PLANT TRANSPORT

Flowering plants have 2 transport tissues.

• Xylem
• Phloem
XYLEM – Structure and function
Made of cells called xylem vessels.
Xylem vessels are dead cells.
The inside of the cell is hollow.
Xylem vessels have thick cellulose cell walls,
strengthened by lignin.
Xylem vessels transport water and dissolved
minerals ions from the roots to the shoot and leaves.
This transport only occurs in one direction.
Adaptations of xylem to its functions
 Cells joined end to end with no cross walls to form a long
continuous tube.
 Cells are essentially dead, without cell contents, to allow free
passage of water.
 Outer walls are thickened with a substance
called lignin, strengthening the tubes, which helps support the
plant.
PHLOEM - Structure and function
Phloem is made of sieve tube cells and companion cells.
Sieve tube cells have end walls with holes called sieve plate.
Substances move from cell to cell through pores in the end walls of each cell.
The cells are living cells and are not hollow.
Cell wall is thin with cellulose.
Cells with cytoplasm.
Transport HAS [Hormones, Amino acids and Sucrose] made by the plant from
shoot to roots and roots to other parts in two directions.
 XYLEM VS PHLOEM
NO. FEATURE XYLEM PHLOEM
1 Made of dead cells (xylem Made of living cells (sieve tubes and
vessels) their companion cells)
2 Cell wall thick thin
thickness
3 Cell wall Cellulose + lignin cellulose
material
4 Cytoplasm Absent only strands of cytoplasm.
5 Nucleus absent Absent in sieve tubes, found in
companion cells
6 Transport water and mineral water, minerals and organic
salts molecules[Hormones, Amino acids and
Sucrose]
7 Carried to From the root to the shoot to roots and roots to shoot(from
leaves the leaf to a fruit, or from a root to a
growing tip.)
8 Direction of One-way transport two-way transport
flow
 Vascular bundles
Xylem and phloem tissues are found in groups called vascular bundles. The position of
these bundles varies in different parts of the plant.
Xylem transports water & dissolved minerals from roots to leaves.
Phloem transports food (sugar) made in leaves to all other parts of the plant.

Position of xylem and phloem in the leaf

In a leaf, the phloem is usually

found closer to the lower surface.
Position of xylem and phloem in the stem
 In the stems, the vascular bundles are
arranged near the edge of the stem, with
the phloem on the outside and the xylem
on the inside. epidermis
 They are arranged in bundles near the cortex
edge to resist compression and bending
cambium
forces.
 In stems, the xylem, phloem and
cambium are arranged in vascular
bundles.

Position of xylem and phloem in the root

 The pericycle and its contents - xylem,
phloem and cambium (not visible here)
- are known collectively as the stele.
 In the roots, xylem and phloem are in
the centre to withstand stretching
forces(resist forces that could pull the
plant out of the ground.)
 WATER UPTAKE-Root Hair Cells
 Plants take in water from the soil, through their root hairs.
 They grow between soil particles and absorb water and minerals from the soil.
Each root hair cell is a specialized epidermal cell with cytoplasmic extensions.
Water enters root hair cell by osmosis.
Minerals are absorbed by active transport.

ADAPTATIONS OF ROOT HAIR CELL

1. Cytoplasmic extension - Provides large surface area for maximum absorption.
2. Has thin cell wall - For easy absorption of water.
3. Many mitochondria - To supply energy for active transport.
4. Large vacuole - stores water with salt and sugar making it more concentrated than
soil water.
 Pathway of Water through Root to Leaf

Water enters root hair cells by osmosis. This happens when the water potential in
the soil surrounding the root is higher than in the cell ànd water diffuses from the
soil into the root hair, down its concentration gradient.
As the water enters the cell, its water potential becomes higher than in the cell
next to it, e.g. in the cortex.
So water moves, by osmosis, into the next cell and finally reaches xylem.
Once the water gets into the xylem, it is carried up to the leaves where it enters
mesophyll cells.
So the pathway is:
root hair cell → root cortex cells → xylem → leaf mesophyll cells
 TRANSPIRATION
Transpiration is defined as the loss of water vapour from plant leaves by the
evaporation of water at the surfaces of the mesophyll cells, followed by the
diffusion of water vapour through the stomata.

TRANSPIRATION : A NECESSARY EVIL

Transpiration has several functions in plants:
transporting mineral ions
providing water to keep cells turgid in order to support the structure of the plant
providing water to leaf cells for photosynthesis
keeping the leaves cool (the conversion of water (liquid) into water vapour (gas) as
it leaves the cells and enters the airspace requires heat energy. The using up of heat
to convert water into water vapour helps to cool the plant down)

Evaporation takes place from the surfaces of spongy

mesophyll cells.
 Two properties of water
Cohesion – the water molecules tend to attract each other, sticking together.
Adhesion- the water molecules also tend to stick to other substances.
How is the Transpiration Stream Created?
Water molecules are attracted to each other by cohesion – creating a continuous
column of water up the plant.
Water moves through the xylem vessels in a continuous transpiration stream.
Transpiration produces a tension or ‘pull’ on the water in the xylem vessels by the
leaves.
As water molecules are held together by cohesive forces, so water is pulled up
through the plant.

Wilting
If more water evaporates from the leaves of a plant than is available
in the soil to move into the root by osmosis, then wilting will occur.
 Factors affecting transpiration
Factor Effect Explanation
Temperature Increased Evaporation and diffusion are faster at higher temperatures

Humidity Decreased Diffusion of water vapour out of the leaf slows down if the leaf
is already surrounded by moist air

Wind speed Increased Moving air removes water vapour, increasing the rate of
diffusion of water vapour from the leaf

Light intensity Increased The stomata open wider to allow more carbon dioxide into the
leaf for photosynthesis
Stomata opening Stomata Closing
Stomata opens during Stomata closes during
• Day time to allow carbon dioxide • Night time as there is no photosynthesis
to enter for photosynthesis. happening
• There are chances of losing water. • To avoid transpiration during night time.
• To minimize transpiration during extreme
hot and dry conditions.
 Measuring Transpiration

 The potometer is set up underwater to avoid unwanted air bubbles in the xylem of
the plant which may disrupt the transpiration stream.
 All joints are sealed with petroleum jelly to make it as airtight as possible.
Limitations of the instrument
 The instrument measures the rate of water absorption;
 The instrument does not measure the amount of water transpired.
 Translocation
Transport of Food
The transport of sucrose and amino acids in phloem,
from regions of production to regions of storage or
use, is called translocation.
Phloem transports sucrose and amino acids up and
down the plant, from source to sink.
Locations that produce sugars for the growing plant
are referred to as sources.
The points of sugar delivery, such as roots, young
shoots, and developing seeds, are called sinks.
Sinks include areas of active growth (apical and
lateral meristems, developing leaves, flowers, seeds,
and fruits) or areas of sugar storage (roots, tubers, and
bulbs).
In summer, the leaves are sources and the growing
stem tubers are sinks.
In spring, the stem tubers are sources and the
growing leaves are sinks.
During the summer, the leaves become the source
and the roots become the sinks.

During winter, when many plants have no leaves, the

phloem tubes may transport dissolved sucrose and
amino acids from the storage organs to other parts of
the plant so that respiration can continue.

In spring, they begin to grow new shoots and

leaves. So, the storage organs (eg roots) would be
the source and the many growing areas of the plant
would be the sinks.
 Aphids and Translocation
Aphids are small insects which feed by inserting their very fine mouthparts (stylets) into
plant tissue, where they feed on cell sap.
As an aphid inserts its stylets into plant tissue it secretes a stylet sheath around the stylets.
When the stylets are withdrawn the stylet sheath remains in the tissues of the plant and
indicates the exact passage taken by the stylets.
The point where the sheath ends indicates the tissue on which the aphid has fed, and this
proves to be the sieve tubes.
 Investigation to find out phloem transports food
The ringing experiment
 In the ringing experiment, a ring of bark is
scraped away that also removes the phloem
tissues.
 Manufactured food substances (e.g sugar and
amino acid) accumulate above the cut region
and cause swelling in twigs.
 This suggests that food is made in the leaves
and are transported through the phloem.