LECTURE 7: PLANT TISSUES AND PRIMARY GROWTH

Develop the right tools for the right environment:

● Plant species compete for resources: Light, Land, water and nutrients
● Time and energy are currency in living organism
● Always about what is more beneficial for the environment

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

Angiosperms
● Flowering plants
● 352k living species
● Found all over the world
● Not in Antartica
● Represent 90% of all living plant species

Mosses
● Lack of roots allow them to grow on trees, rocks
● In taiga, deciduous and rain forests
● Excellent ground cover
● Desiccation allows them to survive harsh, long winters in tundra/taiga

Ferns
● Large pinnate frond leaves allow them to capture low levels of light at bottom of forest floor
● In Europe, and wet humid rain forests

Conifers
● Adapted to arid (low water) conditions of the Jurassic and Triassic by forming Needle leaves and
developed vasculature
● NL reduce water loss via gas exchange
● VSC prevents air blockages
● Can keep their leaves in winter (evergreen)
● Those 3 things help them survive short and dry growing seasons
● In Taiga forest in the Northern Hemisphere
DICOT ANGIOSPERMS VS MONOCOT ANGIOSPERMS

Dicot Angiosperms
● Broad leaves with branched, reticulate veins
● Usually attached to stem via petiole
● Deciduous trees and shrubs (ex. Oak, maple, polar)
● Agriculture (ex. Pumpkin, legumes, nightshade)
● Flowers (ex. Roses, poppies, buttercups, sunflowers, magnolias)
● Most have primitive flowers
● Flower parts in multiples of 4-5

Monocot Angiosperms
● Narrow leaves with parallel primary veins and sessile (direct) attachments to stem
● Leaf sheath is wrapped around stem
● Warm climate, trees (palms, Dracena sp.)
● Agriculture (grasses, sedges (wheat, oats, rice, corn), sugar cane, bamboo
● Flowers (lily (daffodils, onion, garlic), orchids
● Advanced flowers
● Flower parts in multiples of 3
PRIMARY GROWTH

Primary growth
● Most primary growth occurs at apices (tips) of shoots and roots
● Mitosis (cellular division) in apical meristem → increase in shoot/root length
● Meristems present in all plants
● Shoots = aerial organs = stem + leaves + buds + flowers

Plant meristems
● Small populations of rapidly proliferating (dividing) cells that produce all tissues/cells
● Cells called initials
● Cells are totipotent (capable of giving rise to any cell type)
● Differentiation: Maturation of a cell to a specific function

SHOOT APICAL MERISTEM

SAM
● R/SH grow in length by cells dividing below growing point in the SAM and above the RAM
● Gives rise to stem, leaves and flowers
● Dividing cells are small, dense with cytoplasm.
● Mature, differentiated cells are larger and highly vacuolated
RAM
● Resides in quiescent center of root tip, above root cap
● Dividing cells are small, dense with cytoplasm.
● Mature, differentiated cells are larger and highly vacuolated

LATERAL MERISTEMS
● Shoots can grow outwards → leaves, flowers and branches from axillary (lateral buds) meristems
● Each lateral shoot will have own SAM at apex
● Roots can also branch from primary root with lateral bud meristem
● Each lateral shoot will have own RAM at root tip
● Lateral branching can be referred to as secondary branching, but this is still primary growth
PLANT TISSUE OF PRIMARY GROWTH

● 3 main tissue types: D, G, V

● Tissues are complex, made up of more than 1 cell type
● Tissues made up of living and dead cells at maturity

SECONDARY CELL WALL

Primary cell wall

● Contacts plasma membrane

Middle lamella
● Pectin rich layer
● Cements or binds neighboring primary cell walls to each other

Secondary cell wall

● Between plasma membrane and primary cell wall
● Reinforced with lignin (lignification)

ORDER?
● Plasma membrane → secondary cell wall → primary cell wall → middle lamella
SCW: Lumen
● Cells with SCW are dead at maturity: lignification blocks intercellular transport via
desmotubules, so protoplast die
● Former protoplasmic space is lumen
● Secondary wall = lignification (SVP and VP)
● Secondary cell walls ≠ Secondary growth (gymnosperms and some dicot angiosperms)

Primary growth : Dermal tissue → Epidermis

● Most outer layer
● Protection and facilitates gas exchange
● Epidermis is usually 1 cell layer thick
● Shoot epidermis excrete waxy cuticle to protect tissue and prevent water loss
● Stomatal pores control gas exchange
PG: DT → EP → Trichomes
● Trichomes are outgrowths of the shoot epidermis
● Aide in plant defense
● Can be simple hairs or glandular
● Release essential oils

PG: DT → EP → Root hairs

● In root tips
● Root hairs are outgrowths of the epidermis that absorbs water

PG: Ground Tissue

● Made up of 3 simple tissues
1. Parenchyma
2. Collenchyma
3. Sclerenchyma
● May be found in vasculature
PARENCHYMA
● General purpose cells (common, least specialized)
● Provide structure
● Perform photosynthesis (have chloroplasts)
● Cell-to-cell transportation
● Alive at maturity
● Majority in leaves, stems, roots, flowers and fruits
● Polyhedral, large, thin-walled and high vacuolated shape

COLLENCHYMA
● Provides flexible support to dermal tissue
● Alive at maturity
● Found near outer surface on leaves, petioles, stems and roots
● Elongated cells will unevenly thick PCW shape
● Usually located directly beneath epiderms in discrete bundles or a ring
● More C. produced in response to mechanical stressors like wind

STRUCTURAL SUPPORT: VACUOLES

● P and C cells have large vacuoles = provide structural support
● Part of plant’s backbone
● If these cells are turgid, plant can remain upright

SCLERENCHYMA
● Provides mechanical support with lignin reinforced secondary walls
● Dead at maturity
● Greek skelros: hard
● Safranin O stain used for lignin
● More S = Greater plant size
● Two types of S cells
1. Fiber
2. Sclereids
FIBERS
● Associated with vascular tissue of roots, stem, and tree trunks clustered in groups or rings
● Have thick, lignified SCW: Narrow (0.05 mm) and long (7 cm): fiber cells interlock on either end
to create longer stands
● Thick CW provide support and protection for surrounding cells, and have flexibility due to
longness
● Dead at maturity

SCLEREIDS
● No set shape
● Fill in empty extracellular air spaces (cellular insulation)
● Provide more rigid support than sclenchyma (not flexible)
● Astrosclereids are star shaped, bc air spaces in leaf tissue
● Associate with vascular tissue in leaves, nut shells and fruit pits
● Not elongated, shape determined by adjacent air spaces
● Have lignified SCW
● Provide mechanical support and protection for surrounding cells
● Dead at maturity
PG: Vascular tissue
● Transport water, nutrients, hormones, minerals and macromolecules
● Made up of 4 parts
1. Xylem
2. Phloem
3. Parenchyma
4. Sclerenchyma

XYLEM
● Root to shoot
● Transport water and nutrients from ground
● All vascular plants can have tracheids conducting cells
● Only angiosperms can have vessel member conducting cells

PHLOEM
● Shoot to root
● Transport products of photosynthesis
● Sieve tube members along with companion cells conducting phloem sap

PARENCHYMA
● Provide support
● Cell to cell transport

SCLENCHYMA
● Provide support

PG: VT → VASCULAR BUNDLES

● Conducting tissues (xylem and phloem) arranged together in vascular bundles along with
parenchyma and sclerenchyma cells
VT: XYLEM → TRACHEIDS
● Found in ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms, primary growth in vascular bundles and
secondary growth in concentric growth rings
● Havelong, tapered ends
● Have pits on sides to allow water and solute movement
● Conifers can have bordered pits, angiosperms have simple pits
● Transports water and solutes from ground (roots) to aerial organs
● Dead at maturity

TRACHEIDS
● Pits are pores in SCW of TCHDs and Vessel members
● Pit pairs are separated by pit membrane: believed to be made up of remaining primary cell wall
from dead conducting cell and middle lamellae of intercellular space
● Bordered pits have torus to restrict water flow an prevent embolism (air bubbles)
VT: XYLEM → VESSEL MEMBERS

● Mostly evolved of xylem

● Only present in angiosperms
● Wide in diameter but shorter than tracheids
● Vary in size
● Have perforation plates on either end for movement of water and solutes
● Can be multi perforated or on single pore
● Transport water and solutes from ground to aerial organs
● Dead at maturity
TRACHEIDS
● Have staggered and restricted water flow through pits
● Reduces rate of xylem sap conduction
● Increased safety measures
1. Bordered pit prevents air blockages
2. Compromise tracheids can easily be blocked off

VM
● Stacked on top of one another to form pipes allowing continuous water flow
● Increased sap conduction
● Water moves between pipes via pits
● Higher transport efficiency however:
1. Increased change of air blockages in arid conditions
2. When one vessel is compromised, the whole pipe is compromised

VT: PHLOEM → SIEVE TUBE ELEMENTS

● STE = sieve tube member + companion cell
● In vascular bundles
● STM have sieve plates on either end but no nucleus
● Associate with companion cells that have nucleus and share cytoplasmic content
● Transport photosynthetic products from leaves to rest of plants
● Alive at maturity