Unit- IV – Plant Anatomy and Physiology

Plant Anatomy:

Monocot And Dicot Plants –Internal Structure

REFER THE DIAGRAMS FROM PRACTICAL PROCEDURES

Angiosperms are the most diversified group in the plant kingdom, consisting of around 2,00,000
species. This includes herbs, shrubs, and trees, reproducing sexually through seeds. Depending on
the number of cotyledons in the seed, angiosperms are of two types- monocot and dicot plants. The
differences between the plants arising from a monocotyledonous seed and from a dicotyledonous
seed are very evident.  Let’s take a look at the anatomy of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous
plants.

Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous Roots

Dicot Root

 Dicot plants have the taproot system.

 The outermost layer is called the epidermis. The epidermal cells sometimes project out
which appear as the root hairs.
 The epidermis is followed by the multi-layered cortex, loosely made of the parenchyma cells
with intercellular spaces.
 The inner layer of the cortex is called endodermis, which is tightly packed by the barrel
shaped-cells.
 Endodermis is followed by pericycle, which are a few layers of thick-walled parenchyma
cells.
 In dicots, the central pith is not distinct.
 There are two to four xylem and phloem.
 The xylem and phloem are remarked by a layer of parenchymatous cells known as
conjunctive tissue.
During secondary growth, the cambium separates the xylem and phloem. Pericycle, vascular bundles
and pith fuse to form stele in dicots.
Monocot Root

Monocot roots do not show much difference in the anatomy from that of the dicot roots.

 Monocot plants possess an adventitious root system.

 As in the dicots, the epidermis forms the outermost layer, followed by cortex, pericycle,
endodermis, vascular bundles (xylem and phloem) and pith (random order).
 Pith is conspicuous and large.
 The number of xylem in a monocot is six or more.
 Secondary growth is not seen in the monocot plants.
Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous Stem

Dicot Stem

The dicotyledonous stem is usually solid. The transverse section of a typical young dicotyledonous
stem consists of the following parts:

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  The epidermis is the outermost protective layer, which is covered with a thin layer of cuticle.
 Epidermis possesses trichomes and a few stomata.
 Cortex is multi-layered cells sandwiched between epidermis and pericycle.
 The outer layer, hypodermis (collenchymatous cells), the cortical layers (parenchymatous
cells) and the inner layer, endodermis together make up the three subzones of the cortex.
 Next to endodermis is the pericycle, which is constituted of semi-lunar patches of
sclerenchyma.
 ‘Circled’/ ‘ring’ arrangement of vascular bundles is present only in dicot stem.
 The Vascular bundle is conjoint, open and with endarch protoxylem.
 Pith is evident and is made of parenchymatous cells.
Monocot Stem

Monocot stem is usually hollow with no secondary growth. The anatomy of monocot and dicot stem
are similar, however, some notable differences are as follows:
 The hypodermis of the cortex in monocots is made of sclerenchymatous cells.
 Vascular bundles are numerous, but scattered, conjoint and closed, surrounded by the
ground tissue.
 Phloem parenchyma is absent.
Dicotyledonous and Monocotyledonous Leaves

Dicot Leaf

Dicotyledonous leaf shows reticulate venation.

 Lamina consists of epidermis, mesophyll and vascular system.
 The epidermis is covered by cuticle and stomata; abaxial epidermis (lower surface) possesses
more stomata than adaxial epidermis (upper surface). Sometimes adaxial epidermis lack
stomata.
 Mesophyll, (parenchymatous cells) composed of the palisade and spongy parenchyma is
present in between the adaxial epidermis and abaxial epidermis.
 The chloroplasts present in mesophyll perform photosynthesis in leaves.
 Vascular bundles are surrounded by bundle sheath cells and form the veins and midrib.

Monocot Leaf

Monocotyledonous leaves are characterized by parallel venation. The anatomy of a monocot leaf
includes:

 Both adaxial epidermis and abaxial epidermis bear stomata.

 There is no differentiated palisade and spongy parenchyma of the mesophyll.
 Bulliform cells are present, which is developed from adaxial epidermal cells and the veins.
 Bulliform cells are large, void cells which are responsible for the curling of leaves for minimal
loss of water.

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Plant Physiology:

In plant physiology, natural phenomena operating in the living plants and plant parts are studied. It
is a discipline of botany where the structure of the cell, tissues and organs is associated with
processes and functions. The different responses of organisms to environmental alternations and the
resultant growth and development which are the outcome of such responses are also studied in
plant physiology.

A process comprises a series of sequential events operating under natural conditions. Some of the
most important processes operating in plants are stomatal mechanism; water and mineral
absorption; photosynthesis, respiration, etc. A plant physiologist tends to understand, describe and
explain such processes.

The natural activity of the cells, tissues, organs and organisms is referred to as their function. A plant
physiologist must understand, describe and explain these functions as well. These functions are
explained at the cellular and molecular levels. In plant physiology, an attempt is also made to study
the factors which modify growth and development.

Water Absorption:

Absorption of water in plants is a biological process, in which the plants uptake capillary water from
the soil to the root xylem through the root hairs during various plant processes like respiration,
transpiration and osmosis. The water supply is an important factor, which directly or indirectly
influences all the plant activities such as photosynthesis, internal water balance etc.

Loss of water in plants may result in loss or turgor, leaf-wilting, closure of stomata, reduction in
photosynthetic activity and protoplasm disorganization. In plants, the absorbed water typically exists
in two phases, namely apoplastic and symplastic water. Apoplastic water resides with the cell wall
and xylem components, whereas symplastic water remains in the cell protoplast.

Types of Water Absorption in Plants

Plants typically absorb water by the following two methods:

1. Active absorption of water

2. Passive absorption of water

Active Absorption of Water

This type of water absorption requires the expenditure of metabolic energy by the root cells to
perform the metabolic activity like respiration. Active absorption in plant occurs in two ways, namely
osmotic and non-osmotic absorption of water.

1. Osmotic active absorption of water: In this type, the water absorption occurs through
osmosis where the water moves into the root xylem across the concentration gradient of the
root cell. The osmotic movement is due to the high concentration of solute in the cell sap
and low concentration of the surrounding soil.

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 2. Non-osmotic active absorption of water: Here, the water absorption occurs where the
water enters the cell from the soil against the concentration gradient of the cell. This
requires the expenditure of metabolic energy through the respiration process. Hence, as the
rate of respiration increases, the rate of water absorption will also increase. Auxin is a
growth regulatory hormone, which increases the rate of respiration in plants that, in turn,
also increase the rate of water absorption.

Passive Absorption of Water

This type of water absorption does not require the use of metabolic energy. The absorption occurs
by metabolic activity like transpiration. Passive absorption is the type where the water absorption is
through the transpiration pull. This creates tension or force that helps in the movement of water
upwards into the xylem sap. Higher is the transpiration rate, and higher is the absorption of water.

Role of Root Hairs in Water Absorption

A root contains some tubular, hair-like and unicellular structures called Root hairs. In the root
system, the region from which the root hairs protrude out is termed as Root hair zone. The zone of
root hair is the only region that participates in water absorption activity. Root hair zone is the water-
permeable region. Root hairs are the outgrowths, which arise from the epidermal layer called
the piliferous layer.

The cell wall of root hair consists of a double layer membrane. Pectin is present in the outer layer,
and cellulose is present in the cell wall’s inner layer. Under the cell wall, there is a selectively
permeable cytoplasmic-membrane. The cell or cytoplasmic membrane will allow specific substances
to pass across the cell concentration gradient.

Root cells, nucleus, and vacuole or cell sap are present inside the cytoplasmic membrane. Soil
aggregates contain small droplets of water carried away by the root hairs into the root xylem
through different mechanisms, out of which osmosis is most common.

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Mechanism of Water Absorption in Plants

The movement of water from the soil to the root xylem occurs through the following stages:

1. In the first step, the root hairs of the plant will absorb the water from the surrounding soil
through the process of osmosis. The soil has high water concentration than the cell sap.
Therefore, the water will move from a high concentration to the low concentration following
osmosis through the cytoplasmic membrane of the root hairs.
2. After entering into the root hair, the water will cross the epidermis or piliferous layer of the
root system.
3. Then, the water will move from the epidermis to the root cortex.
4. From the root cortex, the water will travel through the endodermis that consists of suberic
and passive cells. The further movement of water is facilitated by the passive cells.
5. Then, water moves from the pericycle to the root xylem, i.e. perixylem and metaxylem.
Water will be stored in the xylem root system, which can be utilized by the plant body to
perform various metabolic activities and for its growth.

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Factors Affecting

There are two kinds of factors that directly or indirectly influence the activity of water absorption.
Extrinsic factors: It includes external factors or environmental factors like:
 Soil water: Soil carries five different types of water, out of which the capillary water is useful
for the biological activity of the plant.
 The concentration of soil solution: The concentration of soil must be less. If there is a high
concentration of soil, then it will be called physiologically dry soil. Highly concentrated or dry
soil makes the water absorption difficult.
 Soil air: There should be space between the soil particles for the proper air supply. If the
quantity of oxygen is less, then the quantity of carbon dioxide will be more, which leads to
the anaerobic respiration.
 Soil temperature: The optimum temperature is 20- 35 degrees Celsius.
Intrinsic factors: It involves the metabolic activities like respiration, transcription and the number of
root hairs which directly influences the rate of water absorption.

Macronutrients and Micronutrients

The essential elements can be divided into macronutrients and micronutrients. Nutrients that plants
require in larger amounts are called macronutrients. About half of the essential elements are
considered macronutrients: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium,
magnesium, and sulfur. The first of these macronutrients, carbon (C), is required to form
carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and many other compounds; it is, therefore, present in all
macromolecules. On average, the dry weight (excluding water) of a cell is 50 percent carbon, making
it a key part of plant biomolecules.

Essential elements required by plants:

For an element to be regarded as essential a plant cannot complete its life cycle without the
element, no other element can perform the function of the element, and the element is directly
involved in plant nutrition.

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The next-most-abundant element in plant cells is nitrogen (N); it is part of proteins and nucleic acids.
Nitrogen is also used in the synthesis of some vitamins. Hydrogen and oxygen are macronutrients
that are part of many organic compounds and also form water. Oxygen is necessary for cellular
respiration; plants use oxygen to store energy in the form of ATP. Phosphorus (P), another
macromolecule, is necessary to synthesize nucleic acids and phospholipids. As part of ATP,
phosphorus enables food energy to be converted into chemical energy through oxidative
phosphorylation. Light energy is converted into chemical energy during photophosphorylation in
photosynthesis; and into chemical energy to be extracted during respiration. Sulfur is part of certain
amino acids, such as cysteine and methionine, and is present in several coenzymes. Sulfur also plays
a role in photosynthesis as part of the electron transport chain where hydrogen gradients are key in
the conversion of light energy into ATP. Potassium (K) is important because of its role in regulating
stomatal opening and closing. As the openings for gas exchange, stomata help maintain a healthy
water balance; a potassium ion pump supports this process.

Magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) are also important macronutrients. The role of calcium is twofold:
to regulate nutrient transport and to support many enzyme functions. Magnesium is important to
the photosynthetic process. These minerals, along with the micronutrients, also contribute to the
plant’s ionic balance.

In addition to macronutrients, organisms require various elements in small amounts. These

micronutrients, or trace elements, are present in very small quantities. The seven main
micronutrients include boron, chlorine, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, and molybdenum. Boron (B)
is believed to be involved in carbohydrate transport in plants; it also assists in metabolic regulation.
Boron deficiency will often result in bud dieback. Chlorine (Cl) is necessary for osmosis and ionic
balance; it also plays a role in photosynthesis. Copper (Cu) is a component of some enzymes.
Symptoms of copper deficiency include browning of leaf tips and chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves).
Iron (Fe) is essential for chlorophyll synthesis, which is why an iron deficiency results in chlorosis.
Manganese (Mn) activates some important enzymes involved in chlorophyll formation. Manganese-
deficient plants will develop chlorosis between the veins of its leaves. The availability of manganese
is partially dependent on soil pH. Molybdenum (Mo) is essential to plant health as it is used by plants
to reduce nitrates into usable forms. Some plants use it for nitrogen fixation; thus, it may need to be
added to some soils before seeding legumes. Zinc (Zn) participates in chlorophyll formation and also
activates many enzymes. Symptoms of zinc deficiency include chlorosis and stunted growth.

Deficiencies in any of these nutrients, particularly the macronutrients, can adversely affect plant
growth. Depending on the specific nutrient, a lack can cause stunted growth, slow growth, or
chlorosis. Extreme deficiencies may result in leaves showing signs of cell death.

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 Nutrient deficiency in plants:

Nutrient deficiency is evident in the symptoms these plants show. This (a) grape tomato suffers from
blossom end rot caused by calcium deficiency. The yellowing in this (b) Frangula alnus results from
magnesium deficiency. Inadequate magnesium also leads to (c) intervenal chlorosis, seen here in a
sweetgum leaf. This (d) palm is affected by potassium deficiency.

MOBILITY OF NUTRIENTS IN SOIL

The mobility of plant nutrients in soil influences their uptake and their susceptibility to leaching,
volatilization and runoff. For example: while nitrogen in the form of NO3- is highly mobile in soil,
phosphorus (in the forms HPO42- and H2PO4-) is not. This means that nitrogen applications can be
dispersed and still make it to plant roots, but must be managed carefully, to prevent leaching,
whereas phosphorus must be applied closer to the seeds in order to be accessed by roots.

However, since phosphorus tends to remain in the upper layer of the soil, it might be lost in runoff
when high precipitations occur. It is worth mentioning that nitrogen in the form of NH4+ is immobile
in soil, so not only the nutrient, but also the chemical form in which it is applied can be significant.

MOBILITY OF NUTRIENTS IN PLANTS

Mobility of nutrients in the plants themselves influences how to read signs of nutrient deficiency in
leaves. A deficiency of immobile nutrients can be seen in yellowing new leaves, whereas a deficiency
in mobile nutrients can be seen in yellowing old leaves.

This is because mobile nutrients travel from old leaves to suffuse new growth, whereas immobile
nutrients cannot be transferred between new and old growth, so deficiency symptoms will show up
in the new growth.

Nutrients that are mobile in plants include the basic N-P-K primary macronutrients; nutrients that
are immobile in plants include the secondary macronutrient, like calcium, magnesium and most of
the micronutrients.

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Managing nutrients responsibly involves not only the understanding of the quantities needed, but
also how they move in soil and within the plant, and knowing to identify the deficiency or toxicity
symptoms (Table 2).

Uptake Mobility Role in Plant

Nutrient Mobility in Soil Sign of Deficiency
form in Plant Growth
Mobile in the
form of NO3–, Yellowing in the middle of
NO3–, Chlorophyll, amino
Nitrogen immobile in Mobile the leaf, reduced and red-
NH4+ acids, proteins
the form of brown new growth
NH4+
Purple or reddish
Somewh
HPO42-, DNA/RNA, ATP, cell discolorations on leaves,
Phosphorus Immobile at
H2PO4– membrane poor growth, poor
mobile
rooting, early fruit drop
Plant metabolism, Yellowing of leaf margins
+ Somewhat Very stress response, and veins, crinkling or
Potassium K
mobile mobile regulation of water rolling leaves, poor
loss growth
Somewhat Immobil Yellowing new growth,
Calcium Ca2+ Cell wall formation
mobile e localized tissue necrosis
Somewh Interveinal chlorosis
Photosynthesis,
Magnesium Mg2+ Immobile at (yellow leaves with green
chlorophyll
mobile veins)
Amino acids, Yellowing throughout the
Sulfur SO4– Mobile Mobile proteins, oils, plant, necrotic tips on
chlorophyll new growth
Cell wall, sugar
transport, seed and Cell wall, sugar transport,
H3BO3, Immobil
Boron Very mobile fruit formation, seed and fruit formation,
BO3– e
hormone hormone
development
Lignin production,
Immobil Pale green, withered new
Copper Cu2+ Immobile photosynthesis,
e growth, yellowing, wilting
plant metabolism
Fe2+, Immobil Chlorophyll and
Iron Immobile Yellowing in new growth
Fe3+ e enzyme production
Photosynthesis,
Interveinal chlorosis on
Immobil respiration,
Manganese Mn2+ Mobile new growth, sunken tan
e nitrogen
spots on leaves
assimilation
Chlorophyll,
Immobil Interveinal chlorosis on
Zinc Zn2+ Immobile enzymes, proteins,
e new growth
growth hormones

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 Somewhat Immobil Yellowing of leaf margins
Molybdenum MoO4– Nitrogen cycle
mobile e on new growth
Opening and
Yellowing of leaf margins
Chlorine Cl– Mobile Mobile closing stomata
on old growth
(respiration)
Plant nutrient uptake and signs of deficiency

Photosynthesis Respiration and Transpiration – Refer PPTs

Plant Growth Regulators:

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are chemicals used to modify plant growth such as increasing
branching, suppressing shoot growth, increasing return bloom, removing excess fruit, or altering
fruit maturity. Numerous factors affect PGR performance including how well the chemical is
absorbed by the plant, tree vigour and age, dose, timing, cultivar, and weather conditions before,
during, and after application.

Plant growth regulators can be grouped into five classes: compounds related to auxins, gibberellins
and inhibitors of gibberellin biosynthesis, cytokinins, abscisic acid and compounds affecting the
ethylene status. Products that block the biosynthesis of plant hormones are also available (Apogee,
Retain)

The five groups of plant growth regulators used in fruit crops include:

Auxins: These are growth promoting substances that contribute to the elongation of shoots, but at
high concentrations they can inhibit growth of lateral buds. In addition to being used as plant growth
regulators, auxins can also be herbicides (2, 4-D etc.). In apple production napthaleneacetic acid
(NAA) is a synthetic auxin that can be used to thin fruit and prevent fruit drop shortly before harvest.
For more information on the use of products for thinning see Ontario.ca/apples and find Thinning of
Tree Fruit.

Gibberellins: Gibberellins (GA) promote cell elongation, shoot growth, and are involved in regulating
dormancy. Promalin®/Perlan® (containing GA4+7 and 6-benzyladenine) have been used to improve
fruit size and reduce russetting in apples. ProGibb 40SB and Falgro (containing GA3) are used to
delay ripening, improve fruit firmness and extend the harvest period in sweet cherries. Gibberellins
are used in tart cherries to manage flowering to avoid over production. Apogee or Kudos 27.5 WDG®
(Prohexidione-calcium) inhibits the biosynthesis of gibberellins. Apogee or Kudos 27.5 WDG are used
to modify the morphology of trees (apple and cherries) and to control runner production in
strawberries.

Cytokinins: Cytokinins promote cell division. Cytokinins are involved in branching and stimulating
bud initiation. They are used as fruit thinners (Maxcel® or Cilis Plus® 6-BA) in apples. For more
information on the use of these products for thinning see Ontario.ca/apples and find Thinning of
Tree Fruit.

Absicisic Acid: Absicsic acid controls the dormancy of buds and seeds, inhibits shoot growth and is
involved in regulating water loss from plants.

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Ethylene: Ethylene promotes abscission of leaves and fruits, inhibits shoot elongation and inhibits
lateral bud development. In apples and cherries, ethylene is involved in the transition of fruit from
being physiologically mature to ripe. Ethephon (Ethrel®) is a synthetic compound that releases
ethylene upon application. Retain interferes with ethylene biosynthesis and allows fruit to hang on
trees longer and lengthens storage life.

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