Transport In Plants (Pg – 93-105)

Just like humans, plants have a transport system of vessels and cells that transports
water, minerals and other nutrients around the plant.

Structure Of Plants:

 A plant is divided into two section, whatever is above the soil, is called the shoot,
and whatever is below the soil is called the root.
 The roots have the specialized cells, root hair cell, which we looked closely
before, the root hair cells absorbs water from the soil and fixes the plant into the
ground.
 In the root also, starts the transports system of the plant which extends all the
way from the root up to the tip of the stem.
 The diagram below shows a section through the root. The root hairs of the root
hair cells are visible (pg-96, fig 8.8).
 In the centre of the root, is the beginning of the transport system of the plant,
which is made of two main transport tissues, the xylem tissue and the phloem
tissue (pg-97, fig 8.10).

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Source' is the part of a plant where substances are produced (e.g. leaves
for sucrose, amino acids) or enter the plant.
'Sink' refers to the part of the plant where the substrate can be stored (e.g.
roots or stem for starch).

Examples
Sources: 

Leaves - sucrose is produced here.


 Root hairs - Nitrates are absorbed here.
Sinks:

 Roots/Stems - starch is stored here.

 Root tips - amino acids are stored here. 
But many plants have a time of year when they become dormant. During
this stage, they wait out harsh conditions in a state of reduced activity. 

Dormant plants do not photosynthesise, but survive on their stored starch,

oils and other materials. When the seasons change, they begin to grow
again. Now the stored materials are converted to sucrose and transported to
the growing region. 

For example, potato plants are not able to survive the cold frost of winter. 

 During the summer, the leaves photosynthesise and send sucrose

down into underground stems. Here, swellings called tubers develop.
The cells in the root tubers change the sucrose to starch and store
it. 
  In autumn, the leaves die. Nothing is left of the potato plant above
ground - just the stem tubers beneath the soil. 
 In spring, they begin to grow new shoots and leaves. The starch in
the tubers is changed back to the sucrose, and transported in the
phloem to the growing stems and leaves. This will continue until the
leaves are above ground and photosynthesise.  

So in summer, the leaves are sources and the growing

stem tubers are sinks. In spring, the stem tubers are sources and the
growing leaves are sinks. 

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 Conclusion: 

Phloem can transfer sucrose in either direction - up or down the plant.

This isn't true for the transport of water in the xylem vessels. That can only
go upwards, because transpiration always happens at the leaf surface, and
it is this that provides the 'pull' to draw water up the plant. 

Xylem and phloem

Plants have tissues to transport water, nutrients and minerals.

Xylem transports water and mineral salts from the roots up to leaves of the plant.

Phloem transports sucrose and amino acids between the leaves and other parts of the
plant.

Xylem and phloem in the centre of the plant root

This table explains what is transported by the xylem and phloem:

Tissue What is moved Process

Xylem Water and minerals Transpiration stream

Phloem Sucrose and amino acids Translocation

Xylem
Mature xylem consists of elongated dead cells, arranged end to end to form
continuous vessels (tubes).

Mature xylem vessels:

 contain no cytoplasm

These cells then become hollow (as they lose all their organelles and
cytoplasm) and join end-to-end to form a continuous tube for water
and mineral ions to travel through from the roots
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 are impermeable to water
 have tough walls containing a woody material called lignin

Lignin strengthens the plant to help it withstand the pressure of the water
movement
 Movement in xylem only takes place in one direction – from roots to leaves 

Investigate, using a suitable stain, the pathway of water through the

above-ground parts of a plant

Phloem
Phloem consists of living cells arranged end to end. Unlike xylem, phloem vessels
contain cytoplasm, and this goes through holes from one cell to the next.

Phloem transports sucrose and amino acids up and down the plant. This is
called translocation. In general, this happens between where these substances are
made (the sources) and where they are used or stored (the sinks).

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Mechanism Of Water Transport:

How Water Moves Through The Xylem:

There are three factors affecting the movement of water:

 In root hair cells, the mineral concentration is high, it helps pushing the water
towards the xylem and the stem.
 Capillarity is a factor that helps in the movement of water in the xylem vessels.
The water molecules are attracted to each other (force of cohesion), as one
moves upwards it pulls its neighbouring molecule with it. The molecules are also

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 attracted to the walls of the xylem (force of adhesion), the narrower the xylem
the easier it is for water to move.

 Transpiration force is the most effective force that causes water movement. In
the leaf, the water evaporates and leaves the plant through the stomata, one
molecule escapes pulling the other with it, and so on, creating  a suction force.
You can think of it as using a straw to drink.

 Vascular bundles

 Xylem and phloem tissues are found in groups called vascular bundles.
The position of these bundles varies in different parts of the plant. In a leaf, for
example, the phloem is usually found closer to the lower surface.

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 Root
 Xylem vessels are tough and strong, so the vascular bundles are in the centre
of the root to resist forces that could pull the plant out of the ground.

 Stem
 The stem has to resist compression (squashing) and bending forces caused by
the plant’s weight and the wind. The vascular bundles are arranged near the
edge of the stem, with the phloem on the outside and the xylem on the inside.

 Root hair cells

 The root hairs are where most water absorption happens. They are long and thin
so they can penetrate between soil particles, and they have a large surface area
for absorption of water.

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  Water passes from the soil water to the root hair cell’s cytoplasm by osmosis.
This happens because the soil water has a higher water potential than the root hair
cell cytoplasm:

Solution Water potential Concentration of dissolved solutes

Soil water High Low

Root hair cell cytoplasm Low High

 Osmosis causes water to pass into the root hair cells, through the root cortex and
into the xylem vessels

 Translocation:


 This is the transport of organic food such as sucrose and amino acids in the plant
through the phloem vessels.

 Glucose, the product of photosynthesis is the most important food of the plant.
Because from it, it makes most of its other nutrients. Glucose is converted into an
other more complex sugar called sucrose. Sucrose in the leaves enter the
phloem vessels. The phloem transports it to every other part of the plant where it
is made use of. Amino acids are also transported in the phloem.

 Sucrose and amino acids are transported to every tissue of the plant, each cell
use it in a different way. Root cells convert sucrose into glucose for respiration
and store it. Growing cells make cellulose for cell walls from sucrose and use the
amino acids to make proteins for growth. And fruits use the sucrose to make the
attractive scent and tasty nectar to attract insects.

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  The areas of the plant where sucrose is made, are called sources (leaves), and
where they are delivered to and made use of are called sinks
(root/stem/fruit/flower).

Transpiration in the leaf

Water moves through the xylem vessels in a continuous transpiration stream:

root → stem → leaf

Transpiration produces a tension or ‘pull’ on the water in the xylem vessels by the
leaves. Water molecules are cohesive (force of cohesion) so water is pulled up through
the plant.

The transpiration stream has several functions. These include:

 transporting mineral ions
 providing water to keep cells turgid in order to support the plant
 providing water to leaf cells for photosynthesis
 keeping the leaves cool by evaporation

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  FACTORS AFFECTING TRANSPIRATION

Factor Effect Explanation

Temperature Increased Evaporation and diffusion are faster at higher temperatures

Diffusion of water vapour out of the leaf slows down if the leaf
Humidity Decreased
is already surrounded by moist air

Moving air removes water vapour, increasing the rate of

Wind speed Increased
diffusion of water vapour from the leaf

Light Increased The stomata open wider to allow more carbon dioxide into
intensity the leaf for photosynthesis

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 Factor Effect Explanation

Water Supply Decreased When leaves lose water by transpiration.

Investigating the role of environmental factors in determining the rate of

transpiration from a leafy shoot

 Cut a shoot underwater to prevent air entering the xylem and place in tube
 Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram and make sure it is airtight,
using vaseline to seal any gaps

 Dry the leaves of the shoot (wet leaves will affect the results)

 Remove the capillary tube from the beaker of water to allow a single air
bubble to form and place the tube back into the water

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 Set up the environmental factor you are investigating

 Allow the plant to adapt to the new environment for 5 minutes

 Record the starting location of the air bubble

 Leave for a set period of time

 Record the end location of air bubble

 Change the light intensity or wind speed or level of humidity or temperature

(only one – whichever factor is being investigated)

 Reset the bubble by opening the tap below the reservoir

 Repeat the experiment

 The further the bubble travels in the same time period, the faster
transpiration is occurring and vice versa

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Wilting occurs when the transpiration rate is faster than the rate of water absorption.
The amount of water in the plant keeps on decreasing. The water content of cells
decreases and cells turn from turgid to flaccid. The leaves shrink and the plant will
eventually die.

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