Lesson 1
photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert
Reproducti on and Development
The developmental changes an organism undergoes as it
progresses from an embryo to mature adulthood involve
four processes:
❖ Determination sets the developmental fate of a cell—
what type of cell it will become—even before any
characteristics of that cell type are observable. For
example, in a developingmammalian embryo, as well as
in some adult organs, there are mesenchymal stem cells
that look unspecialized. But their fate to become muscle,
fat, tendon, or other connective tissue cells has already
been determined.
❖ Differentiation is the process by which different types
of cells arise from less specialized cells, leading to cells
with specific structures and functions. For example,
mesenchymal stem cells differentiate to become the cells
listed above.
❖ Morphogenesis (Greek for “origin of form”) is the
organization and spatial distribution of ifferentiated cells
into the multicellular body and its organs. Morphogenesis
can occur by cell division, cell expansion (especially in
plants), cell movements, and apoptosis (programmed cell
death).
❖ Growth is the increase in size of the body and its
organs by cell division and cell expansion.. Growth can
occur by an increase in the number of cells or by the
enlargement of existing cells.
Growth continues throughout the individual’s life in some
organisms, but reaches a more or less stable end point in
others.
LESSON 2. Nutrition
PLANT NUTRITION
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:
A. autotrophs – organisms that obtain energy from
sunlight and chemicals to produce their own food.
Examples: plants; chemosynthetic bacteria.
B. heterotrophs – organisms that cannot make their own
food and obtain their energy from other organisms.
Examples: animals, fungi
The nutritional requirements of plants:
A. water
B. carbon dioxide
C. Further, note that water and carbon dioxide are the raw
materials needed for
D.
the energy from sunlight into
E. chemical energy.
F. essential nutrients or elements – which include
macronutrients which are normally
G. required in amounts above 0.5% of the plant’s dry
weight; and micronutrients which
H. are required in minute or trace amounts;
I. examples of macronutrients: C, H, O, N, K, Ca, Mg, P, S
J. examples of micronutrients: Cl, Fe, B, Mn, Zn, Co, Mo
The routes for the absorption of water and minerals
across plant roots:
A. 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
ANIMAL NUTRITION
A 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). The greater the number of Calories in a quantity
of food, the greater energy it contains (Johnson and
Raven, 1996)
THE NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF ANIMALS:
I. Carbohydrates – serve as a major energy source for the
cells in the body. These are usually obtained rom grains,
cereals, breads, fruits, and vegetables. On average,
carbohydrates contain 4 Calories per gram.
II. 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.
III. 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 or proteins, about 9 Calories per
gram.
IV. Essential Nutrients – include substances that animals
can only get from the foods they eat because they could
not be synthesized inside the body. These include:
A. 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.
B. Essential fatty acids – used for making special
membrane lipids; an example is linoleic acid in humans.
C. Vitamins – organic molecules required in small
amounts for normal metabolism; examples include fat-
soluble Vitamins A, D, E, K, and water-soluble Vitamins
B, B2, B3, B12, C.
THE MAIN STAGES OF FOOD PROCESSING:
A. Ingestion – the act of eating or feeding; this is coupled
with the mechanical breakdown of food into smaller
pieces allowing for a greater surface area for chemical
digestion.
B. Digestion – breakdown of food into particles, then into
nutrient molecules small enough to be.
Chemical digestion by enzymes involves breaking of
chemical bonds through the addition of water, i.e.,
enzymatic hydrolysis
C. Absorption – passage of digested nutrients and fluid
across the tube wall and into the body fluids; the cells
take up (absorb) small molecules such as amino acids
and simple sugars.
D. Elimination –expulsion of the undigested and
unabsorbed materials from the end of the gut.
Lesson 3
Gas Exchange
Plants obtain the gases they need through their leaves.
They require oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide
for photosynthesis.
The gases diffuse into the intercellular spaces of the leaf
through pores, which are normally on the underside of the
leaf - stomata. From these spaces they will diffuse into
the cells that require them.
Stomatal opening and closing depends on changes in the
turgor of the guard cells. When water flows into the guard
cells by osmosis, their turgor increases and they expand.
Due to the relatively inelastic inner wall, the guard cells
bend and draw away from each other, so the pore opens.
If the guard cells loose water the opposite happens and
the pore closes. The guard cells lower their water
potential to draw in water from the surrounding epidermal
cells, by actively accumulating potassium ions. This
requires energy in the form of ATP which, is supplied by
the chloroplasts in the guard cells.Respiration occurs
throughout the day and night, providing the
plant with a supply of energy. Photosynthesis
can only occur during sunlight hours so it stops
at night. A product of respiration is carbon
dioxide.
This can be used directly by the plant in photosynthesis.
However, during the day, photosynthesis can be going 10
or even 20 times faster than respiration (depending on
light intensity), so the stomata must stay open so that the
plant has enough carbon dioxide, most of which diffuses
in from the external atmosphere.
In animals, gas exchange follows the same general
pattern as in plants. Oxygen and carbon dioxide move by
diffusion across moist membranes. In simple animals, the
exchange occurs directly with the environment. But with
complex animals, such as mammals, the exchange
occurs between theenvironment and the blood. The blood
then carries oxygen to deeply embedded cells and
transports carbon dioxide out to where it can be removed
from the body
Earthworms exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide directly
through their skin. The oxygen diffuses into
tiny blood vessels in the skin surface, where it combines
with the red pigment hemoglobin. Hemoglobin binds
loosely to oxygen and carries it through the animal’s
bloodstream. Carbon dioxide is transported back to the
skin by the hemoglobin.
Terrestrial arthropods have a series of openings called
spiracles at the body surface. Spiracles open into tiny air
tubes called tracheae, which expand into fine branches
that extend into all parts of the arthropod body.
Fishes use outward extensions of their body surface
called gills for gas exchange. Gills are flaps of tissue
richly supplied with blood vessels. As a fish swims, it
draws water into its mouth and across the gills. Oxygen
diffuses out of the water into the blood vessels of the gill,
while carbon dioxide leaves the blood vessels and enters
the water passing by the gills.