TRANSPORT

Transport of Substances in
Plants
 Necessity
• Transport substances to all parts of plant
 Water – for photosynthesis and cellular metabolism
 Mineral ions – for healthy growth and development
 Organic food materials – for cellular metabolism or
storage
• Problem
 Small TSA/V ratio
 Long distances
• Overcome
 Internal system of tubes = VASCULAR SYSTEM
 The Vascular System

• The vascular system involved in

transporting substances in plants
– except movement of gases (diffusion)
• Consist of 2 types of tissues:
xylem and phloem
– which function as two separate
transport system.
Monocot plant
leaf:

stem: root:
Dicot plant
 Xylem

• Transports water and dissolved

mineral ions from the roots to the
upper parts of the plant
– Against gravitational pull
• Gives mechanical support to
woody plants
 Xylem adaptation
• Consists of 4 types of cells:
 Xylem vessels
 Long, hollow, continuous tube
 Dead cell, no protoplasm
 Thickened by lignin (patterns: pits, spiral, ring)
 Numerous pits (holes), end walls open
 Tracheids
 Dead cells, hollow
 Longer and smaller than xylem vessels
 Pointed end and pitted, end walls breaks
down in pits
 Parenchyma – food storage
 Fibres - support
 Phloem
• Transports organic substances
(e.g. sucrose, amino acids)
synthesised mainly in the leaves to
other parts of plant
– Used in cellular metabolism
• Growth (shoot, root, buds, fruits)
• Respiration
– Stored in in storage organ
• e.g. tuber
 Phloem adaptation
• Consists of
 Sieve tubes
• Living cells (nucleus disintegrates during
maturation, thin layer of cytoplasm, small
mitochondria)
• Cylindrical, elongated, end-to-end
• End walls perforated to form sieve plates
 Companion cells (transport food into tubes)

• Shorter than sieve tubes

• Living cells (with nucleus, many mitochondria)
• Adjacent to and support the function of sieve tube
 Parenchyma – food storage
 Fibres - support
 Transport of substances:
Food (Translocation)
• The movement of sucrose and other
organic materials within the plant body
• Primarily through phloem (sieve tube)
• Drives by concentration (pressure)
gradients
• Importance:
– Plant’s survival
– Store and convert sucrose to other sugars
 Bark Ringing
• Removal of a ring of tissue
external to the xylem from around
the trunk of a woody plant.
– Removal of phloem
 Observation Inference
Tissue above the • Tissue removed is phloem
ring swells up • Disrupt flow of food to root
Tissue below the • Accumulation causes
ring withers swelling at the upper part
• Insufficient food cause the
lower part to wither
The upper part of • Xylem is not removed
plants lives • Flow of water is not
normally disrupted
• The upper part do not wilt
 Transport of substances:
Water and minerals
• Water by osmosis
• Minerals by active transport
• Aided by three factors:
– Root pressure
– Capillary action
• Cohesion and adhesion
– Transpiration pull
 1) Root Pressure

• The process that forces the water

absorbed from the soil to move
through the roots and up the stem
of a plant
• Caused by osmosis of water and
active transport of mineral ions
into the root xylem
 The mechanism:
• Cell sap of root hair cells is hypertonic to soil
water
• Water enter by osmosis
• Cell sap is diluted, hypotonic to adjacent cells
• Water moves to the next cells until crosses
cortex and endodermis
• Creates root pressure to push water into
xylem
• Helped by the active transport of minerals into
xylem that increase osmotic pressure
 Guttation
• In small plants,
water may be
pushed out of
special pores at
leaf (hydathodes)
• Usually seen early
morning
 2) Capillary action
• Chemical forces that move water
as a continuous column rather
than as individual molecules.
• Combination of 2 forces due to
hydrogen bonding: cohesion &
adhesion
• The forces can be overcome by
gravity.
 Cohesion and Adhesion
• Cohesion:
attraction between water molecules,
prevents break of water column
• Adhesion:
attraction between water molecules
and xylem walls, prevents slipping
of molecules
 3) Transpiration pull

• When water evaporates, it creates

an empty space which is filled
continuously.
• As the water moves, more water is
absorbed to replace the
evaporated water
(transpiration pull)
Conceptualise!
 Transpiration
• The process of water loss (as water
vapour) from plants to the atmosphere
due to evaporation (99% of water intake)
– Through the stomata in leaves (90%)
– Through cuticle (5%) or lenticels (5%)
• Importance
– Creates transpiration pull
– Provide cooling effect and turgor pressure
– Maintain osmotic pressure
 The process:
• Water absorbed by
roots to mesophyl
cells
• Heat from Sun cause
water to evaporate
to air spaces
• Water vapour diffuse
through stomata
(traspiration)
 Regulation by stomata:
Open
• During day – Guard cells
– Photosynthesis become turgid,
produce glucose curved outwards,
– K+ pumped into stoma opens
guard cells – Transpiration
– Accumulation of occurs
glucose and K+
increase osmotic
pressure
– Water enters by
osmosis
 Regulation by stomata:
Close
• At night/dark – Guard cells
– No photosynthesis, become flaccid,
no glucose produced stoma closes
– K+ moves out to – Transpiration
epidermal cells stops
– Osmotic pressure
decrease
– Water diffuses out by
osmosis
Factors affecting transpiration rate:
Air Movement

• More air movement, easier evaporation

Transpiration rate

Air movement
Factors affecting transpiration rate:
Temperature
• Higher temperature, higher rate of
transpiration
Transpiration rate

Temperature
Factors affecting transpiration rate:
Light intensity
• Higher intensity, higher rate of
transpiration

Transpiration rate
Light intensity
Light intensity

Transpiration rate

Time
Factors affecting transpiration rate:
Relative humidity
• Higher surrounding humidity, lower rate
of transpiration
Transpiration rate

Relative humidity