A.

Plant Nutrition
The basic photosynthetic reaction combines carbon dioxide with water in two stages to
yield glucose and oxygen. Glucose contains the elements carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen – the
only elements occurring in complex sugars and in most fats. Thus, the carbohydrates and fats
occurring in plants can be made from water and carbon dioxide alone. However, plants do also
require various other inorganic nutrients. Biosynthesis of compounds such as amino acids,
phospholipids, nucleic acids, and ATP requires the elements phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur.

Often the very nutrients a plant requires in modest amounts can poison it when present in
excess. Overuse of fertilizer, for instance, can make the soil hypertonic to the plant, resulting in
osmotic stress that injures or kills the plant. Plants like animals, have optimum ranges in which
nutrients are present in concentrations that best promote their health and growth. The uptake of
nutrients by a plant: a review. From CO2, O2, H20, and minerals, the plant produces all of its
own organic materials.

Plant Nutrient Requirements

Nutrient – refers to any substance required for the growth and maintenance of an
organism. The two types of organisms based on the mode of nutrition are:
 Autotrophs – organisms that obtain energy from sunlight and chemicals to produce their
own food. Example: plants
 B. heterotrophs – organisms that cannot make their own food and obtain their energy
from other organism. Example: fungi

THE MACRONUTRIENTS

Macronutrients are those nutrients needed by all plants in relatively large amounts. The
following list of required nutrients should be considered as of more than passing interest, for our
lives depend upon them.
 Nitrogen. Nitrogen was one of the first nutrients to be discovered. Although it can be
provided in the form of nitrate or ammonia, it is usually absorbed in the form of nitrate.
Nitrogen is needed for proper leaf growth and development. A deficiency may produce
yellowing of older leaves or a general lightening of all the green parts of the plant,
combined with a stunting of growth. An excess produces hypertrophy of foliage and
suppresses fruit production. Nitrogen is mainly important as a component of proteins and
nucleic acids.
 B. Potassium. Potassium, another early known plant nutrient, is traditionally added to the
soil in the form of wood ash. The main intracellular cation, potassium, is probably most
important for maintaining the membrane potential of pant cells, and perhaps their
turgidity as well (especially in the guard cells of the stomata). Deficiency produces
general symptoms of poor health, which can include localized chlorosis (low chlorophyll
content), or mottling of leaves with small spots of dead tissue at the tips and between the
veins of lower leaves.
  C. Phosphorus. Deficient in a great many soils, phosphorus is essential for the production
of such vital compounds as the nucleic acids and ATP. It is needed for flowering, fruiting,
and root development. Deficiency results in small dark green leaves over the entire plant
and the abnormal presence of red and purple colors in the leaves and stalks.
 D. Sulfur. Sulfur is an essential component of protein because of its occurrence in the
amino acids cysteine and methionine. Deficiency produces chlorosis in new leaves and
buds, usually without spotting, and poor root development. Sulfur cannot be absorbed in
elemental form but must be present as sulfate.
 E. Calcium. Calcium deficiency results in abnormal growth and cell division, since
calcium is an important component of the middle lamella of cell walls (along with
pectin). Typically, the terminal bud dies, following a period of in which small leaves with
dried-up tips are produced. Calcium has a multitude of cellular functions in the plant
body.
 F. Magnesium. Magnesium is required for the action of many enzymes and is needed also
in the synthesis of chlorophyll, which contains it. Deficiency, therefore, produces mottled
chlorosis.

THE MICRONUTRIENTS

Micronutrients are as vital as macronutrients but are required only in extremely small
amounts. The following elements in trace amounts are now known to have a significant role in
maintaining plant health.
 Iron. Iron is needed in several of the electron transport substances of the cell (ferredoxin,
cytochromes), and in some other materials (e.g., phytochrome). It is also required for
chlorophyll synthesis. Deficiency in iron absorption can occur in soils with high or low
pH. If there is a deficiency, it results to interveinal chlorosis characterized by yellowing
of the leaf along the veins, that is confined to the youngest leaves.
 B. Boron. The function of Boron is unknown. Deficiency results in abnormally dark
foliage, growth abnormalities, and malformations. Root tip elongation also shows.
 C. Zinc. Zinc is required for the production of amino acid tryptophan. Since auxins are
derived from tryptophan, zinc is indirectly
required for the production of auxins as well; it
is also required as a cofactor for some of the
DNA polymerase enzymes. Deficiency
produces small leaves and stunted stems owing
to short internodes. In excess, zinc is poisonous
to plants.
 D. Manganese. Manganese is required as a
cofactor for enzymes in oxidative metabolism
and in photosynthetic oxygen production. Its
deficiency produces a mottled, characteristic
form of chlorotic leaf yellowing.
 E. Chlorine. Probably required for ionic balance
and maintenance of cellular membrane potentials, chlorine (in the form of chloride) is
apparently also needed for oxygen production in photosynthesis. Its deficiency results in
very small leaves and slow growth. Leaves become wilted, chlorotic, or even necrotic and
may eventually become bronze-colored.
 F. Molybdenum. Molybdenum is needed as part of the denitrifying and nitrogen-fixing
enzymes of microorganisms. Molybdenum is also needed by the nitrate reductase enzyme
present in most plant roots. Plants must utilize this enzyme if they are to employ nitrate
as a nitrogen source. However, plants that absorb ammonia as a nitrogen source do not
need molybdenum. Low productivity was related to molybdenum deficiency.
 G. Copper. Copper is a component of some enzymes and cytochromes. Its deficiency
results in a lowered rate of protein synthesis and sometimes in chlorosis. Young leaves
may be dark green and twisted, with dead spots.

Specialized Absorptive Structures

 root hairs – slender extensions of specialized epidermal cells that greatly increase the
surface area available for absorption.
  B. root nodules – localized swellings in roots of certain plants where bacterial cells
exist symbiotically with the plant. The bacteria help the plant fix nitrogen and in turn,
the bacteria are able to utilize some organic compounds provided by the plant.
 C. mycorrhizae (singular, mycorrhiza) – a symbiotic interaction between a young root
and a fungus. The fungus obtains sugars and nitrogen-containing compounds from
root cells while the plant is able to get some scarce minerals that the fungus is better
able to absorb from the soil.

Routes for the Absorption of Water and Minerals Across Plant Roots:
 Symplast route – through plasmodesmata
 B. Apoplast route – along cell walls

Note that the water and minerals from the soil need to reach the conducting tissues of
plants, specifically the xylem.

Nutritional Adaptation by Plants

A. Symbiosis of plants and soil microbe

 Nitrogen Fixation: Root and Bacteria Interactions
Nitrogen is an important macronutrient because it is part of nucleic acids and proteins.
Atmospheric nitrogen, which is the diatomic molecule N2, or dinitrogen, is the largest pool of
nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. However, plants cannot take advantage of this nitrogen
because they do not have the necessary enzymes to convert it into biologically useful forms.
However, nitrogen can be “fixed.” It can be converted to ammonia (NH3) through biological,
physical, or chemical processes. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), the conversion of
atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), is exclusively carried out by prokaryotes, such
as soil bacteria or cyanobacteria. Biological processes contribute 65 percent of the nitrogen used
in agriculture.
The most important source of BNF is the symbiotic interaction between soil bacteria and
legume plants, including many crops important to humans. The NH3 resulting from fixation can
be transported into plant tissue and incorporated into amino acids, which are then made into plant
proteins. Some legume seeds, such as soybeans and peanuts, contain high levels of protein and
are among the most important agricultural sources of protein in the world.
Mycorrhizae: The Symbiotic Relationship between Fungi and Roots

A nutrient depletion zone can develop when there is rapid soil solution uptake, low
nutrient concentration, low diffusion rate, or low soil moisture. These conditions are very
common; therefore, most plants rely on fungi to facilitate the uptake of minerals from the soil.
Mycorrhizae, known as root fungi, form symbiotic associations with plant roots. In these
associations, the fungi are actually integrated into the physical structure of the root. The fungi
colonize the living root tissue during active plant growth.
Through mycorrhization, the plant obtains phosphate and other minerals, such as zinc and
copper, from the soil. The fungus obtains nutrients, such as sugars, from the plant root.
Mycorrhizae help increase the surface area of the plant root system because hyphae, which are
narrow, can spread beyond the nutrient depletion zone. Hyphae are long extensions of the
fungus, which can grow into small soil pores that allow access to phosphorus otherwise
unavailable to the plant. The beneficial effect on the plant is best observed in poor soils. The
benefit to fungi is that they can obtain up to 20 percent of the total carbon accessed by plants.
Mycorrhizae function as a physical barrier to pathogens. They also provides an induction of
generalized host defense mechanisms, which sometimes involves the production of antibiotic
compounds by the fungi. Fungi have also been found to have a protective role for plants rooted
in soils with high metal concentrations, such as acidic and contaminated soils.

Plant Parasites
A parasitic plant depends on its host for survival. Some parasitic plants have no leaves.
An example of this is the dodder, which has a weak, cylindrical stem that coils around the host
and forms suckers. From these suckers, cells invade the host stem and grow to connect with the
vascular bundles of the host. The parasitic plant obtains water and nutrients through these
connections. The plant is a total parasite (a holoparasite) because it is completely dependent on
its host. Other parasitic plants, called hemiparasites, are fully photosynthetic and only use the
host for water and minerals. There are about 4,100 species of parasitic plants.

B. Animal Nutrition

According to Johnson and Raven, Calorie is a unit of energy that indicates the amount of
energy contained in food. It specifically refers to the amount of heat energy required to raise the
temperature of 1 kg (2.2 lb.) of water by 1oC (1.8oF). And so, the greater the number of Calories
in a quantity of food, the greater energy it contains.

Nutritional Requirements of Animals

 Carbohydrates – serve as a major energy source for the cells in the body. These are
usually obtained from grains, cereals, breads, fruits and vegetables. On average,
carbohydrates contain 4 Calories per gram.
  Proteins – can also be used as an energy source but the body mainly uses these as
building materials for cell structures and as enzymes, hormones, parts of muscles, and
bones. Proteins come from dairy products, poultry, fish, meat, and grains. Like
carbohydrates, proteins also contain 4 Calories per gram.
 Fats – are used to build cell membranes, steroid hormones, and other cellular structures;
also used to insulate nervous tissue., and also serve as an energy source. Fats also contain
certain fat-soluble vitamins that are important for good health. Fats are obtained from
oils, margarine, butter, fried foods, meat, and processed snack foods. They contain a
higher amount of energy per gram than carbohydrates and proteins, about 9 Calories per
gram.

Essential Nutrients
These include substances that animals can only get from the foods they eat because they
could not be synthesized inside the body. These include:
o Essential amino acids – needed for synthesis of proteins and enzymes; among the
20 amino acids, eight could not be synthesized by humans: lysine, tryptophan,
threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine and valine.
o Essential fatty acids – used for making special membrane lipids; an example is
linoleic acid in humans.
o Vitamins – organic molecules required in small amounts for normal metabolism;
examples include fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E, K, and watersoluble Vitamins B,
B2, B3, B12, and C.
o Trace elements or minerals – inorganic nutrients needed by the body in minute
amounts, these form part of enzymes, body tissues, and body fluids; examples
include: iodine, cobalt, zinc, molybdenum, manganese, selenium.

Food Uptake in Cells via the Three Types of Endocytosis

o Phagocytosis – engulfment of organic fragments or big particles, e.g. pseudopod

formation in Amoeba.
o Pinocytosis – uptake of extracellular fluid by a cell using small vesicles derived
from the plasma membrane.
o Receptor-mediated endocytosis – this relies on membrane receptor recognition of
specific solutes which are then taken up by the cell via receptor-coated pits.

Types of animals based on feeding mechanisms

o substrate-feeders – animals that live in or on their food source. Examples:

earthworms that feed through the soil where they live in; caterpillars that eat
through the leaves where they live on
o filter-feeders – include many aquatic animals which draw in water and strain
small organisms and food particles present in the medium. Examples: whales and
coelenterates
o fluid-feeders – suck fluids containing nutrients from a living host. Examples:
mosquitoes, leeches, head lice, aphids
o bulk-feeders – eat relatively large chunks of food and have adaptations like jaws,
teeth, tentacles, claws, pincers, etc. that help in securing the food and tearing it to
pieces.

Different kinds of digestive compartments in animals

o Food vacuoles in unicellular organisms – these fuse with lysosomes that contain
hydrolytic enzymes. Example: food vacuole in a protozoa like Paramecium
o Gastrovascular cavity or incomplete digestive system – composed of a single
opening through which the food is taken in and where wastes are disposed of. It is
a sac-like body cavity. Examples: cnidarian Hydra and flatworm Planaria
o Complete digestive system – essentially like a tube with an opening at one end for
taking in food (mouth) and an opening at the outer end where unabsorbed waste
materials are eliminated (anus). In between the mouth and anus, are specialized
organs that carry out transport, processing, and absorption of digested nutrients.
Accessory organs for
digestion in a complete digestive system
o liver – secretes bile for emulsifying fats.
o gallbladder – stores bile produced by the liver.
o pancreas – secretes enzymes that break down all major food molecules; secretes
buffers against HCl from the stomach; secretes the hormone insulin for control of
glucose metabolism.