NR 215

PLANT BIOLOGY

Lecture 4:
Roots
Overview
 Root Development
 Root Structure
 Specialized Roots
 Mycorrhizae
 Root Nodules
 Soils
 Roots
 Function:
1. Anchor
 Most plants no
more than ~3-5
meters (10-16)
into soil
 Alfalfa > 6m (20
ft)
 Mesquite ~55m
(175 ft)
2. Absorb water
and minerals
3. Store food
Different Conditions Between Algae and Terrestrial
Plants

Algae
 Supportive Medium (water)
 Photosynthesis in most cells
 Direct access to water and
minerals
Terrestrial Plants
 Non-supportive medium (air)
 No photosynthesis in roots
 Aerial parts not in direct contact
with water and minerals
Root Surface Area
 Surface area of root system
 A single rye plant (in 2’ x 2’ x5’
space)
 15 million individual roots
 644 km
 Surface area ~ volleyball court
(160 m2)
 How Roots Develop
 When a seed germinates, the
embryo’s radicle grows out
and develops into the first
root
 May develop into thick
taproot with branch roots
 Dicots (Dicotyledonous
Plants) (e.g. peas, carrots)
 May develop adventitious
roots that develop a fibrous
root system
 Monocots
(Monocotyledonous Plants)
(e.g. grass, corn, rice)

 Time lapse radish video

Root Systems
Root Structure
1. Root Cap
2. Region of Cell
Division
3. Region of Elongation
4. Region of Maturation
Root Structure: Root Cap
 Root Cap = Thimble-shaped mass of parenchyma
cells covering each root tip
 Protects apical meristem
 Lubricates root as it moves through the soil
 No equivalent structure in stems
 Root cap cells constantly lost and replaced (~ 1 week)
 Perception of gravity takes place in root cap cells
 Amyloplasts (plastids containing starch) relocate in cell
when root is turned…exact mechanism unknown
 Root gravitropism video (5min intervals, response in 30
minutes)
Root Structure: Region of Cell Division

 Apical meristem
 Inverted, cup-shaped dome
 Cells divide every 12-36 hours
 Cells produced are cubical in shape, large
nucleus and few, if any, small vacuoles
 Apical meristem subdivides into 3
meristematic areas
 Protoderm: gives rise to epidermis
 Ground Meristem: produces parenchyma of
the cortex
 Procambium: produces primary xylem and
phloem
 Solid core of xylem and phloem in dicot roots;
pith present in monocot roots
Root Structure: Region of
Elongation
 Cells become
elongated (several
times their original
length) as cell
differentiation
proceeds
 Cells assume their
mature size and
shape in this region
 Lacks root hairs
Root Structure: Region of Maturation
 Also called “Region of Differentiation”
 Cells fully mature in this region
 Root hairs (extensions of epidermal cells) emerge in this zone (Root hair video)
 Up to ~40,000 per cm2
 Life span of several days to weeks
 Single rye plant could have14 billion root hairs with surface area ~1/2 hectare
Tissues Regions in a Root
 Cortex
 Parenchyma cells that function
in food storage
 Endodermis: inner boundary
layer of cortex
 Casparian Strips:
 A band of waterproof material
around the cells of the
endodermis
 Ensures that water and
minerals enter the xylem only
by passing through the
Function of Casparian Strip
Function of Casparian Strip
 Animation:
 http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/vis2005/show/transpiration.swf
Tissues Regions in a Root: Vascular
Cylinder
 Vascular Cylinder
 Primarily conduct water (xylem) and phloem

(food)
 Pericycle
 Liesdirectly against the inner boundary of the
endodermis
 Retains meristematic (i.e. cell division) capability
 Produces branch/lateral roots
Tissue Regions in a Root: Vascular
Cylinder
Cortex cells
filled with
amyloplasts

Endodermis
cell

Pericycle cell

Phloem cell

Xylem vessel
elements
Intercellular
space
Tissue Regions in a Root:
Pericycle
Tissue Regions in a Root
 Dicot roots
 A single, X-shaped mass
of xylem at the centre,
with phloem between the
arms of the X
 Monocot roots
 Phloem and xylem
alternate like the spokes
of a wheel
Dicot vs. Monocot Roots
Tissue Regions in a Root
 Review: McGraw-Hill Animation
Specialized Roots
 Food Storage Roots
 Most roots and stems
store some food, others
store large quantities of
carbs (e.g. starch)
 Sweet potatoes, beets,
turnips, etc.
 Water Storage Roots
 Environmental adaptation
in areas where no rainfall
for months
 60 – 160 pounds
 Specialized Roots
 Propagative Roots
 Adventitious buds (buds in areas
other than stems) develop along
near-surface roots and turn into
suckers
 Fruit trees (e.g. cherry, pears), weeds
 Pneumatophores
 A specialized aerial root produced by
certain trees living in swamp habitats
 Facilitates gas exchange between the
atmosphere and submerged roots
 Specialized Roots
 Aerial Roots
 Velamen roots of
orchids
 Absorb
atmospheric water
and nutrients
 Prop roots of corn
 Adventitious roots
of ivies (e.g.
Virginia creeper)
 Specialized Roots
 Contractile
Roots
 Pull plant
deeper into
soil to an
optimum
depth
Specialized Roots
 Buttress Roots
 Shallow or muddy soils in
tropics
 Parasitic Roots (e.g. dwarf
mistletoe)
 Have no chlorophyll and are
dependent on chlorophyll-
bearing plants for nutrition
Dwarf Misteltoe
 In eastern Canada the Eastern
Spruce dwarf mistletoe
(Arceuthobium pusillum)
grows on black spruce, white
spruce and sometimes
tamarack
 In western Canada, Lodgepole
pine dwarf mistletoe
(Arceuthobium americanum
Nutt.) grows on lodgepole and
jack pines
 Mycorrhizae
 Mycorrhizae = “fungus root”
 Over 75% of plant species
have various fungi associated
with their roots
 Mutalistic association with a
fungus
 Plant receives phosphorus that
is absorbed and stored by the
fungus from the soil (plants
alone have a difficult time
absorbing phosphorus)
 Fungus receives sugars and
amino acids from the plant
Root Nodules
 Occur in Legume family (i.e. peas, beans)
 Rhizobium bacteria live in the nodules
 Nitrogen fixation occurs in the root nodules
 Atmospheric nitrogen (N2) is unavailable to plants because
of a triple-bond holding the two N atoms together
 Bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium NH 4
Human Relevance of Roots
 Cultivated biennial root crops:
 Beets, turnips, carrots, parsnip
 Sweet potatoes
 Cassava (tapioca)
 Major carbohydrate source in tropical
regions
 Spices (e.g. sassafras, licorice)
 Drugs
 Resperine (dried Indian snakeroot)
 Tranquilizer
 Antihypertensive (high blood pressure)
Soils
 Stern pages 77-81
Misc.
 Reading: Stern Chapter 5

 QUIZ THIS WEEK IN LAB

 Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4
 Overview of plant biology
 Nature of life and chemicals
 Cell structures, functions, (basic) mitosis
 Tissues – meristematic tissue, simple & complex tissues
Terms
 Taproot
 Fibrous root
 Radicle
 Root cap
 Region of cell division
 Region of cell elongation
 Region of maturation
 Gravitropism
 Root hairs
 Cortex
 Endodermis
 Casparian strips
 Apoplastic pathway
 Symplastic pathway
 Transmembrane pathway
 Plasmodesma
 Vascular cylinder
 Pericycle
 Lateral roots
 Dicot vs. Monocot roots
 Food storage roots
 Water storage roots
 Propagative roots
 Pneumatophores
 Aerial roots
 Velamen roots
 Prop roots
 Adventitious roots
 Contractile roots
 Buttress roots
 Parasitic roots
 Mycorrhizae
 Root nodules