Transport in Plants

Storage organs
At the end of this lesson, students should be
able to:
● explain how the structure of the phloem is suited to its
function;
● identify the products stored in plants and animals and
the sites of storage;
● discuss the importance of food storage in living
organisms.
Class activity
Similarly with the xylem, you are going to draw and label,
in your notebooks, a longitudinal section through the
phloem.

P.s. your drawing has to include the companion cell/s

Can anyone remember any of the features we used to

describe the phloem in the previous lesson?
Source and Sink
● Source: where the sugar starts its
journey (either where it is
produced or stored).
● Sink: where sugar ends up (either
where it is needed or will be
stored).
● Sugars and amino acids
transported to growing points are
used for immediate production of
new cells so that the plant can
grow.
Phloem
● Tubes in the phloem are formed by cells arranged end to end,
but they have cell walls made of cellulose along with their
cytoplasm.
● The end of each cell is formed by a cross wall of cellulose with
holes- Sieve plates.
● The living cytoplasm extends through the holes in the sieve
plates, linking each cell with the next, forming a long sieve
tube.
● Phloem tissue transports sap (water and sugar) from “source”
to “sink.”
● Phloem vessels are live at maturity but need companion cells.
Structure of the phloem
Translocation
● Translocation is the movement of dissolved sugars through the phloem,
with the use of the companion cells, up and down the stem throughout
the plant.
● Do you remember the terms we learnt that are needed for the
movement of water throughout the plant?
● The mechanism behind translocation is what we call the Pressure Flow
Hypothesis.
● In your groups, I want you to research and explain, in your own words,
what this hypothesis entails. What are the experiments carried out by
scientists that can prove this hypothesis to be true?
 Pressure Flow Experiment

Why does this

experiment
work?
Pressure Flow Hypothesis
Translocation
The Pressure Flow Hypothesis
● This hypothesis states that food materials, mostly sugars, flow from a source to a sink.
This is achieved by establishing a pressure gradient/ difference within the phloem.
● Firstly, the sugars move by active transport from the photosynthesizing cells in the
leaf to the sieve cells.
● In the sieve cells, the pressure difference/ concentration of the dissolved sugars
determines where the sugars will flow.
● Remember substances always move from a higher pressure area to one with lower
pressure.
● With that said, in what way do you think the source and sink in a plant would vary?
Thinking question

Chemicals to control pests and diseases are often sprayed onto

leaves of plants.

How can these control or kill insect pests such as aphids?

 Food Storage
● All animals and humans use energy throughout the day
for moving, breathing and even thinking. Plants use
energy for respiration as well as photosynthesis.
● Why would food need to be stored?
● How can food storage in plants and animals compared?
What is the difference?
 Food storage in animals
● In humans and animals, this energy comes from the food we eat that is stored
in the form of fat and glycogen.
● Glucose is formed from the foods digested and the excess glucose is stored in
the liver and muscles where it is converted into glycogen for long term
storage. When energy is needed by the body, the stored glycogen is broken
down back to glucose which can be used by the cells.
● Amino acids are toxic to the body and therefore cannot be stored. However,
they are converted to urea (which is excreted) and an organic acid which can
then be used as an energy source, when converted to a carbohydrate in the
liver.
● Fats are also stored and are broken down to produce energy when glucose is
not sufficient.
Food storage in animals

Where is food stored?

 Food storage in plants
● In plants, food is stored for plants to carry out respiration when
photosynthesis is not possible. Food is stored for scarcity, such as during
droughts and winter months when food production ceases.
● The energy used to produce new plants, buds, seeds also comes from
stored foods. This energy supplies the buds and young embryo until they
are able to photosynthesize on their own.
● When plants make food, it is in the form of glucose, like humans, the
excess however is stored as starch.
● Like glycogen, the starch is converted back into glucose when the plant
requires energy.
● Some plants store glucose in the form of oil or sugar.
Food storage in plants

Where is food stored?

Class activity
● Give two (2) reasons why it is important for plants to store food.
● Give two (2) reasons why it is important for animals to store food.
● Research: Where, and in what form, do each of the following
plants store food? [carrots; rice plant; sugar cane; onions;
sunflowers]
● What plant products could you eat if you wanted to get a good
supply of the following? [sugar; starch; oil]
Lab assignment

Please complete on blank sheets to be added to lab books.

Draw, label and annotate the following storage organs:

● Ginger, dasheen/sweet potato/irish potato, carrot, onion