1. Describe and contrast the three main groups of bryophytes.

The three main groups of bryophytes are Bryophyta Division – mosses, Anthocerophyta Division
–hornworts and Marchantiophyta Division – liverworts. A hornwort is a flowerless, spore-
producing plant. Hornworts has the gametophyte consists of the flattish, green sheet and is also
called the thallus. A liverwort is a flowerless, spore-producing plant - with the spores produced
in small capsules. Liverwort gametophyte will show one of two forms, depending on the genus.
In a leafy liverwort the gametophyte consists of leaves on stems.

A. Explain the observation that mosses occur more frequently in moist, shady habitats than
in hot sunny places?

Mosses needed a moist environment to reproduce. Their flagellated sperm must swim through
water to reach the egg. So mosses and liverworts are restricted to moist habitats. There are no
mosses in the desert. But mosses are surprisingly resistant to drying up, and can survive under
very harsh conditions. Mosses are the most abundant plants in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Mosses grow in dense green clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They possess simple
leaves attached to a stem that may be or may not be branched. Thin, hair-like rhizoids attach the
plant to the substrate. Most mosses are non-vascular plants but, some may develop a primitive
vascular system. They absorb water directly from their body surface. Mosses are photosynthetic
plants and only grow in the presence of water. They arrest their metabolism when water is not
available. Mosses are important as their adaptation from aquatic habitats to the land emphasizes
the origination of vascular land plants.

Mosses grow in dense green clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They possess simple
leaves attached to a stem that may be or may not be branched. Thin, hair-like rhizoids attach the
plant to the substrate. Most mosses are non-vascular plants but, some may develop a primitive
vascular system. They absorb water directly from their body surface. Mosses are photosynthetic
plants and only grow in the presence of water. They arrest their metabolism when water is not
available. Mosses are important as their adaptation from aquatic habitats to the land emphasizes
the origination of vascular land plants.

B. How bryophytes reproduce asexually and sexually?

Bryophytes are primitive plants that don’t have seeds or vascular systems. Because they lack a
mechanism for moving water through their bodies, bryophytes are pretty small. When was the
last time you saw a tall moss? Exactly. Mosses, liverworts and other bryophytes are so tiny that it
is easy to ignore them most of the time, even if they are under your feet. Mosses actually are
underfoot a lot—check out the cracks in the sidewalk and you’ll probably find moss there. If
you’re lucky, you might get to see a gametophyte wearing a sporophyte like a hat. Now that
would be an interesting fashion statement.
Gametophytes don’t "wear" sporophytes, exactly; they don’t put them on in the morning and
change out of them at night. What really happens is that the sporophyte grows out of the top of
the gametophyte, so it looks like a headdress of some kind.

The first thing bryophytes need to reproduce is water. Since they usually live in places that are
moist at least some of the time, this isn’t really a problem for bryophytes. However, they still
wait until a rainy period to reproduce, because they need water to carry sperm to the eggs.

Bryophyte reproduction happens in two ways, like with other plants. Remember all that
alternation of generations stuff? Asexual reproduction occurs when a sporophyte releases spores,
and sexual reproduction happens when gametes fuse and form a zygote.

When a bryophyte spore settles somewhere, it grows into a gametophyte. Gametophytes are
green and leafy, but small. A gametophyte’s reproductive organs are called antheridia (male) and
archegonia (female). The antheridia and archegonia look like little umbrellas sticking up from
the plant. Antheridia make sperm and archegonia make eggs. As Rihanna says, when it’s raining
more than ever, the eggs stay under the umbrella; meanwhile the sperm take a free ride on the
rainwater and seek out eggs.

After sperm and egg join in fertilization, the zygote grows into a sporophyte. This is still
happening on the gametophyte, which makes the sporophyte generation completely dependent on
the gametophyte generation.

Sporophytes make spores in the plant’s spore factory, called a sporangium. The spores are then
released from a capsule on top of the sporophyte.

2. What are the two largest clades of angiosperms?

The two main clades of angiosperms are monocots and eudicots . The eudicots are the largest of
these main clades of the angiosperms, and within the eudicots the asterids are the largest and in
some way the biologically most elaborate clade.The monocots do form an evolutionarily natural,
or monophyletic , group, and include familiar plants such as lilies, grasses, and palm trees. The
monocots are characterized by having a single cotyledon, an adventitious root system, stems with
scattered vascular bundles, absence of woody growth, leaves with parallel venation, flower parts
usually in sets of threes, and monoaperturate pollen (that is, pollen with one large, groovelike
aperture).The dicots have historically included all those plants with two cotyledons, tap root
systems, stems with vascular bundles in a ring, leaf venation forming a netlike pattern, and
flower parts in fours or fives. Current studies indicate that the dicots do not form an
evolutionarily monophyletic group, but instead include several different lineages, some of which
are more closely related to the monocots.

A. In what are the life cycles of angiosperms similar to and different from those conifers?

Similarities Between Flowering Plants and Conifers

 Flowering plants and conifers are the two groups of higher plants on the land.
 Both are vascular plants whose plant body is differentiated into stem, root, and leaves.
 Moreover, they undergo the alteration of generations with a prominent sporophyte.
 Also, they are heterosporous and produce both megaspores and microspores.
 Furthermore, both types of plants do not produce archegonia.
 Male and the female gametophytes of these plants are very small.
 In addition, both produce pollen and ovules for fertilization.
 Besides, their fertilization of gametes does not require water.
 Both produce seeds; hence, both types of plants are broadly categorized into a single group
called Spermatophyta.
 Also, the mode of seed germination can be either hypogeal or epigeal.
 Their stem undergoes both primary and secondary growth.

Difference Between Flowering Plants and Conifers

Flowering plants refer to plants of a large group that comprises those that have flowers and
produce seeds enclosed within a carpel, including herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and most
trees. Conifers refer to plants of a group that comprises those that have seeds unprotected by an
ovary or fruit, including the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo. From these definitions, we can
understand the main difference between flowering plants and conifers.Also, flowering plants
belong to a large unranked taxonomic group known as Angiosperms while conifers belong to the
division Pinophyta under Gymnosperms, which is a similar taxonomic group to the
Angiosperms. There are around 300,000 of flowering plant species on earth while there are more
than 600 species of conifers on earth.

Moreover, flowering plants can be either trees, shrubs or herbs while conifers are mainly woody
plants.Shape of the leaf is an important difference between flowering plants and conifers. The
leaves of flowering plants are flat while the leaves of conifers are scale-like. Another difference
between flowering plants and conifers is that the xylem of flowering plants contains vessels
while the xylem of conifers only contains tracheids but not vessels. The phloem of flowering
plants contains sieve tubes with companion cells while the phloem of conifers does not contain
sieve tubes and companion cells. Hence, this is also a difference between flowering plants and
conifers. Furthermore, flowering plants are mostly seasonal while conifers are mostly evergreen.
Furthermore, flowering plants are not-perennials while conifers are perennials. One more
difference between flowering plants and conifers is that flowering plants produce softwood while
conifers produce hardwood.
To conclude Angiosperms, also called flowering plants, have seeds that are enclosed within an
ovary (usually a fruit), while gymnosperms have no flowers or fruits, and have unenclosed or
“naked” seeds on the surface of scales or leaves. Gymnosperm seeds are often configured as
cones. The characteristics that differentiate angiosperms from gymnosperms include flowers,
fruits, and endosperm in the seeds.
Flowering plants produce a special reproductive structure called the flower. They undergo
double fertilization to produce a triploid endosperm. The seed of the flowering plants is covered
by a fruit. On the other hand, conifers produce unisexual cones as the reproductive structures.
They do not undergo double fertilization and the seed of the conifer is naked. Therefore, the
main difference between flowering plants and conifers is the features of sexual reproduction.

b. What is the relationship between flowers and fruits?

First of all, you may be wondering why all flowers do not develop fruit. The truth is many
flowers do develop fruit but we just don’t realize it; I know I didn’t. Roses develop rosehips
which are fruit, and many plants develop seed pods, grains, or nuts which are technically fruits.
Some flowers are strictly male, so they will not develop fruit, and other flowers have been made
sterile through hybridization. Some flowers reproduce so well asexually that they have no need
for flowers

A morphological continuity exists among flowers, fruits, and seeds. After all, it is the ovary of
the flower that develops into the fruit, which in turn contains the seeds

A fruit results from maturation of one or more flowers, and the gynoecium of the flower forms
all or part of the fruit. Inside the ovary/ovaries are one or more ovules where the
megagametophyte contains the egg cell. After double fertilization, these ovules will become
seeds.

c. How do animlas participate in angiosperm reproduction?

Angiosperms have a unique relationship with animals that other plants do not. Many angiosperm
species rely on the interaction between animals and their flowers for reproduction.
As insects, birds or other animals move from one flower to another feeding on nectar, they
commonly distribute pollen from flower to flower as they go which leads to plants being
pollinated and seeds to be produced. Animals can also play a role in the dispersal of many
angiosperm species by feeding on the fruit of the plant and carrying the seeds to new locations.

Angiosperm diversity is due in part to multiple interactions with animals. Herbivory has favored
the development of defense mechanisms in plants and avoidance of those defense mechanisms in
animals. Pollination (the transfer of pollen to a carpel) is mainly carried out by wind and
animals; therefore, angiosperms have evolved numerous adaptations to capture the wind or
attract specific classes of animals
Coevolution of flowering plants and insects is a hypothesis that has received much attention and
support, especially because both angiosperms and insects diversified at about the same time in
the middle Mesozoic.

3. How have plants changed the landscape and how are they vital to life today.

Plants like moss take minerals from rocks and break the rocks down. By weathering rock, plants
help form new soil. Plant roots can also prevent erosion by holding onto soil and rocks. They
slow down the rate of erosion, and sometimes even cause deposition.

Plants also have helped shape our planet. New research indicates the first arrivals on land not
only helped alter nutrient cycles, but contributed to one of Earth's mass extinctions. And as
plants evolved, so did rivers, creating more habitats for green things and the animals that
followed.

Plants help in multiple ways. To get the nutrients they need, plans secrete acids that dissolve
rocks, releasing the needed minerals. Later, when roots evolved, plants began physically
breaking up the rocks.

Plants make up the backbone of earth’s diverse landscape that provide hundreds of unique
habitats necessary for life. Flowers dance in the fields while grasses on a hill sway in the wind.
Trees strut tall in their habitat and act as the earth’s dynamic lungs, powering life everywhere.
Birds pick up straw, leaves, bark, along with feathers, hairs and other items to make a comfy nest
in a tree, bush or even tall grasses. Our ancestors used thatched roofs made of grasses or palm
fronds, and wood to secure their homes. Industrial hemp was one of the first plants to be spun
into usable fiber 10,000 years ago. Plants in all their diversity keep the cycle of life moving.

On today’s world plants are very important not because they provide shade but also they provide
air to breath. Plants are really important for the planet and for all living things. Plants absorb
carbon dioxide and release oxygen from their leaves, which humans and other animals need to
breathe. Living things need plants to live - they eat them and live in them. According to bgci.org
plants are crucial to our daily lives in aspects of Food: Everything we eat comes directly or
indirectly from plants. Throughout human history, approximately 7,000 different plant species
have been used as food by people. Water: Plants regulate the water cycle: they help distribute
and purify the planet's water. They also help move water from the soil to the atmosphere through
a process called transpiration. Air: Oxygen is brought to you by plants, as a by-product of
photosynthesis.
Climate: Plants store carbon, and have helped keep much of the carbon dioxide produced from
the burning of fossil fuels out of the atmosphere. Climate: Plants store carbon, and have helped
keep much of the carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels out of the
atmosphere. Habitat: Of course, aside from humans' myriad uses, plants make up the backbone
of all habitats. Other species of fish and wildlife also depend on plants for food and shelter. And
also they are good to look at.

a. What is evidence suggests that plants evolved from green algae?

Land plants evolved from a group of green algae, perhaps as early as 850 million years, but
algae-like plants might have evolved as early as 1 billion years ago. The closest living relatives
of land plants are the charophytes, specifically Charales; assuming that the habit of the Charales
has changed little since the divergence of lineages, this means that the land plants evolved from a
branched, filamentous alga dwelling in shallow fresh water, perhaps at the edge of seasonally
desiccating pools. However, some recent evidence suggests that land plants might have
originated from unicellular terrestrial charophytes similar to extant Klebsormidiophyceae. The
alga would have had a haplontic life cycle. It would only very briefly have had paired
chromosomes when the egg and sperm first fused to form a zygote that would have immediately
divided by meiosis to produce cells with half the number of unpaired chromosomes. Co-
operative interactions with fungi may have helped early plants adapt to the stresses of the
terrestrial realm.

Evidence of the emergence of embryophyte land plants first occurs in the mid-Ordovician (~470
million years ago), and by the middle of the Devonian (~390 million years ago), many of the
features recognised in land plants today were present, including roots and leaves. By Late
Devonian (~370 million years ago) some free-sporing plants such as Archaeopteris had
secondary vascular tissue that produced wood and had formed forests of tall trees. Also by late
Devonian, Elkinsia, an early seed fern, had evolved seeds. Evolutionary innovation continued
into the Carboniferous and still continues today. Most plant groups were relatively unscathed by
the Permo-Triassic extinction event, although the structures of communities changed. This may
have set the scene for the appearance of the flowering plants in the Triassic (~200 million years
ago), and their later diversification in the Cretaceous and Paleogene. The latest major group of
plants to evolve were the grasses, which became important in the mid-Paleogene, from around 40
million years ago. The grasses, as well as many other groups, evolved new mechanisms of
metabolism to survive the low CO2 and warm, dry conditions of the tropics over the last 10
million years.

b. What are functions of the cuticle and stomata?

The cuticle is the thick waxy coating that protects the plant from drying out. The stomata are
pore-like openings on the underside of a leaf that allows carbon dioxide, oxygen and water
vapour to diffuse into and out of a leaf. Both the cuticle and the stomata protect the plant from
water loss

c. How does vascular tissue adapt plants to land?

The adaption for life on land was the evolution of vascular tissue. Vascular tissue is specialized
tissue that transports water, nutrients, and food in plants. In algae, vascular tissue is not
necessary since the entire body is in contact with the water, and the water simply enters the
algae. But on land, water may only be found deep in the ground. Vascular tissues take water and
nutrients from the ground up into the plant, while also taking food down from the leaves into the
rest of the plant. The two vascular tissues are xylem and phloem. Xylem is responsible for the
transport of water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant. Phloem carries the sugars
made in the leaves to the parts of the plant where they are needed. Plants have evolved several
adaptations to life on land, including embryo retention, a cuticle, stomata, and vascular tissue.

d. Describe the reproductive adaptations of plants.

Plant reproduction is the process by which plants generate new individuals, or offspring.
Reproduction is either sexual or asexual. Sexual reproduction is the formation of offspring by the
fusion of gametes. Asexual reproduction is the formation of offspring without the fusion of
gametes. Sexual reproduction results in offspring genetically different from the parents. Asexual
offspring are genetically identical except for mutation. In higher plants, offspring are packaged
in a protective seed, which can be long lived and can disperse the offspring some distance from
the parents. In flowering plants, the seed itself is contained inside a fruit, which may protect the
developing seeds and aid in their dispersal.

e. What features differentiate the four major groups of plants?

Mosses do not have seeds or flowers. The gametophyte generation, that is, the generation that is
the larger, more easily seen, is the one that produces gametes, not the one that produces spores.
The sporophyte generation is a little plant that grows on or just under the soil and is rarely seenIf
you look closely, you can sometimes see a little bulb on a thin stalk, sticking up from the moss.

Ferns these plants all have vascular systems, made up of xylem (flow of water and nutrients from
roots to leaves) and phloem (flow of sugars and other metabolic products from leaves to roots).
Mosses do not have vascular systems. Ferns, however, do not have flowers. You will see rows of
little dots. Each dot is a sori, which contains the sporangia, which is the structure that produces
thousands of spores.

Conifers they produce seeds, not spores, that are contained within a cone. Conifers come in a
range of sizes, shapes and colors with more than 500 different trees included in the conifer
classification. The world’s tallest conifer is the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), and the
oldest conifer is a bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva). Many coniferous trees possess
characteristics that easily identify them as conifers.

Angiosperms the largest group of plants on Earth. There are approximately 270,000 known
species alive today. There's probably one nearby right now. Angiosperms include all plants that
have flowers and account for approximately 80% of all known living plants. Angiosperms are
able to grow in a variety of habitats. They can grow as trees, shrubs, bushes, herbs, and small
flowering plants.

4. What are the characteristics of gymnosperms?

Gymnosperms are a group of plants with the following unique characteristics:

 They do not have an outer covering or shell around their seeds

 They do not produce flowers
 They do not produce fruits
 They are pollinated by the wind
a. What are the four groups of gymnosperms?
 cycads

Palm-like plants found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. First appeared about
320 million years ago during the Carboniferous; were so numerous during the Mesozoic
that is it often called the Age of Cycads and Dinosaurs. Many have a distinct trunk, with
the functional leaves at the top - these being large megaphylls, often dissected.
Reproduction structures are reduced leaves with sporangia attached loosely or tightly
clustered into conelike structures near the apex of the plant. Species are either dioecious
(male and female sporangia on different plants) or monoecious (male and female
sporangia on same plant). Plants are often toxic with neurotoxins and carcinogenic
compounds.

 ginkgoes: maidenhair tree

One species: Ginkgo biloba; the maidenfern tree no longer living in the wild, and only
found in cultivation. The tree was preserved in temple grounds in China and Japan. The
genus is known from fossils that date back nearly 200 million years and are nearly
identical to present-date trees. It is easily recognized by its fan-shaped leaves and
dichotomous pattern of vein; the leaves on the spur shoots are more or less entire,
whereas the those on the long shoots and seedlings are deeply lobed. Unlike most of
gymnosperms, this is a deciduous tree. The species is dioecious: the ovulate trees produce
an abundance of trees which have a particularly obnoxious odor.

 gnetophytes: mormon tea, welwitschia, gnetum

 Vessel-bearing gymnosperms, but apparently the vessels are convergent with
angiosperms. Molecular systematic evidence is suggesting these are closely related if not
imbedded in conifers, rather than close to angiosperms as usually assumed. Gnetum: 30
species of trees and climbing vines, with large leathery leaves that resemble dicots
Ephedra or mormon tea with about 35 species, profusely branched shrubs with small
scalelike leaves Welwitschia is one of the most bizarre organisms - most of the plant is
buried in sandy soil of the coastal desert of south-western Africa. The exposed part
consists of a massive woody, concave disk that produces only two strap-shaped leaves
with the cone bearing branches arising from meristematic tissue on the margin of disk.

 conifers: pines, spruces and firs

Known from the late Carboniferous, some 290 million years ago. Now dominant only in
boreal forests and often found in higher elevations, but as a group they also do well in dry
environments. Pines, spruces, and firs are of great commercial value. The tallest (coastal
redwood), most massive (giant sequoia), and oldest (bristle cone pine) are members of
this group.

b. What happen during and after pollination in gymnosperms?

Upon landing on the female cone, the tube cell of the pollen forms the pollen tube, through
which the generative cell migrates towards the female gametophyte through the micropyle. It
takes approximately one year for the pollen tube to grow and migrate towards the female
gametophyte. The male gametophyte containing the generative cell splits into two sperm nuclei,
one of which fuses with the egg, while the other degenerates. After fertilization of the egg, the
diploid zygote is formed, which divides by mitosis to form the embryo. The scales of the cones
are closed during development of the seed. The seed is covered by a seed coat, which is derived
from the female sporophyte. Seed development takes another one to two years. Once the seed is
ready to be dispersed, the bracts of the female cones open to allow the dispersal of seed; no fruit
formation takes place because gymnosperm seeds have no covering.

c. What is the role of cones in conifer reproduction?

Coniferous plants include some male cones that have pollen and some female cones that contain
the ova. The pollen from the male cones is transferred to female cones by the movement of the
wind and by insect movement. Once the pollen enters the female cones, seeds begin to form. The
seeds continue to mature, and once they are complete the cones open and the seeds begin to
spread. Some seeds drop to the ground and sprout, while others are eaten and deposited in other
areas. Some seeds remain trapped in the cone and fall out when the cone falls, or when wildlife
moves the cone.Once the seed is deposited, it has the chance to sprout and grow into a new tree

5. Compare and contrast the life cycles of the four groups of plants. How does each group
represent a variation on the common theme of alternation of generation?

In mosses, like the Polytrichum, the sporophyte phase generally depends on the gametophyte for
its nutrition. Mosses produce two different types of spores and these distinctly develop into male
and female gametophytes. Because of this, mosses are considered to be heterosporous.

 Cells in the sporangium (sporophyte) divide through meiosis in order to produce

spores (males and females).
 Each kind of spores respectively divides through mitosis to produce male and female
gametophytes.
 At maturation, the gametophytes then differentiate into antheridia (males) and
archegonia (females).
 In these places, mitosis occurs following the production of the sperm and eggs.
 After the sperm and egg meet, the sporophyte generation grows in the archegonium
and is attached to the gametophyte.
 Interestingly, the “leafy” appearance of the mosses we see is in fact the gametophyte
phase of the plant.

Ferns and fern allies are members of a group of plants called the Pteridophytes. Basically, ferns
and fern allies, and mosses undergo almost similar developmental patterns. However one major
difference between the two is that most ferns are considered to be homosporous. Meaning, only
one type of spore (called the sporangium) is produced by the sporophyte, and only
one gametophyte is needed to develop the male and female sex organs.

Another major difference between them is that both generations in the life cycle of ferns
are autotrophic.

 The sporophyte generation is the more dominant phase and thus is independent of the
gametophyte generation.
 Basically, the sporangia are covered by the indusiumand are altogether contained
within the sorus The spores are then produced when the sporangia undergo meiosis.
 After that, each spore mitotically divides in order to produce the gametophyte that
matures into antheridia (male) and archegonia (female).
  The gametophyte generation is smaller than the sporophyte but is equally important
because it is where fertilization takes place. Usually, when water is present, the sperm
in the antheridia swims to the eggs in the archegonia.

Angiosperms, or all flowering plants, may look like they have a diplontic life cycle because the
gametophyte stage is just exhibited by very few cells. However this is not true because mitosis
still follows meiosis during the sporophyte phase, creating a gametophyte that can produce either
the sperm or the egg.
These events take place inside the organ that distinguishes angiosperms from all other plant
types: the flowers.

 In angiosperms, the sporophyte is more dominant than the gametophyte generation.

However, the male and female gametophytes are produced in the flowers during the
sporophyte generation.
 In the anther (male), cells of the microsporangium divide through meiosis in order to
create the microspores. A separate division through meiosis is exhibited by the mega
sporangium in the ovary (female) in order to produce one large megaspore and three
small ones. Despite this, only the large megaspore lives in order to be fertilized.
 It is important to note that the sporophyte stage can be kept dormant when the embryo
(eventually the seed) is covered by the seed coat.

Mosses

It’s actually easiest to observe alternation of generations in the most primitive group of plants:
the mosses. If you’ve ever looked closely at a moss, you may have noticed a tiny leafy green mat
from which a stalk protrudes at certain times of the year. The stalk is the sporophyte. From its
cap, spores are cast that land on the ground and develop into the gametophyte—the leafy green
mat. Special structures within the mat produce sperm and egg. The sperm swim to the eggs and
fertilize them. A stalk, which remains attached to the mat, results from each fertilized egg. The
moss life cycle thus requires ground water in order to be completed—this is why mosses are
always found in moist environments.

Ferns

Another major plant group includes the ferns. In ferns, the different generations exist as distinct
individuals. The graceful fronds, or leaves, that we see adorn the sporophytes. If you look under
the fronds of a mature plant, you’ll see structures where the spores are produced. The spores are
cast from these structures onto the ground, where they develop into gametophytes. The
gametophytes are tiny heart-shaped structures that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. They
require a moist environment to develop and, once mature, produce sperm and egg. Like the
mosses, the sperm require water to swim to the eggs, with each fertilized egg developing into the
familiar, frond-bearing sporophyte. 6. How are terrestrial habitats different from aquatic
habitats?

Conifers

In the conifers, the stately needle- and cone-bearing trees are the sporophytes. Conifers actually
have two different types of cones. The female cone is probably what you are familiar with,
bearing hard, woody scales. In a structure on top of each scale of the female cone, female spores
are produced, which develop into the microscopic female gametophyte — a plant that consists of
only one cell for most of its existence. The gametophyte remains inside the structure that
produced it, which itself remains attached to the scale. The male cones are much smaller than the
female cones and are the structures that produce copious amounts of yellow “dust” in the Spring.
On the underside of each tiny scale are structures that produce numerous male spores, which
develop into gametophytes that consist of just four cells. The gamteophyte and its covering are
the pollen, which is carried by wind to the female cone. Pollination occurs when pollen lands at
the sticky base of the scale and the sperm grows to and fertilizes an egg, which eventually forms
a papery seed on top of the scale. Note that, unlike mosses and ferns, water is not required to
bring sex cells together and that the embryo develops in a seed, where it is protected from
drying-out and is supplied with food.

Flowering plants

Alternation of generations in flowering plants is essentially the same as in the conifers (and just
as complicated), except that flowers represent the sporophyte. Female structures, called ovaries,
contain structures that produce the female spores. These develop into a seven-celled
gametophyte inside the ovary — you can think of it as a tiny plant inside a plant. The male
stuctures, called stamens, produce the pollen. As in the conifers, the male gametophyte develops
inside the pollen grain.

Pollen from the male parts of one flower is delivered to the female parts of another flower in
various ways: wind, insects, birds, bats, etc. When pollination occurs, sperm form and grow to
the ovaries, where they fertilize eggs. A fertilized egg develops into a seed inside the ovary.
Again, notice that this process does not require water to bring sex cells together, and that a seed
protects the developing embryo. The difference between conifers and flowering plants is that the
seeds develop within an ovary (the fruit) rather than on top of a cone scale.

6. How are terrestrial habitats different from aquatic habitats? List of adaptations that
enable plants to obtain resources transport materials, and reproduce; explain how each
adaptation contributes to reproductive success on land.
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or
freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes. These plants require
special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water’s surface. The most common
adaptation is aerenchyma, but floating leaves and finely dissected leaves are also common.
Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is permanently saturated with water.

Plants live just about everywhere on Earth. To live in so many different habitats, they have
evolved adaptations that allow them to survive and reproduce under a diversity of conditions.All
plants are adapted to live on land. Or are they? All living plants today have terrestrial ancestors,
but some plants now live in the water. They have had to evolve new adaptations for their watery
habitat.

Adaptations to Water

Aquatic plants are plants that live in water. Living in water has certain advantages for plants.
One advantage is, well, the water. There’s plenty of it and it’s all around. Therefore, most
aquatic plants do not need adaptations for absorbing, transporting, and conserving water. They
can save energy and matter by not growing extensive root systems, vascular tissues, or thick
cuticles on leaves. Support is also less of a problem because of the buoyancy of water. As a
result, adaptations such as strong woody stems and deep anchoring roots are not necessary for
most aquatic plants.

Adaptations to Extreme Dryness

Plants that live in extremely dry environments have the opposite problem: how to get and keep
water. Plants that are adapted to very dry environments are called xerophytes. Their adaptations
may help them increase water intake, decrease water loss, or store water when it is available

Adaptations to Air

Plants called epiphytes grow on other plants. They obtain moisture from the air and make food
by photosynthesis. Most epiphytes are ferns or orchids that live in tropical or temperate
rainforests. Host trees provide support, allowing epiphyte plants to obtain air and sunlight high
above the forest floor. Being elevated above the ground lets epiphytes get out of the shadows on
the forest floor so they can get enough sunlight for photosynthesis. Being elevated may also
reduce the risk of being eaten by herbivores and increase the chance of pollination by wind.

Plants have a transport system, in some ways similar to an animal's blood circulatory system.
However, it is rather different in several important ways. For example, there is no pump like the
heart, no circulating cells and liquids do not continuously move round and round.

The substances which are transported - mineral salts (ions) from the soil, and the products of
photosynthesis from the leaves - are dissolved in water (as an "aqueous solution"). The transport
system basically consists of 2 types of conducting tissue, each of which is made from cells which
have been modified for their special purpose. Some cells die as a result of this modification, and
they may also lose some of their internal components.

Water and mineral salts enter a plant through special cells called root hair cells. The water is
taken up by a special form of diffusion called osmosis , but the mineral salts (ions) may also be
taken up by active transport which uses some of the plant's energy to concentrate them.

As organisms adapted to life on land, they had to contend with several challenges in the
terrestrial environment. The cell‘s interior is mostly water: in this medium, small molecules
dissolve and diffuse and the majority of the chemical reactions of metabolism take place.
Desiccation, or drying out, is a constant danger for organisms exposed to air. Even when parts of
a plant are close to a source of water, the aerial structures are prone to desiccation. Water also
provides buoyancy to organisms. On land, plants need to develop structural support in a medium
that does not give the same lift as water. The organism is also subject to bombardment by
mutagenic radiation because air does not filter out the ultraviolet rays of sunlight. Additionally,
the male gametes must reach the female gametes using new strategies because swimming is no
longer possible. As such, both gametes and zygotes must be protected from desiccation.
Successful land plants have developed strategies to face all of these challenges. Not all
adaptations appeared at once; some species never moved very far from the aquatic environment,
although others went on to conquer the driest environments on Earth.

Despite these survival challenges, life on land does offer several advantages. First, sunlight is
abundant. Water acts as a filter, altering the spectral quality of light absorbed by the
photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll. Second, carbon dioxide is more readily available in air than
water since it diffuses faster in air. Third, land plants evolved before land animals; therefore,
until dry land was also colonized by animals, no predators threatened plant life. This situation
changed as animals emerged from the water and fed on the abundant sources of nutrients in the
established flora. In turn, plants developed strategies to deter predation: from spines and thorns
to toxic chemicals.

The most successful adaptation solution was the development of new structures that gave plants
the advantage when colonizing new and dry environments. Four major adaptations are found in
all terrestrial plants: the alternation of generations, a sporangium in which the spores are formed,
a gametangium that produces haploid cells, and apical meristem tissue in roots and shoots. The
evolution of a waxy cuticle and a cell wall with lignin also contributed to the success of land
plants. These adaptations are noticeably lacking in the closely-related green algae, which gives
reason for the debate over their placement in the plant kingdom.

7. A fern plant can produce as many as 50 million spores a year. How are these spores
similar to and different from seeds? In a fern population that is neither shrinking nor
growing, approximately what proportion of these spores is likely to survive long enough to
reproduce? What factors might determine whether an individual spore successfully
produces a new fern plant?

Seeds and spores are both reproductive organs in the plant kingdom. While they both serve the
same purpose, they are very different in terms of how they accomplish this purpose. One of the
main ways that seeds and spores differ is that spores are how bacteria, plants, fungi and algae
reproduce. Seeds are the primary method that flowering plants reproduce.

Ferns reproduce by spores, which are generally produced on the bottom (abaxial side) of leaves
by specialized structures called sporangia. Sporangia can develop in clusters called sori, which
can be circular, in distinct rows, or may even cover the entire underside of a leaf (acrostichoid
sori) and are sometimes protected by an overhanging structure called an indusium. Other species
have a sterile/fertile frond dimorphy, in which spores are produced on only certain leaves and not
on others.

Factors might determine whether an individual spore successfully produces a new fern plant:

 Substrate where spore lands.

 Predators
 Sunlight
 Nutrients
 Proper moisture

8. What is the evolutionary importance of fruits for angiosperms?

Fruits, like flowers, are the unique aspects of reproduction in angiosperms. They protect the
enclosed seed, and aid in their dispersal.

Flowering plants produce a young plant embryo complete with stored nutrients in a compact
package: the seed that develops after fertilization has occurred.

Development of the embryo following fertilization is possible because of the constant flow of
nutrients from the parent plant into the developing seed.

A mature seed consists of an embryonic plant and nutrients stored in either endosperm or
cotyledons. Endosperm is the nutritive tissue that surrounds the embryonic plant in a seed.

Cotyledons are embryonic leaves that not only have stored nutrients, they are the first leaves to
emerge from the seed and, thru photosynthesis, begin manufacturing carbohydrates to feed the
developing plant. Cotyledons often absorb endosperm just prior to germination. The seed
dispersal vehicle for a flowering plant is the fruit. The word “fruit” has different meanings to
different people. It carries the connotation of a sweet, soft plant product. Thus, fruits are usually
regarded as a dessert food, whereas vegetables are usually considered part of the main course
meal. However, the botanical definition of a fruit is quite specific – it is the ripened ovary that
usually contains the seeds. Not all fruits are sweet and soft, and many are not good to eat at all.
Vegetables are considered to be the edible portion of the vegetative plant body – stem, roots,
leaves, flowers.A fruit is a seed container derived from an ovary and any tissues that surround it.
As such, fruits are products of flowers and therefore only occur in flowering plants.Angiosperms
(flowering plants) have a remarkable diversity of fruit types. Fruits are classified on the basis of
characteristics of the mature ovary tissue – e.g., whether the fruit is fleshy or dry, whether the
ovary is fused to other kinds of tissues. They are also classified on the basis of whether they are
dehiscent or indehiscent (the process of splitting open at maturity). In the former, the pericarp
splits open to release the seeds (i.e. the seed is the unit of dispersal). In the latter, the pericarp
encloses the seed so that the entire fruit disperses].

The function of fruit is two-fold:

 to protect the developing seed

 to aid in the dispersal of the seed

9. At the present level of advancement of biotechnology, what are the main techniques of
genetic engineering?

MODERN PLANT-BREEDING METHODS

Conventional plant-breeding approaches rely on the selection of plant germplasm with desirable
agronomic and product characteristics (that is, phenotypes) from among individual plants created
by using crosses and mutagenesis. Breeding used to be entirely phenotype-based; that is, plants
were selected solely on the basis of features such as yield, without knowledge of the genetic
composition of the plants.

Expression of Added Genes

Since the application of recombinant-DNA technology to plants in the 1980s, most of the
technology deployed commercially has consisted of constant or constitutive expression of
transgenes in a few crop species in which Agrobacterium-mediated or gene gun-mediated
transformation is used to insert a specific gene of interest into a random location in the plant
nuclear genome

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO ASSESS GENOME-EDITING SPECIFICITY

A highly touted feature of emerging genome-editing methods is their extreme specificity—ZFNs,

TALENs, and the CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease system rely on recognition of a target sequence, so a
single nucleotide in a genome can be targeted and modified. However, the extent of off-target
effects is not well established, and off-target effects would potentially have unintended effects.

DETECTION OF GENOME ALTERATIONS VIA -OMICS TECHNOLOGIES

In the last 15 years, various advanced technologies have been developed that permit
accumulation and assessment of large-scale datasets of biological molecules, including DNA
sequence (the genome), transcripts (the transcriptome; involving RNA), DNA modification (the
epigenome), and, to lesser extents, proteins and their modifications (the proteome) and
metabolites (the metabolome). Such datasets enable comparative analyses of non-GE and GE
lines in such a way that effects on plant gene expression, metabolism, and composition can be
assessed in a more informed manner

Genome Editing

Genome editing uses site-directed nucleases (sequence-specific nucleases; SSNs) to

mutate targeted DNA sequences in an organism. Using SSN systems, scientists can
delete, add, or change specific bases at a designated locus. SSNs cleave DNA at
specific sites and leave a single break (known as a nick) or a double-strand break

10. How is genetic engineering used to create bacteria capable of producing human insulin?

Recombinant DNA is a technology scientists developed that made it possible to insert a human
gene into the genetic material of a common bacterium. This “recombinant” micro-organism
could now produce the protein encoded by the human gene. Scientists build the human insulin
gene in the laboratory. Then they remove a loop of bacterial DNA known as a plasmid and insert
the human insulin gene into the plasmid. Researchers return the plasmid to the bacteria and put
the “recombinant” bacteria in large fermentation tanks. There, the recombinant bacteria use the
gene to begin producing human insulin. Scientists harvest the insulin from the bacteria and
purify the substance for use as a medicine for people.

11. How are male gametophytes and male gametes formed in angiosperms? How is the
female gametophyte formed in angiosperms? After pollination, how does fertilization occur
in angiosperms? In these plants, is fertilization dependent on water?

The male gametes of angiosperms consist of two sperm cells within a pollen grain or a pollen
tube. They are derived from a single generative cell, which is formed as the smaller cell by
unequal cell division in the microspore after meiosis. Limited information is available about
these male gametic cells, beyond observations by electron microscopy, because each is
surrounded by the cytoplasm of a larger vegetative cell. Recently, large quantities of generative
cells and sperm cells have been isolated from pollen grains or pollen tubes of various plant
species, and their physiological, biochemical and molecular characterization is now possible.
Although almost all the available results are still preliminary, it is evident that the male gametic
cells are peculiar in terms both of cell structure and composition. Plant reproduction involves
gamete production by a haploid generation, the gametophyte.

For flowering plants, a defining characteristic in the evolution from the ‘naked-seed’ plants, or
gymnosperms, is a reduced female gametophyte, comprising just seven cells of four different
types – a microcosm of pattern formation and gamete specification about which only little is
known. However, several genes involved in the differentiation, fertilization and post-fertilization
functions of the female gametophyte have been identified and, recently, the morphogenic activity
of the plant hormone auxin has been found to mediate patterning and egg cell specification. This
article reviews recent progress in understanding the pattern formation, maternal effects and
evolution of this essential unit of plant reproduction.

An angiosperm ovule contains an egg cell and a diploid fusion nucleus, which is created through
the joining of two polar nuclei within the ovule. When a pollen grain comes into contact with the
stigma, or top of the pistil, it sends a pollen tube down into the ovary at the pistil's base.
Pollination by water, hydrophily, uses water to transport pollen, sometimes as whole anthers;
these can travel across the surface of the water to carry dry pollen from one flower to another. In
Vallisneria spiralis, an unopened male flower floats to the surface of the water, and, upon
reaching the surface, opens up and the fertile anthers project forward. The female flower, also
floating, has its stigma protected from the water, while its sepals are slightly depressed into the
water, allowing the male flowers to tumble in

12. Compare and contrast spores and seeds as dispersal mechanism for plants, including
descriptions of each. What taxa of plants utilize each method of dispersal? What adaptive
advantages do seeds possess?

Fungi and plants are sessile (immobile). Unlike animals, they cannot walk or fly to new habitats.
Their immobility generally leaves only two ways for fungi and plants to extend their range: they
can grow into an adjoining area, or disperse spores or seeds. Most fungal spores are single cells.
They can travel beyond the physical limits of their parent into more distant territory. An
organism's physical growth for a single season usually limits yearly dispersal by growth to short
distances. The maximum outward growth rate of fairy rings in the soil is only 8 inches (20 cm)
per year. In plants, outward growth is also slow. Spore dispersal is a two-step process. The first
step is spore discharge or release.

The second step is dispersal away from the parent. Fungi have evolved a number of different
mechanisms for spore discharge and dispersal. Many plant seeds depend upon wind to increase
the range of dispersal. Some seeds are modified to increase the chances of long range dispersal.
If the seeds are heavy, or the wind light, the seeds will land close to the parent. Seeds with
"wings" (maples) or "parachutes" (milkweed) will stay aloft longer and be dispersed farther from
the parent. The spores of fungi are smaller and lighter than all plant seeds, but fungi encounter
more barriers than plants do in achieving successful dispersal. A major problem is that many
fungi do not grow tall enough to clear the "boundary layer" of still air next to the ground. Most
plants grow through the boundary layer. Fungi have adapted to the problem posed by the
boundary layer by either shooting their spores through it, or evading it entirely by utilizing
vectors (animals or water or wind) for dispersal. Once spores are caught by the wind they can be
carried very long distances. Spores of a wheat rust have been reported to have been dispersed
1,243 miles (2000 km) by the wind.

Wind and Water Dispersal

The giant puffball is an example of passive spore dispersal by wind. The puffball cracks open to
allow the wind to carry away its spores. This is not an energy-efficient way to disperse spores.
Giant puffballs produce trillions of spores because the chance of a spore landing in a habitat
suitable for germination is extremely small. Passive wind dispersal is sometimes called
"sweepstakes dispersal" because its chance of success is so low, just like a lottery or horse race
sweepstakes. Another problem with this method is that most of the spores land close to the
parent fungus.

The spores of some fungi are dispersed in water or on the surface of water. The chemical
composition of the wall of these spores makes them "non-wettable" so they won't sink. The
spores are carried along on the surface of the water like little boats. Water in the form of
raindrops can disperse spores in a different way. In earthstars and other leathery puffballs, a
raindrop depresses the sack containing spores. When the sack rebounds, spores are puffed out.
The inelastic spore sack acts like a bellows. "Bird's nest" fungi produce spore-containing "eggs"
in a "splash cup". When raindrops hit the cup, its shape causes the spores to be splashed out and
away from it.

Animal Dispersal

Truffles are an example of passive dispersal by animals. Truffles are produced below ground, so
they have to be unearthed to be dispersed. As truffle spores mature, they develop an aroma which
attracts animals, who dig up the truffles for food. The spores are not digested and eventually pass
through the animal at some distance from where the truffle was dug up.

Stinkhorns also use an animal vector to disperse spores. Stinkhorn spores are contained in a
slime that smells like rotten meat. The odor attracts flies, which become coated with the spore-
containing slime as they feed on it, and carry away the spores. Animal vectors greatly improve
the chance that a spore will be deposited in a site favorable for germination and growth.

This method allows the fungi that rely on animals for germination to produce fewer spores,
because each has a greater chance of success. The spores are deposited as a unit in distant,
favorable habitats. The sweepstakes method requires a fungus to produce a huge number of
spores, but results in relatively few new fungal organisms, and very little long-range dispersal

Long distance
Long distance seed dispersal (LDD) is a type of spatial dispersal that is currently defined by two
forms, proportional and actual distance. A plant's fitness and survival may heavily depend on this
method of seed dispersal depending on certain environmental factors. The first form of LDD,
proportional distance, measures the percentage of seeds (1% out of total number of seeds
produced) that travel the farthest distance out of a 99% probability distribution.[8][9] The
proportional definition of LDD is in actuality a descriptor for more extreme dispersal events. An
example of LDD would be that of a plant developing a specific dispersal vector or morphology
in order to allow for the dispersal of its seeds over a great distance. The actual or absolute
method identifies LDD as a literal distance. It classifies 1 km as the threshold distance for seed
dispersal. Here, threshold means the minimum distance a plant can disperse its seeds and have it
still count as LDD.

Seeds and spores are modes of reproduction found in plants, fungi and some bacteria. Not all
plants produce seeds as a means of reproduction. Non-flowering plants, such as ferns, reproduce
through the use of spores. While both seeds and spores produce the next generation, seeds are a
more developed way of reproduction that offers many advantages. The seed coat offers
protection and nourishment that aren't available for spores. And seed coats contain a fully
developed embryo ready to grow, while spores need to undergo a reproduction process before
they're ready to grow.

The Seed Coat

The seed coat is one major advantage seeds have over spores. A spore is a single-celled organism
that develops into a plant or fungus when the conditions are right. The spore has no outer
protection. A seed is a multicelled organism with an outer shell that protects the inside from
damage, dessication and other adverse conditions.

Nourishment

Each seed contains nourishment for the embryo inside the seed. The endosperm is the tissue that
surrounds the embryo inside the seed. The embryo uses nourishment provided by the endosperm
as a jump start to begin growing. The spore, being a single-celled organism, does not have any
built-in system to help a new plant or fungus begin the growth process.

Fully Developed Embryo

Inside each seed is a fully developed embryo that is ready to begin growing. Many seeds go
through a dormancy period, which is a period when the seed will not germinate and begin
growing. When conditions are right, the embryo germinates and begins growing. Having an
embryo already grown gives a seed plant a better chance at survival as opposed to a spore. The
single cell of the spore must undergo a cell division and specialization process before the plant or
fungus can really begin to grow.
No Water Required

Seeds do not necessarily need water to germinate and grow, although some require water to
soften the seed coat. Large seeds in dry conditions will hold water and allow the growing plant to
grow deep roots without the need for rain or additional water. However, all spores require water
before the spore begins its growing process. If the conditions are not exactly right, the spore will
not produce the next generation.

13. Why is the plant life cycle known as the alternation of generations? Make a diagram
showing alternation of generation life cycle what specific plant group?

It called alternation generations because, alternation of generations is a type of life cycle found in
terrestrial plants and some algae in which subsequent generations of individuals alternate
between haploid and diploid organisms. This can be contrasted to sexual reproduction in
animals, in which both haploid and diploid cells are found in every generation. Alternation of
generations has several distinct features, and these features can be slightly modified between
species. In general, the generations alternate between the sporophytes capable of creating spores
and the gametophytes, capable of creating gametes.

Life cycle of a fern

14. The extracellular matrix and growth factors work in conjunction with one another to
promote cell survival and proliferation. Discuss the production of these proteins and their
functions. How and what do they regulate to promote cell survival and proliferation?

Living tissues are not just accumulations of tightly packed cells. Much of a tissue's volume is
made up of extracellular space ('extra-' meaning 'outside' or 'beyond,' as in 'extraterrestrial'). This
void is filled with a complex meshwork called the extracellular matrix.

Rather than being inert filler material, like the Styrofoam packing around a shipment of
glassware, the extracellular matrix is a dynamic, physiologically active component of all living
tissues. In addition to providing structural support for the cells embedded within a tissue, the
extracellular matrix guides their division, growth, and development. In other words, the
extracellular matrix largely determines how a tissue looks and functions.

The extracellular matrix is made up of proteoglycans, water, minerals, and fibrous proteins. A
proteoglycan is composed of a protein core surrounded by long chains of starch-like molecules
called glycosaminoglycans.

The components of the extracellular matrix are produced and organized by the cells that live
within it. In most tissues, fibroblasts, or fiber-making cells, are charged with this responsibility.

In no tissue is the extracellular matrix so well defined - or so easily studied - as in connective

tissue, where the extracellular matrix is frequently more plentiful than the cells. Found
throughout your body, connective tissue serves as the scaffolding for all other tissues. Variations
in the types and numbers of molecules in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue account for
the incredible diversity of tissues and organs in the human body.

The extracellular matrix regulates a cell's dynamic behavior. In addition, it sequesters a wide
range of cellular growth factors and acts as a local store for them. Changes in physiological
conditions can trigger protease activities that cause local release of such stores. This allows the
rapid and local growth factor-mediated activation of cellular functions without synthesis.

Formation of the extracellular matrix is essential for processes like growth, wound healing, and
fibrosis. An understanding of ECM (extracellular matrix) structure and composition also helps in
comprehending the complex dynamics of tumor invasion and metastasis in cancer biology as
metastasis often involves the destruction of extracellular matrix by enzymes such as serine
proteases, threonine proteases, and matrix metalloproteinase.

The stiffness and elasticity of the ECM has important implications in cell migration, gene
expression, and differentiation. Cells actively sense ECM rigidity and migrate preferentially
towards stiffer surfaces in a phenomenon called durotaxis. They also detect elasticity and adjust
their gene expression accordingly which has increasingly become a subject of research because
of its impact on differentiation and cancer progression.

Growth Factor is a protein molecule made by the body; it functions to regulate cell division &
cell survival. Growth factors can also be produced by genetic engineering in the laboratory and
used in biological therapy.Growth factors bind to receptors on the cell surface, with the result of
activating cellular proliferation and/or differentiation. Growth factors are quite versatile,
stimulating cellular division in numerous different cell types; while others are specific to a
particular cell-type. Growth factors are proteins that promote cell growth.

Growth factors are proteins that function as growth stimulators (mitogens) and/or growth
inhibitors, stimulate cell migration, act as chemotactic agents, inhibit cell migration, inhibit
invasion of tumor cells, modulate differentiated functions of cells, involved in apoptosis,
involved in angiogenesis and promote survival of cells without influencing growth and
differentiation.Growth factors secret diffusible factors that are identified in the conditioned
medium of cell cultures. Growth factors are present in membrane-anchored forms. Growth
factors act in an autocrine, paracrine, juxtacrine or retrocrine manner.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) regulates cell behavior by influencing cell proliferation,
survival, shape, migration and differentiation. Far from being a static structure, the ECM is
constantly undergoing remodeling – i.e. assembly and degradation – particularly during the
normal processes of development, differentiation and wound repair. When misregulated, this can
contribute to disease.

Growth factors regulate a variety of cellular behaviors including growth, migration,

differentiation, apoptosis, and survival, in both positive and negative manners. They also have an
array of functions during development, and play important roles in the maintenance of tissue
homeostasis and wound healing in the adult.

15. Why do plants need to exchange gases with the environment? What are the main gas
exchange organs in plants? How does this process take place?

Plants need to carry out gas exchange because they use aerobic cellular respiration (like
animals). As a result, they need to obtain molecular oxygen and release carbon dioxide. In
addition to aerobic cellular respiration, plants also need to obtain carbon dioxide to carry out
photosynthesis and to release the molecular oxygen that is the product of this reaction

In the covering of the leaves and of the primary structure of the stem, gas exchange is carried out
through the cuticle and pores of the epidermis. In the covering of the secondary structure of the
stem of woody plants, gas exchange is carried out through the lenticels of the periderm (small
breaches in cork). Gas exchange in plants is carried out via simple diffusion.

Transpiration is the loss of water from the plant to the atmosphere into the form of vapor.
Transpiration occurs through the cuticle of the epidermis (cuticular transpiration) or through the
ostioles of the stomata (stomatal transpiration). The most important of the two is stomatal
transpiration, since it is more intense and is physiologically regulated.

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.

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