arrangement)
 Water movement requires both
cohesion and adhesion.
 Vessel elements and tracheid are
dead at maturity and have
primary and secondary cell wall.
Phloem- runs parallel to the xylem and
carries sugar that is produce in the
leaves, dissolved in fluid, to all parts of
the plant.
 Transports water and food
(movement is in two ways)
 Composed of sieve element cells
which connect to form a tube.
 Connecting sieve cells share a
highly perforated sieve plate.
 Supported by companion cells
that help with loading/unloading
 Movement of sap is mediated by
hydrostatic pressure from xylem.
Sieve tube elements contain the sugar
solution.
Sieve tube- transport of carbohydrates,
primarily sucrose in the plants.
Companion Cells- narrow, thin wall
with abundance of cytoplasm and a
nucleus. Their function is to keep the
sieve tube alive to provide nutrients and
contains many mitochondria to provide
energy for translocation.
Plant Nutrition- the study of the
chemical elements and compounds
necessary for plant growth, plant
metabolism and their external supply.
Essential Nutrients in Plants
 The uptake of nutrients at both
the roots and the leaves. Water
and miners and CO2
 An essential nutrient is a
particular chemical element that
is required for a plant to grown
from a seed and complete the life
cycle. 17 elements are essential
nutrients.
Macronutrients – are elements
required by plants in relatively large
quantities (9 total)
 Carbon
 Oxygen
 Hydrogen
 Nitrogen
 Sulfur
 Phosphorus
 Potassium
 Calcium
 Magnesium
Micronutrients- elements that the
plant needs in very small amount. (8
total) Most function as cofactors for
enzymatic reactions. While the
requirement is small, a deficiency of a
micronutrient can weaken or kill a
plant.
 Iron
 Copper
 Zinc
 Nickel
 Boron
 Chlorine
 Molybdenum
 Manganese
Signs of Nutrient Deficiency
Iron – Yellow or white new leaves with
green veins.
Manganese – yellow spots and
elongated holes between veins.
Potassium- yellowing of the tips and
edges.
Phosphate- loss of leaves, darker hue
(leaves are darker than usual)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)- leaves die,
stunted growth.
Magnesium – Dark veins, lower leaves
turn yellow from inwards.
Nitrogen- Light green upper leaves,
yellow and shriveled.
Calcium- stunted growth and
misshapen leaves
Plant Hormones and Plant
Reproduction
Auxin
 Phototropism- turning of an
organism towards an external
stimulus.
 Synthesized at stem tips, travels
downward.
 If the stem tip is removed, it
loses the ability to grow toward
the light.
 Responsible for plant growth
(height)
Gibberellins
 Required for plant to germinate
(plant germination)
 Promote elongation of internodes
and stem
Cytokinin
 Counters senescence
(responsible for aging)
 Produced in the apical meristem
 It is where the first stage of cell
division takes place.
Ethylene
 Ripens fruit
 More produced by rapidly
growing & dividing cells,
 In germinating plants, prevents
leaf expansion.
 Allows shoot to dig upward
through the soil until it reaches
the light.
Abscisic Acid
 Signals dehydration
 Makes leaves close their stomata
to prevent water loss through
phototranspiration.
Reproduction in Animals
Reproduction- is the biological process
by which new individual organisms are
produced.
Two types of Reproduction
Asexual – offspring is produced by a
single parent, no sperm and egg
needed. It involves only one parent that
produces two or more genetically
similar organisms. It occurs mainly in
organisms with a simple structure.
Sexual- involves the fusion of two cells,
one from a male and the other from a
female. Involves two parents. A male
sex cell joins with a female sex cell in a
process called fertilization. Together,
they form a new cell called a zygote.
The zygote grows into a new organism.
Asexual reproduction in animals.
Two types of asexual reproduction
Gemmation- small buds appear on the
body of the progenitor or “parent” and
develops into a new individual.
Example: Fresh water hydra
Fragmentation – a new organism
grows from a fragment of the parent. It
is common in worms and starfish.
Mechanisms of Asexual Reproduction
 Many Invertebrates reproduce
asexually
 One of these is by the process of
fission.
 Fission – is the separation of a
parent into two or more
individuals of about the same
size. Example: Amoeba, sea
anemone to produce two
daughter organisms.
 Second method: budding
 In budding, new individuals arise
from outgrowths of existing one.
An example is a hydra
 Third method: Fragmentation-
is breaking of the body into
pieces.
 Some or all of which develop into
adults.
 Fragmentation must be
accompanied by regeneration
which is the regrowth of lost
body parts
 Fourth method:
Parthenogenesis, which is the
development of a new individual
from an unfertilized egg. a form
of asexual reproduction in which
an unfertilized egg develops into a
new individual. It is a method in
which a new individual developed
without fertilization. Here, males
do not have any role to play and
only female gametes develop into
new offspring

Example: A baby komodo
dragon, bees, lizards, ants.
Sexual Reproduction in animals
Two types of sexual reproduction:
Unisexual- each individual has one
type of gonad: male or female.
Example: deers, dogs, ducks.
Hermaphrodites- each individual
has both male and female gonads.
Example: snails, earthworms
Reproductive Organs
 Gonads produce gametes
(cells that fuse with another
gamete during fertilization).
  The gonads in males are the
testes and the gonads in
females are the ovaries.
 Testes produce sperm cells
(small and motile)
 Ovaries produce ovum (large
and non-motile)
 Fertilization- is the fusion of
the male and female gamete
nuclei to form a zygote.
 Zygote- is the first cell that
forms after fertilization.
Fertilization- the union of an ovum
and sperm. When they unite, they form
a zygote.
Types of Fertilization
External Fertilization – occurs in
some animals living in water, like fish
or amphibians. The female releases a
large amount of ova and the male
releases sperm cells. Sperm cells join
ova by chance.
 It’s the union of gametes which
occurs outside the female’s body.
It’s typical of Aquatic animals,
Amphibians, some insects.
 Eggs shed by the female are
fertilized by sperm of male in the
external environment.
Internal Fertilization- the male
introduce sperm cells in the female’s
body. It occurs in terrestrial animals,
sharks and sting rays.
 It’s the fusion of gametes which
occur inside the body of the
female or hermaphrodite. It’s
typical of most terrestrial
animals and some fish.
 Sperm are deposited in or near
the female reproductive tract and
fertilization occurs within the
tract.
Internal fertilization requires:
 Behavioral interactions
 Compatible copulatory organs.
The embryo can develop in different
ways:
 Oviparity – Oviparous by eggs,
with little or no other embryonic
development with the mother.
 Ovoviviparity – Ovoviviparous
animals develop within eggs that
remain within the mother’s body
up until they hatch or about to
hatch.
 Viviparity- A viviparous animal
is an animal where the embryo
develops inside the body of the
mother, as opposed to outside in
an egg. The mother then gives
live birth.
Embryonic development – the process
that goes from formation of the zygote
to the birth of a new individual.
Classifications:
 Viviparous- the embryo develops
inside the female body.
Example: Dolphin
 Ovoviviparous- the embryo
develops inside an egg which
remains inside the female body.
Example: Shark
 Oviparous- an animal produces
eggs that develops outside the
body.
Example: Hen
Reproduction in Mammals
 Mammals reproduce through
internal fertilization and are
viviparous.
 Male mammals have a penis that
introduces sperm into the
 female’s body, where fertilization
occurs.
 Most female mammals are only
fertile during certain periods (in
heat) when they couple.
 The embryo develops in the
uterus (womb). It exchanges
substances with the mother’s
blood through the placenta,
which is attached to the fetus’
abdomen via an umbilical cord.
 The offspring are fed the
mother’s milk produced by
mammary glands.
Fertilization- depends on mechanisms
that bring together sperm and eggs of
the same species.
All fertilization requires:
 Critical thinking
Mediated by:
 Environmental cues
 Pheromones
 Courtship behavior
Process of Fertilization
 Fertilization brings the haploid
nuclei of sperm and egg together,
forming a diploid zygote.
 The sperm’s contact with the
egg’s surface initiates metabolic
reaction in the egg that trigger
the onset of embryonic
development.
 Metabolic reactions: Acrosomal
reaction, Cortical reaction
Acrosomal Reaction
 Triggered when the sperm meets
the egg
 The acrosome, at the tip of the
sperm releases hydrolytic
enzymes that digest material
surrounding the egg.
 Gamete contact depolarizes the
egg cell membrane and sets up a
fast block to polyspermy
Gestation
 Called pregnancy, in humans, is
the period of time during which
the fetus develops, dividing via
mitosis inside the female.
 The gestation period varies
greatly from species to species; It
is 38 weeks in humans, 56-60 in
giraffes and 16 days in hamsters.
Birth
 Once the fetus is sufficiently
developed, chemical signals
start the process of birth,
which begins with
contractions of the uterus
and the dilation of the cervix.
 The fetus then descends to
the cervix, where it is pushed
out into the vagina, and
eventually out of the female.
 The newborn should typically
begin respiration on its own
shortly after birth.
 Not long after, the placenta is
passed as well.
Male Reproductive System:
Penis- male organ used in intercourse.
Has three parts; the root (attaches to
the wall of abdomen), shaft and glans
(head of the penis covered with a loose
layer of skin called foreskin).
Scrotum- support and protect the
testes. It acts as a “climate control
system” of the testes at a lower
temperature for the normal
development of sperms.
Testes- these are the male gonads. It
is responsible for the male hormone
which is the testosterone and sperms. It
is composed of the seminiferous
tubules.
Epididymis- storage of sperm for
maturity.
Internal male reproductive organs
Vas deferens- transports mature sperm
to the urethra in preparation for
ejaculation.
Seminal Vesicles- secrete alkaline fluid
with fructose (used for energy and
motility), enzyme (facilitates semen
clotting) and prostaglandins (viability of
the sperm). Secretes semen.
Prostate Gland- secrete mucous and
citrate that is rich in nutrients to help
nourish and activate the sperms.
Bulbourethral glands- also known as
cowper’s glands. A pea sized structure
that secretes a fluid that contains
mucus which serves as lubricant for
the urethra and to neutralize and
acidity.
Female Reproductive System
External parts or Vulva
Mons pubis- a mound of tissue located
on top of the pubic bones. It is covered
in pubic hair.
Labia majora- known as large lips, they
enclose and protect the other external
reproductive organs. Contain sweat and
oil-secreting glands. After puberty, they
are covered with hair.
Labia minora- known as the small lips.
They lie just inside the Labia majora
and surround the openings to the
vagina. And urethra.
Bartholin’s glands- these glands are
located next to the vaginal opening on
each side and produce a fluid (mucus)
secretion.
Clitoris- a small sensitive protrusion
that is comparable to the penis in
males. It is covered by a fold of skin
called the prepuce which is similar to
the foreskin in penis. It is very sensitive
to stimulation and can become erect.
Vagina – also known as the birth canal.
This is the muscular tube that receive
the penis during intercourse and
through it a baby leaves the uterus
during childbirth. It also allows
menstrual blood to pass out of your
body during period. The opening of the
vagina may be partially covered by a
thin piece of tissue called hymen which
can be ruptured by strenuous
activities.
Uterus (womb)- a hollow, pear shaped
organ that is home to a developing
fetus. It has two major parts the cervix
(lower portion of the uterus and serves
as the entrance or passage of the
sperm) and Corpus (larger and main
portion of the uterus.)
Ovaries- produce egg cell and
progesterone/estrogen hormones that
are important for regulating a woman’s
cycle and pregnancy. They are also
known as the female gonads.
Endometrium- the inner lining of
the uterus. Each month, the
endometrium thickens and renews
itself, preparing for pregnancy. If
pregnancy doesn't occur, the
endometrium sheds in a process known
as menstruation.
Myometrium – a middle layer of tissue
and is muscular as it comprises the
greater part of the bulk of the organ.
Fallopian tubes- these small tubes
transport ova from the ovaries to the
uterus. This is the site of fertilization
for egg cells.
Fembrae- finger like structure. It is
also responsible for sweeping the egg to
the fallopian tube.
Animal Forms and Functions
Anatomy – the study of the biological
form of an organism.
Physiology- the study of the biological
functions an organism performs.
Animal form and function are
correlated at all levels of organization
 Size and shape affect the way an
animal interacts with its’
environment
 Many different animal body parts
have evolved and are determined
by the genome.
Evolution of Animal size and shape
 Physical laws contain strength,
diffusion, movement and heat
exchange.
 As animals increase in size, their
skeletons must be
proportionately larger to support
their mass.
 Evolutionary convergence
reflects different species’
adaptations to a similar
environmental challenge.
Evolution of form to function
Convergent evolution- is the process
whereby organisms not closely related
(not monophyletic), independently
evolve similar traits as a result of
having to adapt to similar environments
or ecological niches.
 In vertebrates, the space between
cells is filled with interstitial
fluid which allows for the
movement of material into and
out of cells.
 A complex body plan helps an
animal living in a variable
environment to maintain a
relatively stable internal
environment.
Homeostasis
 The process of keeping things
the same.
 The body uses so much
energy, even during sleep,
because it must maintain a
constant internal
environment
 A series of automatic control
systems ensures that the
body maintains a constant
temperature, and steady
levels of water, ions, and
blood sugar.
 Homeostasis allows the
body’s cells to work at their
optimum.
Animal Reproduction
 The process by which an
organism produces its offspring
Asexual reproduction- the formation
of new individuals that does not involve
fertilization (no fusion of gametes).
Sexual reproduction- involves the
fusion of 2 gametes.

Types of Asexual Reproduction
Parthenogenesis
 Growth & development of embryo
without fertilization by male
 Population all female.
 Examples: salamanders, turkeys
Budding
 New organism forms on the
parent organism
 The new organism, a bud forms
by mitosis and cell division and
eventually separates from the
parent
 Example: yeast (singe cell) and
hydra (multicellular eukaryotes)
Binary Fission
 Division in half
 The most common form of
reproduction in prokaryotes
such as bacteria.
 It occurs in some single celled
eukaryotes like the Amoeba and
Paramoecium
Fragmentation
 Involves the breaking of the body
into several pieces, some which
will develop into complete adults.
Regeneration- the organism
uses cell division to regrow body parts.
A good example of this is the starfish.
Forms of sexual reproduction
Isogamous (Isogamy)
 Involves gametes of similar
morphology (similar to shape
and size)
 Because both gametes look alike,
they cannot be classified as male
or female. Most commonly noted
as + and – strains.
 Fertilization occurs when
gametes of two different mating
types fuse to form a zygote to
join
Anisogamous (Anisogamy)
 Involves the union or fusion of
two dissimilar gametes (differing
either in size or in form)
 The smaller gamete is considered
to be male (sperm cell) whereas
the larger gamete is regarded as
female (egg cell)
Oogamous (Oogamy)
 One of a pair of structurally
dissimilar gametes, the
female gamete being large
and non-motile and the male
gamete being small and
motile
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