Functional Biology NOTES

Rebecca Jenner BIOL11100 (Func Biology)
FUNCTIONAL BIOLOGY (BIOL11100)
WEEK 1 – LECTURE 1
PLANT FORM AND FUNCTION – PART 1: Cell Types and stems
Themes
 Organisms interact with their environment, exchanging matter and energy

o Plants play major role as producers by fixing energy from sun into sugars
o Interact with other organisms such as those that consume parts of plant
o Interactions with abiotic factors such as gases in atmosphere and minerals and
water in soil
 Structure and function are correlated at all levels of biological organisation
o The structure and function of living organisms are closely related
o Study of plant anatomy can help us understand function
Structure of a plant
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Plant Tissue Systems
Plant Tissues
Dermal Ground Vascular

Epidermis Parenchyma Xylem
Unspecialised cells Tracheid
Guard Cells Vessel element
Subsidary Cells
Trichomes
Periderm Collenchyma Phloem
Sieve tube element
Companion cell
Sieve cell
Albuminous cell
Sclerenchyma
Sclereid
Fibre
Plant Cells
 The plant cell is characterised by a cellulose cell wall surrounding the protoplast
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 Some plant cells have primary cell wall

 Some have secondary cell walls impregnated with lignin, located internal to the primary wall
Primary and secondary cell walls
Primary cell walls
 Parenchyma
 Chlorenchyma
 Collenchymas
 Sieve tube elements
 Guard cells
Secondary Cell walls
 Sclerenchyma
 Tracheids
 Vessel elements
Parenchyma
 Large rounded relatively unspecialised cells with large central vacuoles

 Metabolic functions such as photosynthesis and food storage
 Mature parenchyma cells usually do not divide but retain the ability to divide and
differentiate into other types of plant cells
Collenchyma
 Have thickened primary walls

 Alive at maturity
 Support young parts of the plant and elongate with the plant
Sclerenchyma
 Thick secondary walls strengthened with lignin

 Fibres are long and tapered, usually in bundles
 Sclereids are shorter and irregular
 Cells are dead at maturity
Phloem
 Sieve tube members

o Transport carbohydrate and minerals
o Alive at functional maturity, but lack nuclei, ribosomes and vacuoles
 Companion cells
o Connected to sieve tubes by plasmodesmata
o Contain nuclei, ribosomes and vacuoles that may serve both cells
 Parenchyma and fibres may also be present
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Xylem
 Water and mineral transport

 Mature lack cell contents leaving a tube
 Secondary walls may be deposited in spiral or ring patterns or may be complete, interrupted
only by scattered pits.
Tracheids and vessel elements
 Tracheids are long thin tapered cells

 Vessel elements are wider and shorter and lack end walls
 The vessel elements align end to end to form long tubes
 Vessel elements more efficient
 Parenchyma and fibres may be present in the xylem
Anatomy of Shoot
 Above ground portion of plant

 From plumule in embryo
 Functions include support and conduction
 Shoot has nodes and internodes
 Collenchymas and fibre cells of sclerenchyma may strengthen the stem
 An epidermis derived from the protoderm, covers the stem
 Stomata may be present
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Growth of Shoot
 Growth of shoot occurs by development of apical meristem

 The apical meristem gives rise to the primary meristems: protoderm, procambium and
ground meristem
Apical meristem
 Extension of stem
 No protective cap, tip protected by young leaves
 May form tough bud scales
 Apical meristem produces leaf primordial and bud primordial
 Leaf primordial form on the sides of the apical dome and give rise to leaves
 Bud primordial, located in the axil of leaves, develop into axillary buds from clumps of
mersitematic cells
 Axillary buds may form branches later in development
o Shoot branches arise exogenously
o Vascular trace grows back to link to pre-existing vasculature
Shoot elongation
 Most plants have indeterminate growth

 Within bud, elongation of shoot occurs by growth of older internodes below apex
 Involves both cell division and cell elongation
 Monocots have intercalary meristems at base of leaf
Primary vascular arrangement
 Vascular tissue runs through the stem in vascular bundles

 Xylem is located internal to the phloem
 Dicots
o Vascular bundles in a ring
o Pith connected by rays of ground tissue to the cortex outside the ring
 Monocots
o Vascular bundles are scattered throughout the ground tissue
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Secondary Growth
 In dicots increase in girth comes from secondary growth

 The vascular cambium produces secondary xylem to the inside and secondary phloem to the
outside
 Vascular cambium develops from parenchyma cells that retain the capacity to divide
 The vascular cambium forms a continuous cylinder from a band of parenchyma cells.
Wood
 Wood is the accumulation of secondary xylem tissue

 Consists mainly of tracheids, vessel elements and fibres
 These cells are dead at maturity and have thick lignified walls
 Annual growth rings result from the seasonal cycle of cambium dormancy
Cork Cambium
 Early in secondary growth, epidermis produced by primary growth splits and falls off
 Cork Cambium acts as meristem for tough thick covering that replaces epidermis
 Epidermis is replaced by 2 tissues produced by the 1 st cork cambium in outer cortex of stems
Cork
 Cork cells have waxy walls impregnated with suberin

 Protects against water loss, physical damage and pathogens
 Lenticels are spongy regions of cork through which gas exchange occurs
Bark
 As secondary growth continually increases girth, older layers of periderm are shed
 Bark refers to all tissues external to vascular cambium
o Secondary phloem
o Cork cambium
o Cork
WEEK1 – PART 2: Plant form and function - Roots and leaves
Anatomy of Root
 Below ground portion of plant

 From radicle in embryo
 Functions include uptake of water and minerals, anchoring, storage
 Root lacks nodes and stomata
Balance between shoot and root
 Seedling usually has far greater water absorbing surface
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 Root to shoot ratio decreases as plant ages

 If root damaged, growth of shoot inhibited
 Reduction in shoot limits root growth by reducing supply of CHO’s
Prop Roots Adventitious Roots
Buttress Roots
Pneumatophores
Storage Roots Strangling Aerial Roots
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Root Systems
 Dicots and gymnosperms have a taproot system

o 1 large vertical root with many small lateral roots
 Monocots and seedless vascular plants have fibrous root system
o Mat of thin roots
Root Hairs
 Absorption of water and minerals occurs near tip

 Root hairs are extensions of epidermal cells
 Vastly increase surface area
 Absorption of water and minerals also increased by symbiotic relationships with bacteria
and fungi
Growth of Root
• Growth of root occurs by development of apical meristem
• The apical meristem of the root is protected by a root cap
• The apical meristem gives rise to the primary meristems: protoderm, procambium and
ground meristem
• The protoderm develops into epidermis
• The procambium develops into vascular tissue
• The ground meristem into the cortex
• Zone of cell division
• Zone of elongation – pushes tip

through soil
• Zone of maturation or
differentiation
• Root hairs and functional xylem

occur in the zone of maturation
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Root Cap
 Root cap protects apical meristem from abrasion as pushes through soil
 Formed from small somatic region of meristematic cells
 Mucilage is produced to provide lubrication
 Some root cells contain starch in plastids so that position in cell tells root which way is down
Ground Tissues
 Cortex occupies the greatest area of primary body of most roots
 Dicots with secondary growth often shed cortex early
 Monocots retain cortex
 Cortical tissue contains air spaces
 Innermost layer, endodermis, is compact and lacks air spaces
Primary Vascular System
 Dicots characteristically have a ‘star’ or ‘cross’ pattern of primary xylem, with phloem
between the xylem arms
 Monocots have many protoxylem

groups, with pith inside a vascular
ring
 The inner most layer of cortex is

the one-cell thick endodermis
which regulates the passage of
material in the stele
 The layer of cells within the

endodermis is called the pericycle
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Endodermis
 Endodermis cells has Casparian strips
 Contains suberin in spaces in walls
 Impermeable to water
 Blocks apoplastic movement of water
 All substances entering and leaving vascular cylinder controlled by cell membrane of
endodermis
 Controls water movement into protoxylem points
Pericycle
 Originates from procambium
 Gives rise to lateral roots
 In secondary growth gives rise to first cork cambium
 Cork produced to outside
 Phelloderm towards inner
 Cork, cork cambium and phelloderm make up periderm
Lateral Root Formation
 Lateral roots develop from the pericycle
 Lateral root push through the cortex, rupturing the epidermis, and form a vascular
connection with the central stele
Secondary Growth
• A secondary vascular cambium originates in parenchymatous tissue between groups of

primary phloem and xylem
• It produces xylem internally and phloem externally
• A cork cambium forms from the pericycle and produces the periderm
• Woody roots resemble woody stems, with annual rings and a thick tough bark which is shed
at intervals
Summary
 Primary growth produces the primary plant body, the parts of the root and shoot systems
produced by apical meristems
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• Produces the epidermis, ground tissue, and vascular tissue
 Secondary growth adds girth to stems and roots in woody plants
 Secondary growth
• Occurs in stems and roots of woody plants but rarely in leaves
 The secondary plant body
• Consists of the tissues produced by the vascular cambium and cork cambium
 The vascular cambium
• Is a cylinder of meristematic cells one cell thick
• Develops from parenchyma cells
 As a tree or woody shrub ages
• The older layers of secondary xylem, the heartwood, no longer transport water
and minerals
 The outer layers, known as sapwood
• Still transport materials through the xylem
 The cork cambium
• Gives rise to the secondary plant body’s protective covering, or periderm
 Periderm
• Consists of the cork cambium plus the layers of cork cells it produces
 Bark
• Consists of all the tissues external to the vascular cambium, including secondary
phloem and periderm
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Monocots vs Dicots
 Monocots scattered vascular bundles
 No secondary growth
 Dicots have vascular bundles in a ring
 Secondary growth
Leaf Anatomy
 Leaf formed from leaf primordia in apical meristem
 Strand of procambrium forms leaf vascular tissue
 Leaf has determinate growth - genetically determined
 Increase in size due to cell enlargement rather than cell division
Function of the leaf
 Capture light for photosynthesis
 Gas exchange
 So generally need large surface with pores for gas exchange
 Problems associated with water loss
Leaf Shape
 Typically consists of leaf blade (lamina), petiole and stipules (may be absent)
 Leaves are generally regularly spaced at nodes
 May be simple leaf or compound leaf with leaflets attached by petiolule
 Leaflets generally in same plane c.f. leaves which often have different angles and orientation
Leaf Structure
 Location of axillary bud and/or stipules can be used to identify leaf from leaflet
 Dicot leaves may be alternate, opposite, spiral, whorled
 In monocots often have leaf sheath down to the next stem which provides support
 The leaf is covered by wax-coated, tightly interlocking cells of the epidermis – protects
photosynthetic tissue and reduces water loss
 There are generally no chloroplasts in epidermis
 Surface may be bumpy or there may be outgrowths called trichomes

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Stomata
• Permit both gas exchange and transpiration
• Stomata consist of 2 guard cells and subsidiary cells
• May be on both sides of leaf or only one side generally the underside
• In hydrophytes (water plants) may be only on top of floating plants
• Submerged plants may lack stomata
• Xerophytes often have stomata in pits on lower surface only
 Dicot
Irregular shaped epidermal cells stomata scattered

and mix of mature and immature
Monocot 
Regular rectangular cells with stomata in
rows with youngest at tip
Leaf Photosynthetic Tissue
• Parenchyma ground tissue cells containing chloroplasts (chlorenchyma)
• In many dicot leaves, columnar palisade parenchyma is located above spongy parenchyma,
which has loosely packed, irregular shaped cells with many air spaces
• Spaces allow movement of gasses
• Monocots tend to have thin leaves Palisade cells radially around veins if present
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Dicot Leaf has palisade and spongy parenchyma. Monocot leaf only spongy mesophyll, large bundle
sheath cells, and bulliform cells.
Sun Leaves vs Shade leaves
 Sun leaves have thicker cuticle and epidermis more palisade mesophyll
 Some aquatic plants have aerenchyma
 Some leaves may have pigments to protect leaf from sun
Vascular Tissue
• Veins (+ epidermis) support leaf blade
• Dicot venation consists of central vein and reticulate network of veins
• Veins are blinded ended at edge of leaf
• Some veins may end outside leaf in spike for protection
• Monocots have parallel venation with no cross veins, may have central vein
• End of veins connect up
• As vascular tissue enters leaf from stem, xylem is on top and phloem below
• Vascular tissue in leaves is primary tissue
• Special parenchyma tissue around vascular tissue - Bundle sheath
• Facilitates regular flow of water and mineral nutrients out and sugars in to vascular tissue
• May have collenchyma or sclerenchyma cells for support
Leaf Adaptations – generally related to light capture and water loss
Sun and shade leaves
Reduced size - phyllodes
Stomata in pits
Trichomes
Leaf Modifications
Tendrils, water storage, catching insects, showy bracts, spines
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SHOOT AND ROOT SYSTEM: A COMPARISON
Shoot Root
Apical meristem Produce leaf primordia Produce root cap
Primary vascular To inside To outside

arrangement - youngest
xylem location
Origin of lateral growth From axillary bud, near From pericycle, within cortex
epidermis
Main function Photosynthesis (leaf) and Water and nutrient absorption,

support/transport (stem) transport and support/anchorage
Week 1 – Respiration
 Respiration is the metabolic process whereby glucose is broken down in the presence of
oxygen into carbon dioxide and water.
C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O
 Respiration captures the energy stored in the chemical bonds of glucose through a series of
enzyme controlled reactions
 Energy released is captured in ATP
ATP
 Adenosine Triphosphate
 Energy currency of cell
 Energy stored in bonds between 3 negatively charged phosphate groups
 When energy is required for a reaction, terminal phosphate group is removed from
ATP to give ADP. Removal of another phosphate group gives AMP.
Energy from respiration is used to restore ATP by bonding an inorganic phosphate group to ADP
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Oxidation-
Reduction

(Redox)
Partial or complete transfer of electrons from one reactant to another

Reactions
Oxidation involves the loss of electrons
Reduction involves the gain of electrons
 Reactions occur in pairs – an electron lost by an oxidized atom moves to another atom that
is reduced
 Shift of electrons towards a more electronegative atom (e.g. oxygen) results in energy
release
 In metabolic reactions such as respiration, the electron often moves accompanied by a

proton (H+) so that hydrogen transferred with its potential energy
 Breakdown of glucose is a Redox reaction
Glucose oxidised to Carbon Dioxide, and

oxygen reduced to Water
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Electron Acceptor Molecules
 Receive high energy electrons and protons removed from acetyl groups
 NAD - Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
 NAD+ reduced to NADH
 FAD – Flavin adenine dinucleotide
 FAD reduced to FADH2
Main components of Respiration
 Glycolysis in cytoplasm (cytosol)
 Krebs Cycle - also called Citric Acid Cycle or Tricarboxylic Acid (TCA) Cycle in mitochondrial
matrix
 Electron Transport Chain and Oxidative Phosphorylation in inner mitochondrial membrane
GLYCOLYSIS
 Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm (cytosol) of every living cell
 Glucose splits by series of intermediate steps to produce 2 pyruvate
 Net gain of energy captured in 2 ATP molecules and reduction of 2 NAD + to NADH
 Oxygen is not required
 Thought to have evolved before the atmosphere of Earth contained oxygen
 In anaerobic conditions glycolysis is followed by fermentation
Formation of Acetyl Coenzyme A
 Molecule of CO2 split off pyruvate
 Remaining 2-C compound (acetyl group) attached to coenzyme A (CoA) to form acetyl CoA
 Energy captured by reduction of 1 molecule of NAD+ to NADH for each acetyl group formed
 For each molecule of glucose, 2 acetyl groups enter Krebs cycle
Krebs Cycle
 In Mitochondrial matrix
 As acetyl Co A enters Krebs cycle, acetyl group transferred to 4-C molecule (oxaloacetate)
to form 6-C citric acid
 Two molecules of CO2 are produced
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 Some energy is captured in 1 molecule of ATP but most transferred to NAD + and FAD
 Oxaloacetate regenerated at end of cycle
Process So far...
 1 molecule of glucose broken down to 6 molecules of carbon dioxide
 4 ATP produced
 2 ATP from Glycolysis
 2 ATP from 2 turns of Krebs cycle
 10 NADH
 2 NADH from glycolysis
 6 NADH from 2 turns of Krebs cycle
 2 FADH2
 From 2 turns of Krebs cycle
 ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN

Inner mitochondrial membrane of cristae
 Series of electron carrier molecules
 High energy electrons from NADH and FADH2 pass along ETC in a series of redox reactions
 Oxidized NAD+ and FAD can then accept electrons from Krebs cycle
 Energy released by electrons as they pass down the chain is used to pump protons (H +)
across inner mitochondrial membrane into intermembrane space
 Low energy electrons combine with protons (H+ ions) and O2 to form H2O
Oxidative Phosphorylation
 Oxidative phosphorylation – production of ATP from ADP and PO 4- by the movement of H+

ions across the membrane along concentration gradient - oxidative because energy
comes from loss of electrons from food molecules e.g. glucose
 Chemiosmosis – use of gradient across membrane to transfer energy from redox reactions
to cellular work e.g. ATP synthesis
Total yield shield
 4 ATP directly from respiration
 34 ATP from electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation
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 Total 38 ATP from 1 molecule of glucose
Effect of Blocking ETC (Electron transport chain)
 If oxygen cannot accept electrons, ETC will shut down
 No oxidized NAD+ and FAD produced to accept electrons
 Glycolysis can proceed
Fermentation
 In yeasts and plant cells fermentation breaks down pyruvate into ethyl alcohol and carbon
dioxide
 In many bacteria, fungi, protists and animal cells animal fermentation results in formation
of lactic acid
 NADH oxidized back to NAD+
 NAD+ then available to oxidize the 3-C sugars in glycolysis
 Energy yield from anaerobic glycolysis and fermentation is low
Intermediary metabolism
 Intermediary compounds from primary metabolic pathway of glycolysis and TCA cycle can
be used to synthesis a whole range of compounds required by the cell (anabolism)
 A whole range of compounds can be fed into primary metabolic pathway to be respired to
provide energy (catabolism)
Fig 11-6 in SG
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Proteins Carbohydrates Fats
Amino Sugars Glycerol Fatty

acids acids
Glycolysis
Glucose
Glyceraldehyde-3- P
NH3 Pyruvate
Acetyl CoA
Citric
acid
cycle
Oxidative
phosphorylation
SUMMARY!!!
 Respiration is a series of enzyme mediated reactions that provides energy for cellular
processes
 Energy is captured directly by ATP or indirectly by electron acceptor molecules that

generate ATP by chemiosmosis
 Main steps
 Glycolysis - cytosol
 TCA cycle – in mitochondrial matrix
 Electron Transport Chain and Oxidative phosphorylation – inner mitochondrial

membrane
 Glycolysis does not require oxygen
 In absence of oxygen some organisms produce alcohol and carbon dioxide and some
produce lactic acid
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 Glycolysis yields only small amount of energy
 Most energy comes from TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation
 END OF WEEK 1...................................
WEEK 2 BIOL11100
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Role of Photosynthesis
• Converts light energy into chemical energy stored in sugars
• Photosynthetic fixing of energy is the basis of nearly all ecosystems on earth
• Approx 160 billion tonnes of sugars are fixed each year
• Photosynthesis provides food, fuel and fibre
Campbell, Reece and Myers
Chapter 10: Pages 187 – 207
Overview
Low energy inorganic compounds CO2 and H2O combine using solar energy to form high energy
organic compounds such as glucose
CO2 + H2O à C6H12O6 + O2
CO2 is reduced
H2O is oxidized
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Site of Photosynthesis
• Primary site of P/S takes place in mesophyll cells in leaves
Text Figure 10.3
• Chloroplast is surrounded by a double membrane
• Within chloroplast is an internal system of membranes – thylakoid membranes arranged in

stacks called grana (singular granum)
Light Reactions
• Pigment molecules embedded in thylakoid membrane of chloroplast absorb light energy
• Organised into photosystems consisting of light harvesting complex and reaction centre
• Light energy splits water
• Electrons and hydrogen are transferred to NADP + which is reduced to NADPH*
• Protons are pumped across thylakoid membrane to form H + gradient to generate ATP
*Note NADPH not NADH as in respiration
Photosynthetic Pigments
• Chlorophyll a is present in all P/S eukaryotes and in cyanobacteria
• Chlorophyll b is in all vascular plants and some others – collects light and passes energy to
chlorophyll a
• Chlorophyll c in some groups of algae
• Carotenoids and accessory pigments – different wavelengths – transfer energy to

chlorophyll a
• Phycobilins in cyanobacteria and red algae
Dark reactions
• Conversion of CO2 to sugar using energy and reducing potential from light reactions
• Occurs in stroma – enzymes are soluble in fluid
Light Reactions
• PSII absorbs light 680 nm
• Electrons excited to a higher energy level
• Captured by electron acceptor
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• P680 molecule replaces electrons by splitting water to give 2H + ions and oxygen atom
• This is known as PHOTOLYSIS
• Fig 10.13
Light Reactions
• Electrons pass to PSI down ETC – similar components to respiration
• An essential protein in this chain contains Cu – micronutrient
• As electrons cascade down ETC energy is used to generate ATP
• This process is CHEMIOSMOSIS
• Electrons from ETC are used to fill hole in PSI created by light energy of 700 nm
exciting electrons from PSI to an electron acceptor molecule
• Uses this electron rather than splitting water
• Second Electron Transport Chain
• Contains Fe containing protein
• High energy electrons are stored in NADPH – note similar to NADH of respiration
but extra P group
• Photophosphorylation
(cf. oxidative phosphorylation in respiration)
• The generation of ATP by light reactions
• Uses the similar process of chemiosmosis
• I.e. Using H+ ion gradient across thyllakoid membrane to produce ATP
• High H+ ion in thyllakoid space or lumen
• H+ ion gradient comes from
• 1. H+ ions produced by splitting water
• 2. as electrons are transferred to cytochrome complex in ETC H+ ions are

translocated across membrane
• 3. H+ ion outside in stroma are taken up by NADP+ to form NADPH
• ATP synthase powered as H+ ions diffuse from thylakoid space to stroma
• The continuous flow of electrons from H 2O to NADP+ to form NADPH is called NON
CYCLIC PHOSPHORYLATION
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• CYCLIC PHOSPHORYLATION
• Light excites electron to electron acceptor
• Electron moves down 2nd electron chain but hops to 1st ETC
• ATP is generated
• No NADPH generated
• No water is split to release O2
Non cyclic electron flow provides NADPH and ATP in equal amounts but Calvin cycle uses more
ATP than NADPH
• Cyclic electron flow only makes ATP
• If Calvin cycle runs short of ATP – increases in conc of NADPH may trigger cyclic
photophosphorylation
• Non cyclic phosphorylation vs Cyclic phosphorylation
• Photophosphorylation – generation of ATP by light
• Non cyclic phosphorylation – continuous flow of electrons from H 2O to NADP+ to form

NADPH
• Cyclic phosphorylation – only PSI involved
• ATP only produced
• PSI is most primitive P/S mechanism
• Thought to be pathway for some bacteria
• Cyclic phosphorylation may also prevent photo oxidation of Chlorophyll
Dark Reactions
• In light reactions, light energy is harnessed to produce energy as ATP and reducing power in
form of NADPH
• Used for synthesising sugar via reaction of Calvin Cycle
• Has some similarities to Krebs cycle in that starting compound is regenerated
• CO2 is bound to starting compound - 5C sugar (ribulose bisphosphate RuBP) to form a 6C

intermediate that immediately splits to 2 x 3C compounds
• Hence C3 pathway
• Occur in Stroma
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• Enzyme that fixes CO2 is called ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase RUBisCO
• All C that heterotrophs consume is fixed by RUBisCO – could argue most important enzyme
in the world
• Calvin Cycle Fig 10.18

• Reduction
• a) ATP and NADPH used to form G3P (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate) - that is same
compound formed by initial splitting of glucose in glycolysis
• b) One G3P exits cycle
• c) 3 turns of cycle give 1 x 3C compound, need 6 turns of cycle to give glucose
molecule
• Regeneration
• a) Other G3P molecule is used to regenerate 5 C sugar
RuBisCO
 RuBisCO not specific for CO2

 On hot dry days stomata close to reduce water loss
 CO2 levels in leaf fall and levels of O2 increase
 RuBisCO adds O2 to Calvin cycle instead of CO2
 1 x 3C compound and 1 x 2C are formed
 This process is called PHOTORESPIRATION
Photorespiration
 2C compound is exported from chloroplasts and is broken down to CO 2 by process in

peroxisomes and mitochondria
 Other 3C compound is used to regenerate acceptor which uses energy
 Called Photorespiration because it uses light energy and consumes O 2
 No ATP or sugar is formed
 Process decreases P/S output
 Organic material is lost from Calvin cycle
Importance of Photosynthesis
• Sugars from P/S supplies plant with chemical energy and C compounds to synthesise all
major organic molecules of cells
• Compensation point is point where photosynthesis is producing the amount of sugars

required by the plants metabolism
• About 50% of products of P/S used for fuel for respiration in mitochondria
Implications of Photosynthesis
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O2 was released by early P/S organisms and CO2 levels declined; Some O2 in atmosphere formed
ozone
• Shielded earth from UV and enabled life to colonise surface layers of ocean and ultimately
land
WATER RELATIONS
Plants and Water
 Main constituent of protoplasm
 Required as many reactions occur in solution
 Water is involved directly in many biochemical reactions such as source of proton H + for the
reduction of CO2
 Product of respiration
 Medium for transportation of solutes in xylem and phloem
 Much of plant water occurs in vacuoles where is maintains rigidity or turgor of cells
 Film of water around cells and microspaces within and between cell walls
 Plants must balance water uptake and water loss
OSMOSIS
 Movement of water into and out of a cell occurs by osmosis
 Osmosis is the movement of water from a region of high water concentration to a region of
low water concentration across a selectively permeable membrane
 Rigid wall of plant cell also provides a physical pressure against expanding cell
Water Potential
 yt = yp + ys
where yt = total potential, yp is pressure potential, ys is osmotic or solute potential
 Water potential units is megapascal Mpa
 Indicates which direction water will move
 yt = yp + ys takes into account solute concentration and pressure exerted by cell wall
Indicates the direction water will move
 y of pure water in an open container is defined as 0 Mpa

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 Adding solutes lowers y, giving negative water potential
 Increase in pressure increases y
 Tension or negative pressure will lower y
 yp can be negative or positive
 ys is always negative
MATRIX POTENTIAL
 ym is another component of water potential
 Comes from attraction of water to surfaces of cells or soil particles
 Equation becomes: yt = yp + ys + ym
Water movement
 Water will flow from a region of higher water potential to one of lower water potential
 There osmosis is the movement of water from a region of high water potential to a region of
low water potential
 Cell must have same total water potential as its environment
 The value of the yp and ys components can differ
 In dilute solution water tends to enter cell by osmosis until the effect of the hydrostatic
pressure from the cell wall prevents further water intake
 This pressure is turgor pressure
 If cell is placed in more concentrated solution it will lose water and become flaccid
 Protoplasm shrinks and cell becomes plasmolysed
 If cell shrinks to point that plasmodesmata break cell will not be able to recover
Water in plant tissues
 Turgor in plants provides mechanical support
 Point where plasmodesmata are severed is permanent wilting point and plant will not
recover
Apoplast and symplast
 Cytosolic compartments of plant cells are connected by plasmodesmata
 Cytoplasmic continuum is the symplast
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 Continuum of cell walls within the plant is called the apoplast
Water Uptake
 Leaves lose water when stomata open for gas exchange
 Important to maintain supply of water to leaves
 Bulk of uptake by roots
 Root hairs on young root are site of main absorption of water and minerals
 Once roots become differentiated and root hairs withered epidermis is replaced by corky
(suberised) epidermis
 Function is mainly transport
 The soil solution moves 2 ways:
 through apoplast – the cell walls and intercellular spaces of the root cortex
 through symplast – cell cytoplasm
 Between cortex and vascular stele is endodermis
 The endodermis controls water and minerals entering the vascular tissue
 Casparian strip (suberin) around endodermal cells prevents water from the apoplast from
entering the stele
 Water must pass through the selective plasma membrane of an endodermal cell
 Endodermis provides a complete barrier to apoplastic movement of water and minerals
 Water must move symplastically
Root pressure
 Mineral ions are pumped into the stele through the endodermis
 In the absence of transpiration (night-time) ion concentration increases in the xylem sap
 Endodermis prevents ions leaking out
 Ions lower water potential of xylem so water flows into xylem elements because of osmotic
pressure
 Fluid is forced up the xylem
 Root pressure may cause guttation (leakage from leaves)
 Minor mechanism for movement of water
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Transpiration
 Atmosphere generally has very low water potential
 Cuticle limits water loss except through stomata
 When stomata open, water will escape to drier atmosphere
 Water is evaporated from surface of cells
Tension Cohesion Adhesion
 Thin layer or water coating mesophyll cells in internal spaces evaporates
 As water is lost from surface of cells it creates a negative pull (tension) on water molecules
in cells
 This negative pull is transferred to water molecules in apoplast and symplast of mesophyll
because of cohesion between water molecules
 The negative pressure pulls water from the xylem in the roots up through the stem
mesophyll to the cells and surface film lining the air spaces
 Tension weaker than cohesion so water drawn up as continuous column of water
 Adhesion between water molecules and walls of xylem prevents water slipping back
 Tension from transpirational pull lowers water potential in root xylem
 Water flows from soil into root xylem
 Contents of xylem vessels under tension rather than pressure – lignification prevents
collapse
 All driven by evaporation
Cavitation
 Formation of air bubbles in transpiration stream breaks connection between water

molecules
 Can be due to drought or freezing
 Some alleviated by root pressure
 Some movement sideways between vessel elements
 Secondary growth of xylem replaces non functioning xylem
Guard Cells
 Regulate the size of the stomatal opening
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 Control the rate of transpiration and photosynthesis
 Guard cells lower water potential by actively accumulating potassium ions (K +)
 Water moves in to cell by osmosis
 Increased turgor pressure causes cell to change shape
Stomata
Transpiration
 Water movement is dictated by decrease in y gradient between xylem and air
 Internal factors – size & no. of stomata, where placed, leaf size & SA, ration SA
outside to SA inside, thickness of epidermis, cuticle, sclerenchyma, colloids present
which hold moisture
 External factors – temperature, relative humidity, wind , soil moisture, dust levels
 Transpiration also assists in transferring minerals and other substances to the leaves
 When transpiration exceeds the water available, leaves wilt as cells loose turgor pressure
 Transpiration stream – integration between form and function in xylem, root, stem and leaf
structure
Mineral Uptake
 Selective absorption of minerals allows cells to accumulate essential minerals
 Minerals and water within the stele can be unloaded into the apoplast of the xylem for
long distance transport
POTOMETER
(transpirometer)
Measure the rate of water uptake of a leafy shoot. The causes of

water uptake are photosynthesis and transpiration.
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C4 AND CAM PLANTS

Photosynthetic efficiency
 While P/S is essential for the production of sugars for plants there is an obligatory loss of
water
 Plants must open stomata to allow the entry of CO 2
 Therefore trade off between sugar production and water loss
 RuBisCo inefficient - 30% of time picks up O 2 instead of CO2
 For plants in hot dry conditions it would be advantageous to maintain P/S but with reduced
water loss
 Anatomical adaptations
C4 pathway or Hatch-slack pathway
 Reduce water loss by combined anatomical/physiological adaptation

 Way of overcoming problems of Photorespiration
 Occurs in range of Anthophyta both monocots and dicots
 Thought to have arisen independently many times
 Spatial separation between initial fixing of CO2 and Calvin Cycle
 Orderly arrangement of mesophyll cells around a layer of large bundle sheath cells - Kranz
Anatomy
C4 pathway continued.
 Carbon dioxide is fixed to phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by PEP Carboxylase to form

oxaloacetate
 Occurs in cytosol of mesophyll cells
 PEP Carboxylase uses bicarbonate ion as substrate and has a very high affinity for the ion.
 Oxaloacetate reduced to malate or converted with addition of amino acid group to aspartate
 Occurs in chloroplast
 Text Fig 10.18
 Malate (or aspartate) moves to bundle sheath cells surrounding vascular bundles
 Move through well developed plasmodesmata
 Decarboxylated to yield CO2 and pyruvate
 CO2 enters Calvin Cycle by reacting with RuBP (Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate) to form PGA (3-
phosphoglycerate) using enzyme RuBisCo
Efficiency of C4 pathway
 Operates very efficiently even at very low concentrations of CO 2

 C4 metabolism requires 2 more ATP to fix CO 2 than C3 metabolism
 C4 need 5 ATP to fix one molecule of CO 2 while C3 require 3 ATP for each molecule of CO2
 The extra 2 ATP are required for regeneration of PEP
 CO2 fixed by C4 pathway is pumped from mesophyll cells to bundle sheath cells
 Maintains a high CO2:O2 ratio at site of RuBisCo activity.
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 This high CO2:O2 ratio favours carboxylation of RuBP rather than oxidation
 Greatly reduces photorespiration and increases efficiency of photosynthesis
 Calvin cycle and photorespiration localised in bundle sheath
 Any CO2 released liberated by photorespiration into outer mesophyll layer can be refixed by
C4 pathway
 C4 plants are very efficient users of CO2 because PEP carboxylase very efficient and doesn’t
grab O2
 Can grab CO2 down to very low levels
Comparison of C3 and C4 pathway
 Net P/S rates for C4 grasses (total photosynthetic rate – photorespiratory loss) can be 2 to 3
times the rates of C3 grasses under same environmental conditions
 Gain in efficiency from elimination of photorespiration in C 4 plants more than compensates
for energetic cost of C4 pathway
 C4 grasses include maize, sugarcane and sorghum
 C3 grasses include wheat, oats and rice
 C4 plants evolved in the tropics
 Adapted to high light intensities, high temperatures and low water availability
 E.g. tropical grasslands where light is not limiting so can gain extra energy needed
 Optimal temperature range is higher than for C 3 plants
 Because CO2 assimilation and hence P/S more efficient can attain same rate of P/S as C 3 plant
with smaller stomatal openings and hence less water loss
 C4 plants have 3 to 6 times less RuBisCo than C 3 plants
 Overall leaf nitrogen content is less in C4 plants than C3 plants
 Hence C4 plants are able to use nitrogen more efficiently
 If have C3 plants in sealed environment with C 4 plants find that C4 plants will out compete C3
plants
CAM plants
 Crassulacean acid metabolism

 Cacti and stonecrops (Fam. Crassulaceae) also in a range of flowering plants including
Bromelliads (pineapples) but also in some non flowering plants
 Use both C4 and C3 pathways
 Have temporal separation of C4 and C3 pathways
 CO2 assimilation occurs in dark through PEP carboxylase in cytosol
 Initial carboxylation product is oxaloacetate which is immediately reduced to malate
 Malate is stored as malic acid in vacuole
 pH drops during night
 In day time, malic acid is recovered from vacuole and decarboxylated
 CO2 is transferred to RuBP of Calvin Cycle in same cell
 CAM plants have:
 large vacuoles where malic acid can be stored in aqueous solution
 chloroplasts where CO2 obtained from malic acid can be transformed into carbohydrates
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Efficiency of CAM Metabolism
 Ability of CAM plants to accumulate CO 2 during the night means that they can keep stomata
closed during day greatly reducing water loss
 During prolonged drought some CAM plants keep stomata closed and just reuse CO 2
produced by respiration
 Water use efficiency many times greater than C3 plants or C4 plants
Water Use efficiency
Metabolism Water loss/g CO2 gained
C3 400 – 500g
C4 250 – 300g
CAM 50 – 100g
Overview of C4 and CAM
 Both use C4 and Calvin Cycle

 In C4 plants have spatial separation of initial CO 2 fixation and Calvin Cycle between mesophyll
cells and bundle sheath cells
 In CAM plants have temporal separation of initial CO 2 fixation and Calvin Cycle
 CO2 fixation occurs at night and Calvin
Comparison of C3, C4 and CAM
 In C3 plants if atmosphere is dry the stomata close

 CO2 is used up until level drops below 70 ppm
 This is break even point for C3 plants
 C4 plants can use CO2 down to levels as low as 5 ppm
 C4 plants – tolerate higher temperatures and drier conditions than C 3 plants but are more
sensitive to cold
 CAM plants tolerate extreme aridity but can only fix limited amount of CO 2 at night so grow
slowly and are out competed by C3 plants and C4 plants where water is not as limiting
PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS

Concepts
 Plant Hormones
 Tissue Culture
 Ethylene
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 Abscisic Acid
 Gibberellins
 Cytokinins
 Auxin
 Phytochromes
 The Control of Flowering
 Seed Dormancy
 Readings: Campbell Ch. 39 pp 836 – 858
Plant Growth Regulators
 Plant growth regulators @ plant hormones
 Hormones are chemical signals that coordinate the growth of parts of an organism
 They are translocated through the organism
 Minute concentrations trigger responses in target cells and tissues
 They control growth, development flowering and senescence
 5 main groups
 Auxins
 Cytokinins
 Ethylene
 Abscisic acid
 Gibberellins
Auxins
 Indole acetic acid
 Produced in apical meristem in leaf primordia, young leaves and developing seeds
 Promotes trophic response
 Controls apical dominance by inhibiting axillary buds
 Auxin stimulates cell elongation at certain concentrations
 Stimulates cell division in the vascular cambium and differentiation of the secondary xylem
 Stimulates growth of adventitious roots from cut stem
 Auxin produced by developing seeds promotes fruit growth
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 Inhibition of leaf and fruit abscission
 Stimulation of ethylene synthesis
 Inhibition or promotion of flowering
 Wound healing
 2,4 D is auxin mimic which causes uncontrolled cell division and death
Cytokinins
 Synthesised primarily in root tip
 Also in embryos and fruits
 Transported from roots to shoots via xylem
 Promotes cell division
 Promotion of shoot formation in tissue culture
 Delay of leaf senescence and may release lateral buds from apical dominance
 Cytokinins can retard ageing of some plant organs and inhibit protein breakdown
Cytokinin:auxin ratio
 Acting with auxin, they stimulate cell division and affect differentiation of the cell
 The ratio of the two hormones controls differentiation
 A high cytokinin to auxin ration promotes formation of shoot meristems
 A low ratio promotes formation of root
meristems
Ethylene
 Influences most process in plants such as tissue growth and senscence
 Triple response on etiolated seedlings
 Decrease in longitudinal growth
 Increase in radial expansion of epicotyls and roots
 Horizontal orientation of epicotyls
 Not all plants affected the same way
 Can cause rapid cell elongation in some semi aquatic plants
 In mesophytic plants during flooding ethylene causes breakdown of parenchyma causing

formation of air spaces
 Promotes fruit ripening
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 Changes in ripening include
 Breakdown in chlorophyll and possible formation of other pigments
 Softening as pectin breaks down
 Starches, organic acids or oils break down into sugars
 Changes designed to make fruit attractive to seed dispersal animals
Fruit Ripening
 Climacteric fruits
 Large increase in cellular respiration
 Include tomatoes, avocados, apples
 Non climacteric fruits
 Gradual ripening, slow decrease in respiration
 Include citrus, grapes, strawberries
ETHYLENE
 Ethylene synthesis precedes ripening
 Used commercially for controlled ripening
 Promotes abscission in leaves, fruit and flowers
 Used to make fruit easier to pick mechanically
 Thin immature fruit to produce bigger fruit
 Major role in determining sex of flowers in some monoecious plants
 Can change flowers to female
 Gibberellins associated with male flowers
Auxin vs Ethylene
 Ethylene promotes abscission
 Auxins work against ethylene
 Can be used to stop leaf and flower drop
 Sprayed on cut flowers
 Used to counter effects of ethylene on flower drop in citrus
Abscisic acid (ABA)
 No direct role in abscission
 Slows growth and works antagonistically to other growth regulators

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 May be involved in induction and maintenance of dormancy in seeds and buds in some
plants
 Induction of storage-protein synthesis in seeds
 Stomatal opening and closure
 Water stress increases ABA, causes guard cells to close
 ABA produced in the roots in response to water shortage and transported to the leaves
 Provides early warning system
 Made in leaves transported in phloem?
 ABA applied to plants increases drought resistance
 Induction of p/sate transport from leaves to seeds embryogenesis
 Inhibit cell division in the vascular cambium and induce leaf primordia to develop into scales
that protect the dormant bud during winter
 Exported from leaves in phloem and roots in xylem
 Abscisic acid (ABA) is produced in the terminal bud
Gibberellins
 Gibberellic acid
 In all parts of plant but highest in young tissues of shoot and developing seeds
 Probably transported in xylem and phloem
 Elongation of shoots and leaves by stimulation of division and elongation
 Dwarf plants lack gibberellin
 Induction of seed germination – “waking up hormone”
 Release of gibberellins from the embryo signals the seed to break dormancy
 Regulation of production of seed enzymes in cereals
 Induces bolting in plants
 Stimulation of flowering in long-day plants
 Used to synchronise flowering
 In some plants both auxin and gibberellins contribute to fruit set
 Used to produce seedless grapes that are bigger and more loosely bunched
Tissue Culture
 Technique used to isolate individual cells from plants
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 Allows growth under sterile conditions in a culture medium
 A mass of dividing undifferentiated cells called a callus forms
 Depending on the balance of hormones in the culture medium shoot or root growth is
encouraged
Recent discoveries
 Systemins
 Chemical defence against herbivores
 Isolated from tomatoes
 Brassinosteroides
 Brassionolides
 Salicylic acid
 Jasmonates
Flowering
 Flowering involves a transition in the stem apex from a vegetative to a flowering state
 Some plants require a period of cold before flowering can occur - vernalisation
 Some plants bloom after exposure to a required photoperiod
 Other plants respond to photoperiod in conjunction with other environmental stimuli.
Phytochromes
 Plant pigments (chromophores)
 Function as photoreceptors and may be involved in the photoperiodic control of flowering

and seed germination
 Located in leaves and seeds
 The chromophore alternates between two isomers
 one which absorbs red light (P r)
 and the other which absorbs far-red light (P fr)
 Isomers are photo-reversible
 The Pfr form will also revert to the Pr form under extended darkness
 The Pfr form can trigger events such as flowering and germination
 Ratio of the two forms of phytochromes allows plant to determine relative amounts of red
and far-red light
Short day/long day plants

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 A ‘short-day’ plant requires a dark period of greater than a certain minimum
 A ‘long-day’ plant requires a dark period of less than a certain minimum
 The critical photoperiod length can be varied through selective breeding
Seed dormancy
 Some seeds such as apples have chilling requirement (vernalisation) for germination
 Some have requirement for light regulated by P fr
 Gibberellins can often force germination, substituting for vernalisation and phytochrome
triggers.
 Seed is deep in the soil – dark or high far red to red ratio à seed will not germinate
 Cultivation brings seed to surface
 Seed close to surface – high red to far red ratio à seed germinates
TRANSPORT OF SUGARS
Transport of photosynthate
 Translocation cf transpiration
 In phloem
 Sieve tube elements involved with long-distance movement of sugars
 From source to sink
 Phloem made up of sieve tube elements and companion cells
 Sieve tube elements lose nuclei
 Controlled by neighbouring companion cell
Sieve tube elements
 Sieve tube elements not lignified
 Sieve tubes alive at maturity cf vessel elements which are dead at maturity
 Sieve tubes osmotically active
 Pores on transverse end walls form sieve plates
 Sieve elements form continuous tubes in flowering plants
Phloem sap
 Contains sugars particularly sucrose
 May contain some amino acids, hormones and minerals
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 Phloem sap can move up and down cf one way movement in xylem
Sources and sinks
 Sources:
 Actively photosynthesising tissue
 Storage organ where starch is being mobilised
 Sink:
 Actively growing new leaves
 Roots
 Storage organs
 Sugars tend to move to sink from closest source
Bulk flow
 Sugars loaded into sieve tube at source
 Lowers water potential so water flows in
 This creates hydrostatic pressure
 Sugars unloaded at sink which increases water potential
 Water tends to move into phloem at sink end and exits phloem at source end
 This creates a pressure difference between sink and source
 Sugar solution flows hydraulically along sieve tube elements through sieve-plate pores
 Active process at source and sink that requires energy input as ATP
 Passive movement through phloem
 Turgor pressure depends on sieve tube being surrounded by osmotically effective plasma
membrane
 Water moves in from transpiration stream
 Xylem recycles water from sink to source
 Molecular carrier thought to incorporate boron as boron deficiency causes phloem transport
disruption
Transport of sugars
 Mass transport or bulk flow
 Due to osmotically generated gradient of turgor pressure along length of sieve tube
 Mass flow can go in more than one direction in plant
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 The speed of the flow in the phloem can be 0.3 m/hr cf 1-150m/hr for xylem
 Other substances such as plant hormones, herbicides move
Chemical composition of a plant
 Water – about 90%
 Dry matter – about 10%
 Organics – about 95% of dry matter
 Inorganics – about 5% of dry matter
 Essential elements (inorganics)
 Macro
 Micro
 Non-essential
Plant composition
Plant 1000g
Dry matter
Water 900g
100g
Organics Inorganics
95g 5g
Plant nutrition
 Plants are photoautotrophs
 Synthesise their own organic compounds such as amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins etc.
 Require water, light and carbon dioxide to photosynthesise and oxygen for respiration
 Also require mineral elements
Plants as a food
 Much of plant material is cellulose
 Not able to be digested by animals
 Symbiotic bacteria used by ruminants, hind gut fermenters and termites
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 Other animals digest cell contents
 Lignin only broken down by microorganisms
Plants cf. Animals
 Many common mineral elements and some less common ones required by both plants and
animals
 Many physiological functions of elements are similar in both
 Much of dietary mineral intake of animals is derived ultimately from minerals absorbed by
plants
Essential elements
 Needed for some life processes
 Part of any molecule or part of plant essential for plant growth or function
 Without element plant isn’t healthy – abnormal appearance or function
Uptake of minerals
 Primarily by root near the root tips – root hairs increase the surface area
 May move into roots with uptake of water
 Diffuse along concentration gradient
 At endodermis, plant can control uptake as elements move symplastically
 Elements can be unloaded into apoplast of xylem and moved to different parts of plant in
transpiration stream
 Essential elements are required by the plant to complete its life cycle
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 9 elements required in large amounts - macronutrients
 8 required in small amounts - micronutrients
Macronutrients
 Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium
 C,H and O are obtained from CO2 and H2O
 All other elements are generally obtained from the soil (in inorganic forms; N as NO 3− or
NH4+, S as SO4−, P as PO4− , Ca as Ca2+, K as K+, Mg as Mg2+, etc)
Micronutrients
 Eight micronutrients are needed (Cl, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Cu, Mo, Ni), mainly as constituents of co-
factors in enzymatic reactions
Physiological Roles
 Structural (C, H, O, N, S, P, Ca)
 Catalytic (Mg, Cl, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Cu, Mo, Ni)
 Osmotic (K)
Mobile and immobile elements
 Relates to mobility in phloem
 A mobile nutrient can be moved from older to younger leaves, so that a deficiency will show
up in the older parts of the plant
 An immobile nutrient can not be moved once incorporated
Most mineral elements are mobile
Mycorrhizae
 Symbiotic associations of roots and fungi that enhance plant nutrition
 Fungus receives carbohydrate from the plant,
 Provides a large surface area for the absorption of water and minerals
 Fungus secretes growth hormones that stimulate root growth and branching and may also
provide a protective role against plant pathogens
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Plant nutrition
 All animal life depends on healthy functioning of producers
 Soils provide plants with minerals and water
 Atmosphere provides gases
 Plants have limited abilities to move to more suitable habitats
 Plants have many adaptations that enable them to deal with wide range of environmental
conditions
ANIMAL FORM AND FUNCTION

Cells are an organism’s basic units of structure and function
• The cell is the lowest level of organisation that can perform all activities required for life
• All cells:
– Are enclosed by a membrane
– Use DNA as genetic information
• Ability of cells to divide is the basis of all reproduction, growth & repair of multicellular
organisms
Theory of nature selection
• Darwin inferred that:
– Individuals that are best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and
reproduce
– Over time, more individuals in a population will have the advantageous traits
– In other words, the natural environment ‘selects’ for beneficial traits
Unity in the diversity of life
• Unity in diversity arises from descent with modification
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– For example, the forelimb of the bat, human, horse and the whale flipper all share a
common skeletal architecture
– Fossils provide additional evidence of anatomical unity from descent with

modification
• Anatomy is the study of the biological form of an organism
• Physiology is the study of the biological functions an organism performs
• The comparative study of animals reveals that form and function are closely correlated
Size and shape
• The ability to perform certain actions depends on an animal’s shape, size, and environment
• Evolutionary convergence reflects different species’ adaptations to a similar environmental

challenge
• Physical laws impose constraints on animal size and shape
Exchange with the environment
• An animal’s size and shape directly affect how it exchanges energy and materials with its
surroundings
• Exchange occurs as substances dissolved in the aqueous medium diffuse and are transported
across the cells’ plasma membranes
• A single-celled protist living in water has a sufficient surface area of plasma membrane to
service its entire volume of cytoplasm
Hierarchical organisation of body plans
• Most animals are composed of specialised cells organised into tissues that have different
functions
• Tissues make up organs, which together make up organ systems
Tissue structure and function
• Different tissues have different structures
that are suited to their functions
• Tissues are classified into four main categories:
1. epithelial
2. connective
3. muscle
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4. nervous
Epithelial tissue
• Covers the outside of the body and lines
the organs and cavities within the body
• Cells are closely joined and shape may be:
– cuboidal (like dice)
– columnar (like bricks on end)
– squamous (like floor tiles)
• Arrangement of epithelial cells may be
– simple (single cell layer)
– stratified (multiple tiers of cells)
– pseudostratified (a single layer of cells of varying length)
Nervous tissue
• Nervous tissue senses stimuli and

transmits signals throughout the
animal
• A neuron (nerve cell) receive signals

at the dendrites and send them out
via the axons
Muscle tissue
• Muscle tissue is composed of long

cells called muscle fibers capable of
contracting in response to nerve
signals
– Smooth (involuntary body

activities)
– Skeletal (voluntary
movement)
– Cardiac (contraction of the heart)
Connective tissue
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• Mainly binds and supports other tissues
– Sparsely packed cells scattered throughout an extracellular matrix
– Matrix consists of fibres in a liquid, jellylike, or solid foundation
• Three types of connective tissue fibre, all made of protein:
– Collagenous fibres provide strength and flexibility
– Elastic fibres stretch and snap back to their original length
– Reticular fibres join connective tissue to adjacent tissues
In vertebrates, the fibres and foundation combine to form six major types of connective tissue:
1. Loose connective tissue binds epithelia to underlying tissues and holds organs in
place
2. Cartilage is a strong and flexible support material
3. Fibrous connective tissue is found in tendons, which attach muscles to bones, and
ligaments, which connect bones at joints
4. Adipose tissue stores fat for insulation and fuel
5. Blood is composed of blood cells and cell fragments in blood plasma
6. Bone is mineralised and forms the skeleton
Coordination and control
• Control and coordination within a body depend on the endocrine system and the nervous
system
• The endocrine system transmits chemical signals called hormones to receptive cells
throughout the body via blood
• A hormone may affect one or more regions throughout the body
• Hormones are relatively slow acting, but can have long-lasting effects
• The nervous system transmits information between specific locations
• The information conveyed depends on a signal’s pathway, not the type of signal
• Nerve signal transmission is very fast
• Nerve impulses can be received by neurons, muscle cells, and endocrine cells
Feedback control loops
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• Animals manage their internal environment by regulating or conforming to the external

environment
• A regulator uses internal control mechanisms to moderate internal change in the face of
external, environmental fluctuation
• A conformer allows its internal condition to vary with certain external changes
Homeostasis
• Organisms use homeostasis to maintain a “steady state” or internal balance regardless of

external environment
• In humans, body temperature,

blood pH, and glucose
concentration are each
maintained at a constant level
• Mechanisms of homeostasis
moderate changes in the
internal environment
• For a given variable, fluctuations

above or below a set point serve
as a stimulus; these are detected
by a sensor and trigger a
response
• The response returns the

variable to the set point
• The dynamic equilibrium of

homeostasis is maintained by
negative feedback, which helps
to return a variable to either a
normal range or a set point
• Most homeostatic control

systems function by negative
feedback, where build-up of the end product shuts the system off
• Positive feedback loops occur in animals, but do not usually contribute to homeostasis
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Endomerthy and ectothermy
• Thermoregulation is the process by which animals maintain an internal temperature within

a tolerable range
• Endothermic animals generate heat by metabolism; birds and mammals are endotherms
• Ectothermic animals gain heat from external sources; ectotherms include most
invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, and non-avian reptiles
• In general, ectotherms tolerate greater variation in internal temperature, while endotherms

are active at a greater range of external temperatures
• Endothermy is more energetically
expensive than ectothermy
Balancing heat loss and gain
• Five general adaptations help animals thermoregulate:
– Insulation
– Circulatory adaptations
– Cooling by evaporative heat loss
– Behavioural responses
– Adjusting metabolic heat production
Insulation
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• Insulation is a major thermoregulatory adaptation in mammals and birds
• Skin, feathers, fur, and blubber reduce heat flow between an animal and its environment
Circulatory adaptations
• Regulation of blood flow near the body surface significantly affects thermoregulation
• Many endotherms and some ectotherms can alter the amount of blood flowing between the
body core and the skin
• In vasodilation, blood flow in the skin increases, facilitating heat loss
• In vasoconstriction, blood flow in the skin decreases, lowering heat loss
• The arrangement of blood vessels in many marine mammals and birds allows for
countercurrent exchange
• Countercurrent heat exchangers transfer heat between fluids flowing in opposite directions
• Countercurrent heat exchangers are an important mechanism for reducing heat loss
Cooling by evaporative heat loss
• Many types of animals lose heat through evaporation of water in sweat
• Panting increases the cooling effect in birds and many mammals
• Sweating or bathing moistens the skin, helping to cool an animal down
Behavioural responses
• Both endotherms and ectotherms use behavioural responses to control body temperature
• Some terrestrial invertebrates have postures that minimise or maximise absorption of solar
heat
Adjusting metabolic heat production
• Some animals can regulate body temperature by adjusting their rate of metabolic heat
production
• Heat production is increased by muscle activity such as moving or shivering
• Some ectotherms can also shiver to increase body temperature
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Energy requirements are related to animal size, activity and environment
• Bioenergetics is the overall flow and transformation of energy in an animal
• It determines how much food an animal needs and relates to an animal’s size, activity, and
environment
• Animals harvest chemical energy from food
• Energy-containing molecules from food are usually used to make ATP, which powers cellular
work
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• After the needs of staying alive are met, remaining food molecules can be used in
biosynthesis
• Biosynthesis includes body growth and repair, synthesis of storage material such as fat, and
production of gametes
Quantifying energy use
• Metabolic rate is the amount of energy an animal uses in a unit of time
• One way to measure it is to determine the amount of oxygen consumed or carbon dioxide
produced
Influences on metabolic rate
Metabolic rates are affected by many factors
including:
– Ectotherm vs endotherm
– Size
– Activity
Complexity and body size
• Increased complexity allows for an increase in body size
• Larger size decreases the surface area to volume ratio
– Necessitates complex systems for respiration, nutrition, and excretion – diffusion

not adequate.
– Buffers environmental fluctuation.
– Escape predators.
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• Cost of maintaining body temperature is less per gram of body weight than in small animals
• Energy costs of moving a gram of body weight over a given distance less for larger animals
CELL SIGNALLING
The cellular internet
• Cell-to-cell communication is essential for multicellular organisms
• External signals are converted to responses within the cell
• There are some universal mechanisms of cellular regulation
• Microbes are a window on the role of cell signalling in the evolution of life
Signal transduction pathways
• Series of steps by which a signal on the
cell surface is converted into a specific cellular response
• Pathway similarities suggest that ancestral signalling molecules evolved in prokaryotes, and
were modified later in eukaryotes
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• The concentration of signalling molecules allows bacteria to detect population density
Local and long distance signalling
• Cells in a multicellular organism communicate by chemical messengers
• Animal and plant cells have cell junctions that directly connect the cytoplasm of adjacent
cells
• Animal cells may also communicate by direct contact, or cell-cell recognition
• In many other cases, animal cells
communicate using local regulators: messenger molecules that travel only short distances
• In long-distance signalling, plants and animals use chemicals called hormones
Types of synaptic signaling
• Secreted chemical signals include:
– Hormones
– Local regulators
– Neurotransmitters
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– Neurohormones
– Pheromones
The three stages of cell signaling
• Sutherland discovered how the hormone epinephrine acts on cells
• Sutherland suggested that cells receiving signals went through three processes:
1. reception
2. transduction
3. response
1. RECEPTION
• A signal molecule binds to a receptor
protein, causing it to change shape
• The binding between a signal molecule (ligand) and receptor is highly specific
• A shape change in a receptor is often the initial transduction of the signal
• Most signal receptors are plasma membrane proteins
Membrane-bound receptors
• Most water-soluble signal molecules bind to specific sites on receptor proteins in the plasma
membrane
• There are three main types of membrane receptors:

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1. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR)
2. Tyrosine kinase-linked receptors
3. Ligand gated ion channels
Intracellular receptors
• Some receptor proteins are intracellular, found in the cytosol or nucleus of target cells
• Small or hydrophobic chemical messengers can readily cross the membrane, and activate
receptors
• Examples of hydrophobic messengers are the steroid and thyroid hormones of animals
• An activated hormone-receptor complex can act as a transcription factor, turning on specific

genes
Receptors
• G protein-coupled receptors
– On plasma membrane
– Works with the help of a G protein (on/off switch)
– G protein activated when bound to GTP,
inactivated when bound to GDP
• Tyrosine kinase linked receptors
• On plasma membrane
• Part of the receptor contains an enzyme activity, tyrosine kinase
• Enzymes attaches a phosphate to tyrosine residues on proteins (on switch)
• Starts a cascade
• Ligand-gated ion channels
– On plasma membrane
– Channels that allow ions to pass through
– Gate on channel normally closed
– Chemical signal (ligand) binds to the receptor,
which opens the gate
• Intracellular receptors
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• Inside cell (cytosol or nucleus)
• Chemical crosses cell membrane
• Binds to receptor to form a complex
• Complex binds to nuclear DNA to change gene transcription
2. TRANSDUCTION
• Cascades of molecular interactions relay
signals from receptors to target molecules in the cell
• Signal transduction usually involves multiple steps
• Multistep pathways can amplify a signal:
– a few molecules can produce a large cellular response
– Multistep pathways provide more opportunities for coordination and regulation of

the cellular response
Signal transduction pathways
• Transfer of signal, relay signal to another molecule
• The molecules that relay a signal are mostly proteins
• Like falling dominoes, the receptor activates another protein, which activates another, and
so on, until the protein producing the response is activated
• At each step, the signal is transduced into a different form, usually a shape change in a
protein
Protein phosphorylation
• In many pathways, the signal is
transmitted by a cascade of protein phosphorylations
• Protein kinases transfer phosphates from ATP to protein, a process called phosphorylation
• Protein phosphatases remove the phosphates from proteins, a process called

dephosphorylation
• This phosphorylation and dephosphorylation system acts as a molecular switch, turning

activities on and off
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Second messengers
• The extracellular signal molecule that binds to the receptor is a ‘first messenger’
• Second messengers are small, nonprotein, water-soluble molecules or ions; these spread
throughout a cell by diffusion
– Participate in pathways initiated by G protein-coupled receptors and receptor

tyrosine kinases
– Include cyclic AMP (cAMP) and calcium ions (Ca ++)
cAMP
• One of the most widely used second messengers.
• Adenylyl cyclase, an enzyme in the plasma membrane, converts ATP to cAMP in response to
an extracellular signal
• Many signal molecules trigger formation
• Pathway includes G proteins, GPCRs and protein kinases
• Usually activates protein kinase A, which phosphorylates various other proteins
• GPCRs can also inhibit adenylyl cyclase

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Ca++
• Acts as a second messenger in many pathways
• Important second messenger because cells can regulate its concentration
Ca++ and inositol triphosphate (IP3)
• A signal relayed by a signal transduction pathway may trigger an increase in Ca++ in the
cytosol
• Pathways leading to the release of calcium involve inositol triphosphate (IP 3) and
diacylglycerol (DAG) as additional second messengers.
3. RESPONSE
 Cell signalling leads to regulation of transcription or cytoplasmic activities
 A cellular response to an extracellular signal is sometimes called the ‘output response’
 Ultimately, a signal transduction pathway leads to regulation of one or more cellular
activities
 The response may occur in the cytoplasm or may involve action in the nucleus
Nuclear responses
• Many signalling
pathways regulate the
synthesis of enzymes or
other proteins, usually by
turning genes on or off in
the nucleus
• The final activated

molecule may function as
a transcription factor
Cytoplasmic responses
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Fine tuning of the response
Multistep pathways have two important benefits:
1. amplifying the signal (and thus the response)
2. and contributing to the specificity of the response
Signal amplification
• Enzyme cascades amplify cellular responses
• At each step, the number of activated products is much greater than in the preceding step
Specificity of the response
• Different kinds of cells have different collections of proteins
• Allow cells to detect and respond to different signals
• Same chemical signal can have different effects in cells with different proteins and pathways
• Pathway branching and ‘cross-talk’ further help the cell coordinate incoming signals
Termination of the signal
• Inactivation mechanisms are an essential aspect of cell signalling
• When signal molecules leave the receptor, the receptor reverts to its inactive state
Cell communication
Two systems coordinate communication throughout the body:
1. Endocrine system
• secretes hormones that coordinate slower but longer-acting responses

including reproduction, development, energy metabolism, growth and
behaviour
2. Nervous system
• conveys high-speed electrical signals along specialised cells called neurons;

these signals regulate other cells
Animal hormones
• Chemical signals that are secreted into the circulatory system and communicate regulatory
messages within the body
• Hormones reach all parts of the body, but only target cells are equipped to respond
‘Long distance regulator’

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Simple hormone pathways
• Hormones are released from an endocrine cell, travel through the bloodstream, and interact
with the receptor or a target cell to cause a physiological response
• A negative feedback loop inhibits a response by reducing the initial stimulus
• Negative feedback regulates many hormonal pathways involved in homeostasis
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Hormone cascade pathways
• A hormone can stimulate the release of a series of other hormones, the last of which
activates a non-endocrine target cell; this is called a hormone cascade pathway
• The release of thyroid hormone results from a hormone cascade pathway involving the
hypothalamus, anterior pituitary, and thyroid gland
• Hormone cascade pathways are usually regulated by negative feedback
Neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitters play a role in sensation, memory, cognition, and movement
• Neurons (nerve cells) contact target cells at synapses
• At synapses, neurons secrete chemical signals
– Neurotransmitter diffuses across gap between nerve cell and target cell
– Bind to receptors to produce a response eg nerve activation, smooth muscle

contraction, glandular secretion
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Information processing
• Many animals have a complex nervous system which consists of:
• A central nervous system (CNS) where integration takes place; this includes the
brain and a nerve cord
• A peripheral nervous system (PNS), which brings information into and out of the
CNS
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Concept: The endocrine and nervous systems act individually and together in regulating animal
physiology
ANIMAL NUTRITION AND DIGESTION

• Energy flows into an ecosystem as sunlight and leaves as heat
• Photosynthesis generates O2 and organic molecules, which are used in cellular respiration
• Cells use chemical energy stored in organic molecules to regenerate ATP, which powers
work
• Food is taken in, taken apart, and taken up in the process of animal nutrition
• In general, animals fall into three categories:
– Herbivores eat mainly autotrophs (plants and algae)
– Carnivores eat other animals
– Omnivores regularly consume animals as well as plants or algal matter
• An animal’s diet provides chemical energy, which is converted into ATP and powers
processes in the body
• Animals need a source of organic carbon and organic nitrogen in order to construct organic
molecules
• Essential nutrients are required by cells and must be obtained from dietary sources
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• There are four classes of essential nutrients:
• Essential amino acids
• Essential fatty acids
• Vitamins
• Minerals
Essential amino acids
• Animals require 20 aa and can
synthesise about half from molecules in their diet
• The remaining amino acids, the essential amino acids, must be obtained from food in
preassembled form
• A diet that provides insufficient essential amino acids causes malnutrition called protein
deficiency
• Meat, eggs, and cheese provide all the essential amino acids and are thus “complete”
proteins
• Most plant proteins are incomplete in amino acid makeup
• Individuals who eat only plant proteins need to eat specific plant combinations to get all
essential amino acids
Essential fatty acids
• Animals can synthesise most of the fatty acids they need
• The essential fatty acids are certain unsaturated fatty acids that must be obtained from the
diet
• Deficiencies in fatty acids are rare
Vitamins
• Vitamins are organic molecules
required in the diet in small amounts
• 13 vitamins essential to humans have been identified
• Vitamins are grouped into two categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble
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• Minerals are simple inorganic nutrients, usually required in small amounts
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Dietary deficiencies
• Undernourishment is the result of a diet that consistently supplies less chemical energy than
the body requires
• Malnourishment is the long-term absence from the diet of one or more essential nutrients
Undernourishment
• An undernourished individual will:
– Use up stored fat and carbohydrates
– Break down its own proteins
– Lose muscle mass
– Suffer protein deficiency of the brain
– Die or suffer irreversible damage
• Malnourishment can cause deformities, disease, and death
• Malnourishment can be corrected by changes to a diet
The main stages of food processing:
1. ingestion,
2. digestion,
3. absorption,
4. elimination
Ingestion
• Act of eating
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• Animals may be:
– Suspension feeders, such as certain aquatic animals that sift small food particles
from the water
– Substrate feeders, live in or on their food source
– Fluid feeders, suck nutrient-rich fluid from a living host
– Bulk feeders, eat relatively large pieces of food
All animals, with the exception of some endoparasites such as tapeworms, have a digestive system
Digestion system
• The digestive system is a portal for nutrients to gain access to the bloodstream
– Foodstuffs are broken down to very simple molecules
– Resulting sugars, amino acids, fatty acids are then transported across the GI tract
lining into blood
• The specific foodstuffs animals are able to utilize is dependent on the type of digestive
system they possess
What does monogastric mean?
What types of animals are monogastric mammals?
Types of digestive systems in mammals..
1. Monogastric
– simple stomach
2. Ruminant (cranial fermentor)
– multi-compartmented stomach
3. Hind gut fermentor (caudal fermentor)
– simple stomach, but very large and complex large intestine
Monogastrics:
- chickens; pigs; turkeys; dogs; cats; humans
Ruminants
- beef cattle; dairy cattle; goats; sheep; deer;
Hind gut fermentors
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Horses; rabbits; ostrich
• Digestion is the process of breaking
food down into molecules small
enough to absorb
– In chemical digestion, the process of enzymatic hydrolysis splits bonds in molecules

with the addition of water
– Absorption is uptake of nutrients by body cells
• Elimination is the passage of undigested material out of the digestive compartment
Mammalian digestive system
• Alimentary canal with accessory glands
• Accessory glands
– secrete digestive juices through ducts are the salivary glands, the pancreas, the liver,
and the gallbladder
• Food is pushed along by peristalsis,
rhythmic contractions of muscles in the wall of the canal
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• Valves called sphincters regulate the movement of material between compartments
Oral cavity, pharynx, and oesophagus
• The first stage of digestion is mechanical and takes place in the oral cavity
• Salivary glands deliver saliva to lubricate food
• Teeth chew food into smaller particles that are exposed to salivary amylase, initiating
breakdown of glucose polymers
• The tongue shapes food into a bolus and provides help with swallowing
• The region we call our throat is the pharynx, a junction that opens to both the oesophagus
and the trachea (windpipe)
• Trachea leads to the lungs
• The oesophagus conducts food from the pharynx down to the stomach by peristalsis
• Swallowing causes the epiglottis to block entry to the trachea, and the bolus is guided by the
larynx, the upper part of the respiratory tract
• Coughing occurs when the swallowing reflex fails and food or liquids reach the windpipe
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• The stomach stores food and secretes gastric juice, which converts a meal to acid chyme
Chemical digestion in the stomach
• Gastric juice is made up of hydrochloric acid and the enzyme pepsin
• Parietal cells secrete hydrogen and chloride ions separately
• Chief cells secrete inactive pepsinogen, which is activated to pepsin when mixed with
hydrochloric acid in the stomach
• Mucus protects the stomach lining from gastric juice
• Gastric ulcers, lesions in the lining, are caused mainly by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori
Stomach dynamics
• Coordinated contraction and relaxation of stomach muscle churn the stomach’s contents
• Sphincters prevent chyme from entering the oesophagus and regulate its entry into the
small intestine
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Small intestine
• Longest section of the alimentary canal
• The major organ of digestion and absorption
• Duodenum
– Chyme mixes with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, gallbladder, and the
epithelial lining (brush border) of the duodenum
– Site where most chemical digestion occurs
• Jejunum and ileum
– Function mainly in absorption of nutrients and water
Pancreatic secretions
• The pancreas produces proteases trypsin and chymotrypsin, protein-digesting enzymes

that are activated after entering the duodenum
• Its solution is alkaline and neutralises the acidic chyme
Bile product by the liver
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• In the small intestine, bile aids in digestion and absorption of fats
• Bile is made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder
Absorption in the small intestine
• The small intestine has a huge surface area, due to villi and microvilli that are exposed to
the intestinal lumen
• The enormous microvillar surface greatly increases the rate of nutrient absorption
• Each villus contains a network of blood vessels and a small lymphatic vessel called a lacteal
• After glycerol and fatty acids are absorbed by epithelial cells, they are recombined into fats
within these cells
• These fats are mixed with cholesterol and coated with protein, forming molecules called
chylomicrons, which are transported into lacteals
• Amino acids and sugars pass through the epithelium of the small intestine and enter the
bloodstream
• Capillaries and veins from the lacteals converge in the hepatic portal vein and deliver blood
to the liver and then on to the heart
Absorption in the large intestine
• The colon of the large intestine is connected to the small intestine
• The caecum aids in the fermentation of plant material and connects where the small and
large intestines meet
• The human caecum has an extension called the appendix, which plays a very minor role in
immunity
• A major function of the colon is to recover water that has entered the alimentary canal
• Wastes of the digestive tract, the faeces, become more solid as they move through the colon
• Faeces pass through the rectum and exit via the anus
• The colon houses strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli, some of which produce vitamins
• Faeces are stored in the rectum until they can be eliminated
• Two sphincters between the rectum and anus control bowel movements
Mutalistic adaptations
• Many herbivores have fermentation chambers, where symbiotic microorganisms digest

cellulose
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• The most elaborate adaptations for an herbivorous diet have evolved in ruminants
Energy sources and stores
• Nearly all of an animal’s ATP generation is based on oxidation of energy-rich molecules:

carbohydrates, proteins, and fats
• Animals store excess calories primarily as glycogen in the liver and muscles
• Energy is secondarily stored as adipose, or fat, cells
• When fewer kilojoules are taken in than are expended, fuel is taken from storage and
oxidised
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• Overnourishment causes obesity, which results from excessive intake of food energy with
the excess stored as fat
• Obesity contributes to diabetes (type 2), cancer of the colon and breasts, heart attacks, and
strokes
• Based on self reported data, overweight/obese has increased from 50% in 2001 to 54% in
2004-05 and 56% in 2007-08
• Both male and female adults underestimate their weight
• Self-report: 63% males and 48% females
• Actual: 68% of males and 55% of females
• Researchers have discovered several of the mechanisms that help regulate body weight
• Homeostatic mechanisms are feedback circuits that control the body’s storage and
metabolism of fat over the long-term
• Hormones regulate long-term and short-term appetite by affecting a “satiety centre” in the
brain
EXCRETION
What do the cells in the body need to regulate?
• Materials for maintenance and growth
(O2, glucose, amino acids, fatty acids)
• Remove waste
(CO2, nitrogenous waste)
• Physical conditions
(salt/water balance, temperature, pH)
• Hygienic conditions
(prevent infection)
Kidneys
• Removal of waste substances
• Maintenance of salt/water balance
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Water balance in land animals
• Land animals manage water
budgets by drinking and eating moist foods and using metabolic water
• Desert animals get major
water savings from simple
anatomical features and
behaviours such as a
nocturnal life style
Nitrogenous wastes
• The type and quantity of an animal’s
waste products may greatly affect its water balance
• Among the most important wastes are nitrogenous breakdown products of proteins and
nucleic acids
• Some animals convert toxic ammonia (NH3) to less toxic compounds prior to excretion
Different animals excrete nitrogenous wastes in different forms
1. ammonia,
2. urea, or
3. uric acid
The kind of nitrogenous wastes excreted depend on an animal’s evolutionary history and habitat
The amount of nitrogenous waste is coupled to the animal’s energy budget
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Excretory
processes
• Most excretory systems produce
urine by refining a filtrate derived from body fluids
• Key functions of most excretory systems:
– Filtration: pressure-filtering of body fluids
– Reabsorption: reclaiming valuable solutes
– Secretion: adding toxins and other solutes from the body fluids to the filtrate
– Excretion: removing the filtrate from the system
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NEPHRONS
• Functional unit of the vertebrate kidney
– Long tube (tubule)
– Tuft/ball of capillaries (glomerulus)
Filtration of
blood
• Blood forced through basement membrane, acts like a sieve
• Only small molecules can make it through
• Filtrate contains salts, glucose, amino acids, vitamins, nitrogenous wastes, and other small
molecules
Pathway of the filtrate
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• Nephron is organised for stepwise processing of blood filtrate
• Filtrate passes through the:
1. proximal tubule,
2. loop of Henle, and
3. distal tubule
• Fluid from several nephrons flows into a collecting duct, all of which lead to the renal pelvis,
which is drained by the ureter
• Mammals that inhabit dry environments have long loops of Henle, while those in fresh water
have relatively short loops
• Birds have shorter loops of Henle but conserve water by excreting uric acid instead of urea
Antidiuretic hormone
• ADH increases water reabsorption in the distal tubules and collecting ducts of the kidney
• Mutation in ADH production causes severe dehydration and results in diabetes insipidus
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• Alcohol is a diuretic as it inhibits the release of ADH
Homeostatic regulation of the kidney
• Complex feedback circuit
– Range of chemical signals produced by kidneys, heart, adrenal gland and

hypothalamus
– Respond to increased blood osmolarity (increased concentration of dissolved

solutes)
– Respond to low blood volume and pressure
– Increase or decrease water reabsorption à increase or decrease blood volume
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS IN VERTEBRATES
Open and closed circulatory systems
• Both systems have three basic components:
– A circulatory fluid (blood or haemolymph)
– A set of tubes (blood vessels)
– A muscular pump (the heart)
• In insects, other arthropods, and most molluscs, blood bathes the organs directly in an open
circulatory system
• No distinction between blood and interstitial fluid, and this general body fluid is more
correctly called haemolymph
Closed circulatory systems
• Blood is confined to vessels and is distinct from the interstitial fluid
• More efficient than open systems at transporting circulatory fluids to tissues and cells
Vertebrate circulatory systems
• Humans and other vertebrates have a closed circulatory system, often called the
cardiovascular system
• The three main types of blood vessels are:
1. Arteries, carry blood away from the heart
2. Veins, return blood to the heart
3. Capillaries, link between arterial and venous system
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• Arteries branch into arterioles and
carry blood to capillaries
• Networks of capillaries called capillary beds are the sites of chemical exchange between the
blood and interstitial fluid
• Venules converge into

veins and return blood
from capillaries to the
heart
• Vertebrate hearts contain

two or more chambers
• Blood enters through an

atrium and is pumped out
through a ventricle
Double circulation
• Amphibians, reptiles, and

mammals have double
circulation
• Oxygen-poor and oxygen-

rich blood are pumped
separately from the right
and left sides of the heart
• In reptiles and mammals,

oxygen-poor blood flows
through the pulmonary
circuit to pick up oxygen
through the lungs
• In amphibians, oxygen-
poor blood flows through a
pulmocutaneous circuit to
pick up oxygen through the
lungs and skin
• Oxygen-rich blood delivers

oxygen through the
systemic circuit
Adaptations – Amphibians
• Frogs and other amphibians have a three-chambered heart: two atria and one ventricle
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• The ventricle pumps blood into a forked artery that splits the ventricle’s output into the
pulmocutaneous circuit and the systemic circuit
• Underwater, blood flow to the lungs is nearly shut off
Adaptations: mammals and birds
• Mammals and birds have a four-chambered heart with two atria and two ventricles
• The left side of the heart pumps and receives only oxygen-rich blood, while the right side
receives and pumps only oxygen-poor blood
• Mammals and birds are endotherms and require more O 2 than ectotherms
Mammalian circulation
• Blood begins its flow with the right ventricle pumping blood to the lungs
• In the lungs, the blood loads O2 and unloads CO2
• Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs enters the heart at the left atrium and is pumped through
the aorta to the body tissues by the left ventricle
• The aorta provides blood to the heart through the coronary arteries
• Blood returns to the heart through the superior vena cava (blood from head, neck, and
forelimbs) and inferior vena cava (blood from trunk and hind limbs)
• The superior vena cava and inferior vena cava flow into the right atrium
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Cardiac cycle
• The heart contracts and relaxes in a rhythmic cycle called the cardiac cycle
• The contraction, or pumping, phase is called systole
• The relaxation, or filling, phase is called diastole
The mammalian heart
• The heart rate, also called the pulse, is the number of beats per minute
• The stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped in a single contraction
• The cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped into the systemic circulation per minute
and depends on both the heart rate and stroke volume
• Four valves prevent backflow of blood in the heart

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• The atrioventricular (AV) valves separate each atrium and ventricle
• The semilunar valves control blood flow to the aorta and the pulmonary artery
• The “lub-dup” sound of a heart beat is caused by the recoil of blood against the AV valves
(lub) then against the semilunar (dup) valves
• Backflow of blood through a defective valve causes a heart murmur
– The sinoatrial (SA) node, or pacemaker, sets the rate and timing at which cardiac
muscle cells contract
– Impulses from the SA node travel to the atrioventricular (AV) node
– At the AV node, the impulses are delayed and then travel to the Purkinje fibres that
make the ventricles contract
– Impulses that travel during the cardiac cycle can be recorded as an

electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
Blood vessel structure and function
• Capillaries have thin walls, the endothelium plus its basement membrane, to facilitate the
exchange of materials
• Arteries and veins have an endothelium, smooth muscle, and connective tissue
• Arteries have thicker walls than veins to accommodate the high pressure of blood pumped
from the heart
• Systolic pressure is the pressure in the arteries during ventricular systole; it is the highest
pressure in the arteries
• Diastolic pressure is the pressure in the arteries during diastole; it is lower than systolic
pressure
• A pulse is the rhythmic bulging of artery walls with each heartbeat
Regulation of blood pressure
• Blood pressure is determined by cardiac output and peripheral resistance due to constriction
of arterioles
• Vasoconstriction is the contraction of smooth muscle in arteriole walls; it increases blood

pressure
• Vasodilation is the relaxation of smooth muscles in the arterioles; it causes blood pressure
to fall
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• Vasoconstriction and vasodilation help maintain adequate blood flow as the body’s demands
change
• The peptide endothelin is an important inducer of vasoconstriction
• Fainting is caused by inadequate blood flow to the head
• Animals with longer necks require a higher systolic pressure to pump blood a greater
distance against gravity
• Blood is moved through veins by smooth muscle contraction, skeletal muscle contraction,
and expansion of the vena cava with inhalation
• One-way valves in veins prevent backflow of blood
Capillary function
• The critical exchange of substances between the blood and interstitial fluid takes place
across the thin endothelial walls of the capillaries
• The difference between blood pressure and osmotic pressure drives fluids out of capillaries
at the arteriole end and into capillaries at the venule end
Fluid return by lymphatic system
• The lymphatic system returns fluid that leaks out in the capillary beds
• This system aids in body defence
• Fluid, called lymph, re-enters the circulation directly at the venous end of the capillary bed
and indirectly through the lymphatic system
• The lymphatic system drains into veins in the neck
Blood composition and function
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Plasma
• Blood plasma is about 90% water
• Among its solutes are inorganic salts in the form of dissolved ions, sometimes called
electrolytes
• Another important class of solutes is the plasma proteins, which influence blood pH, osmotic
pressure, and viscosity
• Various plasma proteins function in lipid transport, immunity, and blood clotting
Cellular elements
• Suspended in blood plasma are two types of cells:
– Red blood cells (erythrocytes) transport oxygen
– White blood cells (leukocytes) function in defence
– Platelets, a third cellular element, are fragments of cells that are involved in clotting
• Red blood cells, or erythrocytes,
are by far the most numerous blood cells
• They transport oxygen throughout the body
• They contain haemoglobin, the iron-containing protein that transports oxygen
• There are five major types of white blood cells, or leukocytes: monocytes, neutrophils,
basophils, eosinophils, and lymphocytes
• They function in defence by phagocytising bacteria and debris or by producing antibodies
• They are found both in and outside of the circulatory system
Blood clotting
• Platelets are fragments of cells and
function in blood clotting
• When the endothelium of a blood vessel is damaged, the clotting mechanism begins
• A cascade of complex reactions converts fibrinogen to fibrin, forming a clot
• A blood clot formed within a blood vessel is called a thrombus and can block blood flow
• Erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets all develop from a common source of stem cells in
the red marrow of bones
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• The hormone erythropoietin (EPO) stimulates erythrocyte production when oxygen delivery
is low
Cardiovascular disease
• Cardiovascular diseases are disorders of the heart and the blood vessels
• They account for up to 35% of all deaths in Australia
Atherosclerosis
• One type of cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, is caused by the buildup of plaque

deposits within arteries
• A heart attack is the death of cardiac muscle tissue resulting from blockage of one or more
coronary arteries
• A stroke is the death of nervous tissue in the brain, usually resulting from rupture or
blockage of arteries in the head
• Hypertension, or high blood pressure, promotes atherosclerosis and increases the risk of
heart attack and stroke
• Hypertension can be reduced by dietary changes, exercise, and/or medication
• Left ventricle has to pump the blood all the way up to head so it has evolved to have thick
muscle walls
• Thickness of LV is related almost directly to the length of the neck - every 15cm increase in
the length of the neck, wall gets another ½ cm thicker
Gas exchange
• Gas exchange supplies oxygen for cellular respiration and disposes of carbon dioxide
• Animals can use air or water as a
source of O2, or respiratory medium
• In a given volume, there is less O2 available in water than in air
• Obtaining O2 from water requires greater efficiency than air breathing
Respiratory surfaces
• Animals require large, moist respiratory surfaces for exchange of gases between their cells
and the respiratory medium, either air or water
• Gas exchange across respiratory surfaces takes place by diffusion
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• Respiratory surfaces vary by animal and can include the outer surface, skin, gills, tracheae,
and lungs
Major functions of the respiratory system
• To supply the body with oxygen
and dispose of carbon dioxide
• Respiration
1. Pulmonary ventilation – moving air into and out of the lungs
2. External respiration – gas exchange between the lungs and the blood
3. Transport – transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and
tissues
4. Internal respiration – gas exchange between systemic blood vessels and

tissues
Lungs
• Lungs are an infolding of the body surface
• The circulatory system transports gases between the lungs and the rest of the body
• The size and complexity of lungs correlate with an animal’s metabolic rate
Mammalian respiratory system
• Air inhaled through the nostrils passes through the pharynx via the larynx, trachea, bronchi,
bronchioles, and alveoli, where gas exchange occurs
Trachea
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• Breathing, or pulmonary ventilation,
consists of two phases
– Inspiration – air flows into the lungs
– Expiration – gases exit the lungs
– Mammals ventilate their lungs by negative pressure breathing, which pulls air into
the lungs
Pressure relationships in the thoracic cavity
• Respiratory pressure is always described relative to atmospheric pressure
• Atmospheric pressure (Patm)
– Pressure exerted by the air surrounding the body
– Negative respiratory pressure is less than Patm
– Positive respiratory pressure is greater than P atm
– Changes in volume in the thoracic cavity, will lead to changes in pressure - gases
flow in or out of lungs to equalise pressure
• As volume increases, pressure decreases
(think of a balloon)
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• Inspiration
– Rib muscles contract to pull the ribs out and the diaphragm contracts, increasing
lung volume
– Pressure decreases in lungs relative to atmosphere
– Air flows into lungs
• Expiration
– Rib muscles and diaphragm relax, pulling ribs in and diaphragm up, thereby reducing
lung volume
– Pressure increases in lungs relative to atmosphere
– Air flows out
Amphibian
• An amphibian such as a frog ventilates
its lungs by positive pressure breathing,
which forces air down the trachea (no diaphragm or ribs)
– Frog lowers floor of oral cavity, enlarging it and drawing air through nostrils
– With mouth and nostrils closed, the floor of the oral cavity rises and air is forced
down trachea
– Elastic recoil of lungs and
compression of muscular body wall
forces air back out again
Frogs
• Start life breathing underwater through
internal gills and skin then develop into land animals with lungs for breathing air
• Breathing controlled by pulsing the throat
– breathe with their mouths closed, throat movements pulls air through the nostrils to
the lungs
– breathe out with body contractions.
• Lungs useful for controlling buoyancy (float)
• Frogs can also breath through their

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skin, with capillaries under the
outer skin layers
How a bird breathes
• Ventilation is more complex and efficient in birds than mammals
• Air passes over the gas exchange surface in a single direction
• Incoming fresh air is not mixed with air that has already carried out gas exchange (as occurs
in mammals)
• Birds have eight or nine air sacs that function as bellows that keep air flowing through the
lungs (no diaphragm but sternum moves)
• Every exhalation completely renews the air in the lungs
• Maximum pO2 in lungs of birds is higher than mammals
• Birds perform better at higher altitude
Partial pressure gradients in gas exchange
• Gases diffuse down pressure gradients in the lungs and other organs as a result of
differences in partial pressure
• Partial pressure is the pressure exerted by a particular gas in a mixture of gases
• A gas diffuses from a region of higher partial pressure to a region of lower partial pressure
• In the lungs and tissues, O2 and CO2 diffuse from where their partial pressures are higher to
where they are lower
Carbon dioxide transport
• Haemoglobin also helps transport CO2 and assists in buffering
• CO2 from respiring cells diffuses into the blood and is transported either
1. in blood plasma,
2. bound to haemoglobin,
3. as bicarbonate ions (HCO3–)
Diving animals
• Deep-diving air breathers stockpile
O2 and deplete it slowly
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• Weddell seals have a high blood to body volume ratio and can store oxygen in their muscles
in myoglobin proteins
HORMONES
Cell communication
Two systems coordinate communication
throughout the body:
1. Endocrine system
Secretes hormones that coordinate slower but longer-acting responses including

reproduction, development, energy metabolism, growth and behaviour
1. Nervous system
Conveys high-speed electrical signals along specialised cells called neurons; these signals
regulate other cells
• Chemical signals bind to receptor proteins on target cells
• Only target cells respond to the signal
Hormones
• Endocrine signals (hormones) are
secreted into extracellular fluids and travel via the bloodstream
• Endocrine glands are ductless and secrete hormones directly into surrounding fluid
• Exocrine glands have ducts and secrete substances onto body surfaces or into body cavities
(for example, tear ducts)
Pancreas
• Mixed gland composed of endocrine
and exocrine cells
• Acinar cells produce digestive enzymes
– Proteases, amylase, lipases, nucleases
– Released into small intestine
– Also make bicarbonate
• Islet cells produce insulin and

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glucagon
– Regulate blood glucose
– Released into blood stream
Pheromones
• Chemical signals that are released from the body and used to communicate with other
individuals in the species
• Pheromones mark trails to food sources,
warn of predators, and attract potential
mates
Chemical classes of hormones
• Three major classes of molecules function as hormones in vertebrates:
– Polypeptides (proteins and peptides)
– Amines derived from amino acids
– Steroid hormones
• Lipid-soluble hormones (steroid hormones) pass easily through cell membranes, while
water-soluble hormones (polypeptides and amines) do not
• The solubility of a hormone correlates with the location of receptors inside or on the surface
of target cells
Cellular response pathways
• Water and lipid soluble hormones
differ in their paths through a body
• Water-soluble hormones are secreted by exocytosis, travel freely in the bloodstream, and
bind to cell-surface receptors
• Lipid-soluble hormones diffuse across cell membranes, travel in the bloodstream bound to
transport proteins, and diffuse through the membrane of target cells
• Signalling by any of these hormones involves three key events:
• Reception
• Signal transduction
• Response
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• Binding of a hormone to its receptor initiates a signal transduction pathway leading

to responses in the cytoplasm, enzyme activation, or a change in gene expression
Water soluble hormones
• The hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) has multiple effects in mediating the body’s
response to short-term stress
• Adrenaline binds to receptors on the plasma membrane of liver cells
• This triggers the release of messenger molecules that activate enzymes and result in the
release of glucose into the bloodstream
Effects of ADRENALINE
• Increases heart rate
• Relaxes smooth muscle in airways
• Dilates blood vessels in muscle, constricts blood vessels in digestive tract
• Increases blood glucose
– Inhibits insulin secretion and triggers glucagon secretion by the pancreas
– Stimulates glycogen breakdown in the liver and muscle
– Stimulates glycolysis in muscle
• Increase fat breakdown in adipose tissue
Lipid soluble hormones
• The response to a lipid-soluble hormone is usually a change in gene expression
• Steroids, thyroid hormones, and the hormonal form of vitamin D enter target cells and bind
to protein receptors in the cytoplasm or nucleus
• Protein-receptor complexes then act as transcription factors in the nucleus, regulating

transcription of specific genes
Control of blood glucose
• Insulin and glucagon are antagonistic hormones that help maintain glucose homeostasis
• The pancreas has clusters of endocrine cells called islets of Langerhans with alpha cells that
produce glucagon and beta cells that produce insulin
Target tissues for insulin and glucagon
• Insulin reduces blood glucose levels by:
– Promoting the cellular uptake of glucose

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– Slowing glycogen breakdown in the liver
– Promoting fat storage
– Glucagon increases blood glucose levels by:
– Stimulating conversion of glycogen to glucose in the liver
– Stimulating breakdown of fat and protein into glucose
• Diabetes mellitus is perhaps the best-known endocrine disorder
• It is caused by a deficiency of insulin or a decreased response to insulin in target tissues
• It is marked by elevated blood glucose levels
• Type I diabetes mellitus (insulin-dependent) is an autoimmune disorder in which the

immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells
• Type II diabetes mellitus (non-insulin-dependent) involves insulin deficiency or reduced

response of target cells due to change in insulin receptors
Coordination of endocrine nervous systems in vertebrates
• Signals from the nervous system initiate and regulate endocrine signals
• The hypothalamus receives information from the nervous system and initiates responses
through the endocrine system
• Attached to the hypothalamus is the pituitary gland composed of the posterior pituitary and
anterior pituitary
Anterior pituitary hormones
• Hormone production in the anterior pituitary is controlled by releasing and inhibiting

hormones from the hypothalamus
• For example, the production of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) in the hypothalamus
stimulates secretion of the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) from the anterior pituitary
• A tropic hormone regulates the function of endocrine cells or glands
• The four strictly tropic hormones are:
• Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
• Luteinizing hormone (LH)
• Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
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• Growth hormone (GH) is secreted by the anterior pituitary gland and has tropic and non-
tropic actions
• It promotes growth directly and has diverse metabolic effects
• It stimulates production of growth factors
• An excess of GH can cause gigantism, while a lack of GH can cause dwarfism
Thyroid hormones
• Thyroid hormones stimulate metabolism and influence development and maturation
• The thyroid gland consists of two lobes on the ventral surface of the trachea
– produces two iodine-containing hormones: triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4)
– Proper thyroid function requires dietary iodine for hormone production
• Hyperthyroidism, excessive secretion of thyroid hormones, causes high body temperature,

weight loss, irritability, and high blood pressure
– Graves’ disease is a form of hyperthyroidism in humans
• Hypothyroidism, low secretion of thyroid hormones, causes weight gain, lethargy, and
intolerance to cold
Adrenal hormones
• The adrenal glands are adjacent to the kidneys
• Each adrenal gland actually consists of two glands: the adrenal medulla (inner portion) and
adrenal cortex (outer portion)
Hormones from the adrenal medulla
• The adrenal medulla secretes epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
• These hormones are members of a class of compounds called catecholamines
• They are secreted in response to stress-activated impulses from the nervous system
• They mediate various fight-or-flight responses
• Adrenaline and noradrenaline:
• Trigger the release of glucose and fatty acids into the blood
• Increase oxygen delivery to body cells
• Direct blood toward heart, brain, and skeletal muscles, and away from skin, digestive
system, and kidneys
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• The release of adrenaline and noradrenaline occurs in response to nerve signals from the
hypothalamus
LOCOMOTION
• Animals move for a variety of reasons
• Find food, a mate, suitable habitat, escape predators
• Selective pressures have shaped the locomotion methods and mechanisms

employed by moving organisms
• Movement costs energy
• Vertebrate skeletal muscle is characterised by a hierarchy of smaller and smaller units
• A skeletal muscle consists of a bundle of long fibres, each a single cell, running parallel to the
length of the muscle
• Each muscle fibre is itself a bundle of smaller myofibrils arranged longitudinally
• The myofibrils are composed of two kinds of myofilaments:
• Thin filaments consist of two strands of actin and one strand of regulatory protein
• Thick filaments are staggered arrays of myosin molecules
• Skeletal muscle is also called striated muscle because the regular arrangement of
myofilaments creates a pattern of light and dark bands
• The functional unit of a muscle is called a sarcomere and is bordered by Z lines
Sliding filament theory
• According to the sliding-filament model, filaments slide past each other longitudinally,
producing more overlap between thin and thick filaments
• The sliding of filaments is based on interaction between actin of the thin filaments and
myosin of the thick filaments
• The “head” of a myosin molecule binds to an actin filament, forming a cross-bridge and
pulling the thin filament toward the centre of the sarcomere
Glycolysis and aerobic respiration generate the ATP needed to sustain muscle contraction
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Role of calcium and regulatory proteins
• A skeletal muscle fibre contracts only when stimulated by a motor neuron
• When a muscle is at rest, myosin-binding sites on the thin filament are blocked by the
regulatory protein tropomyosin
• For a muscle fibre to contract, myosin-binding sites must be uncovered
• This occurs when calcium ions (Ca2+) bind to a set of regulatory proteins, the troponin
complex
• Muscle fibre contracts when the concentration of Ca 2+ is high; muscle fibre contraction stops
when the concentration of Ca2+ is low
• The synaptic terminal of the motor neuron releases the neurotransmitter acetylcholine
• Acetylcholine depolarises the muscle, causing it to produce an action potential
• Action potentials travel to the interior of
the muscle fibre along transverse (T) tubules
• The action potential along T tubules causes the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) to release Ca2+
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• The Ca2+ binds to the troponin complex on the thin filaments
• This binding exposes myosin-binding sites and allows the cross-bridge cycle to proceed
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), formerly called Lou Gehrig’s disease, interferes with the
excitation of skeletal muscle fibres; this disease is usually fatal
• Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that attacks acetylcholine receptors on muscle

fibres; treatments exist for this disease
• Botox inhibits release of acetylcholine from nerves
• Contraction of a whole muscle is graded, which means that the extent and strength of its
contraction can be voluntarily altered
• There are two basic mechanisms by which the nervous system produces graded
contractions:
• Varying the number of fibres that contract
• Varying the rate at which fibres are stimulated
• In a vertebrate skeletal muscle, each branched muscle fibre is innervated by one motor
neuron
• Each motor neuron may synapse with multiple muscle fibres
• A motor unit consists of a single motor neuron and all the muscle fibres it controls
• Recruitment of multiple motor neurons results in stronger contractions
• A twitch results from a single action potential in a motor neuron
• More rapidly delivered action potentials produce a graded contraction by summation
• Tetanus is a state of smooth and sustained contraction produced when motor neurons
deliver a volley of action potentials
Types of skeletal muscle fibres
• Skeletal muscle fibres can be classified:
• As oxidative or glycolytic fibres, by the source of ATP
• As fast-twitch or slow-twitch fibres, by the speed of muscle contraction
Oxidative fibres
• Rely on aerobic respiration to generate ATP
• These fibres have many mitochondria, a rich blood supply, and much myoglobin
• Myoglobin is a protein that binds oxygen more tightly than haemoglobin does
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Glycolytic fibres
• Use glycolysis as their primary source of
ATP
• Glycolytic fibres have less myoglobin than oxidative fibres, and tire more easily
• In poultry and fish, light meat is
composed of glycolytic fibres,
while dark meat is composed of
oxidative fibres
• Slow-twitch fibres contract more slowly, but sustain longer contractions
• All slow twitch fibres are oxidative
• Fast-twitch fibres contract more rapidly, but sustain shorter contractions
• Fast-twitch fibres can be either glycolytic or oxidative
• White muscle fibres
• Mainly use glycolysis
• Fast-twitch, power activities (such as sprints or weightlifting)
• Cannot sustain contractions for significant lengths of time
• Found in the white meat (eg the breast) of chicken.
• Red muscle fibres
• Use oxidative phosphorylation (lots of mitochondria and myoglobin)
• Slow twitch, endurance (eg muscles for posture)
• Found in muscles of animals that require endurance (such as chicken leg

muscles or the wing muscles of migrating birds such as geese)
• Cardiac muscle, found only in the heart, consists of striated cells electrically connected by
intercalated disks
• Cardiac muscle can generate action potentials without neural input
• In smooth muscle, found mainly in walls of hollow organs, contractions are relatively slow
and may be initiated by the muscles themselves
• Contractions may also be caused by stimulation from neurons in the autonomic nervous
system
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• The three main types of skeletons are:
• Hydrostatic skeletons (lack hard parts)
• Exoskeletons (external hard parts)
• Endoskeletons (internal hard parts)
Hydrostatic skeleton
• A hydrostatic skeleton consists of fluid held under pressure in a closed body compartment
• This is the main type of skeleton in most cnidarians, flatworms, nematodes and annelids
• Annelids use their hydrostatic skeleton for peristalsis, a type of movement on land produced
by rhythmic waves of muscle contractions
Exoskeleton
• An exoskeleton is a hard encasement
deposited on the surface of an animal
• Exoskeletons are found in most molluscs and arthropods
• Arthropod exoskeletons are made of cuticle and can be both strong and flexible
• The polysaccharide chitin is
often found in arthropod cuticle
Endoskeleton
• An endoskeleton consists of hard supporting elements, such as bones, buried in soft tissue
• Endoskeletons are found in sponges, echinoderms and chordates
• A mammalian skeleton has more than 200 bones
• Some bones are fused; others are connected at joints by ligaments that allow freedom of
movement
Size and scale of skeletons
• To support body weight, posture may be more important than body proportions
• In mammals and birds, the position of legs relative to the body is very important in
determining how much weight the legs can bear
• Muscles and tendons hold the legs of large mammals relatively straight and
positioned under the body and bear most of the load
Types of locomotion
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• Most animals are capable of locomotion or active travel from place to place (ie are mobile)
and spend a considerable portion of time actively searching for food
• In locomotion, energy is expended to overcome friction and gravity
• Different types of locomotion vary in energy costs
VO2 max
• Maximum capacity of an individual’s
body to transport and use oxygen during exercise
• Measure of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic power
• Men 45 ml/kg/min
• Women 38 ml/kg/min
• Lance Armstrong 83 ml/kg/min
• Thoroughbred horse 180 ml/kg/min
• Siberian sled dogs 240 ml/kg/min
ANIMAL REPRODUCTION
• Sexual reproduction is the creation of an offspring by fusion of a male gamete (sperm) and
female gamete (egg) to form a zygote
• Asexual reproduction is creation of offspring without the fusion of egg and sperm
Results in genetic recombination, which provides:
• An increase in variation in offspring, providing an increase in the reproductive

success of parents in changing environments
• An increase in the rate of adaptation
• A shuffling of genes and the elimination of harmful genes from a population
• The mechanisms of fertilisation, the union of egg and sperm, play an important part in
sexual reproduction
• In external fertilisation, eggs shed by the female are fertilised by sperm in the external
environment
Internal fertilisation
• In internal fertilisation, sperm are
deposited in or near the female reproductive tract, and fertilisation occurs within the tract
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• Internal fertilisation requires behavioural interactions and compatible copulatory organs
• All fertilisation requires critical timing, often mediated by environmental cues, pheromones,
and/or courtship behaviour
Ensuring the survival of offspring
• All species produce more offspring than the environment can handle, and the proportion
that survives is quite small
• Species with external fertilisation produce more gametes than species with internal
fertilisation
• Species with internal fertilisation provide greater protection of the embryos and more
parental care
• The embryos of some terrestrial animals develop in amniote eggs with protective layers
• Some other animals retain the embryo, which develops inside the female
• In many animals, parental care helps ensure survival of offspring
• Monogamy is relatively rare among animals
Ovaries
• The female gonads, the ovaries, lie in the abdominal cavity
• Each ovary contains many follicles, which consist of a partially developed egg, called an
oocyte, surrounded by support cells
• Once a month, an oocyte develops into an ovum (egg) by the process of oogenesis
• Ovulation expels an egg cell from the follicle
• The remaining follicular tissue grows within the ovary, forming a mass called the corpus
luteum
• The corpus luteum secretes hormones that help to maintain pregnancy
• If the egg is not fertilised, the corpus luteum degenerates
Oviducts and uterus
• The egg cell travels from the ovary to the
uterus via an oviduct, or fallopian tube
• Cilia in the oviduct convey the egg to the uterus, also called the womb
• The uterus lining, the endometrium, has many blood vessels
• The uterus narrows at the cervix, then opens into the vagina
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Vagina and vulva
• The vagina is a thin-walled chamber that is the repository for sperm during copulation and
serves as the birth canal
• The vagina opens to the outside at the vulva, which consists of the labia majora, labia
minora, hymen, and clitoris
• The clitoris has a head called a glans covered by the prepuce
• The vagina, labia minora, and clitoris are rich with blood vessels; the clitoris also has many
nerve endings
Monotreme, marsupials and placental mammals
• Mammals are tetrapods that produce amniotic eggs
• Have hair and produce milk
• Endothermic
• Efficient respiratory and circulatory systems to support metabolism
• Differentiated teeth
Testes
• The male gonads, or testes, consist of highly coiled tubes surrounded by connective tissue
• Sperm form in these seminiferous tubules
• Leydig cells produce hormones and are scattered between the tubules
• Production of normal sperm cannot occur at the body temperatures of most mammals
• The testes of many mammals are held outside the abdominal cavity in the scrotum, where
the temperature is lower than in the
abdominal cavity
Ducts
• bFrom the seminiferous tubules of a testis, sperm pass into the coiled tubules of the
epididymis
• During ejaculation, sperm are propelled through the muscular vas deferens and the
ejaculatory duct, and then exit the penis through the urethra
Accessory glands
• Semen is composed of sperm plus secretions from three sets of accessory glands
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• The two seminal vesicles contribute about 60% of the total volume of semen (high in
fructose)
• The prostate gland secretes its products directly into the urethra through several small ducts
(alkaline fluid)
• The bulbourethral glands secrete a clear mucus before ejaculation that neutralises acidic
urine remaining in the urethra
Penis
• The human penis is composed of
three cylinders of spongy erectile tissue
• During sexual arousal, the erectile tissue fills with blood from the arteries, causing an
erection
• The head of the penis has a thinner skin covering than the shaft, and is more sensitive to
stimulation
• Gametogenesis, the production of gametes by meiosis, differs in females and males
• Sperm are small and motile and are produced throughout the life of a sexually mature male
- Spermatogenesis is production of mature sperm
• Eggs contain stored nutrients and are much larger
- Oogenesis is development of mature oocytes (eggs) and can take many years
Pathenogenesis
• Virgin birth?
• Growth and development of an embryo or seed without fertilization by a male
• Occurs naturally in some invertebrates, reptiles, fish and turkeys and has been used
artificially to create mice
• Parthenogenetic populations are typically all-female
• Does not occur naturally in mammals
• Use chemicals to signal the eggs not to eject half of their chromosomes (as they
would do in sexual reproduction) and command the eggs to start dividing
• Result in abnormal development due to genetic imprinting where chromosomes are

inactivated
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• mother's chromosomes are imprinted in the offspring's genome twice
• many mammals genomes are completely dependent on a mix of genes from both
sexes for smooth development
• Process can be used to create embryos for experimentation and possibly medical
treatment (eg stem cells)
• Human reproduction is coordinated by hormones from the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary,

and gonads
• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is secreted by the hypothalamus and directs the

release of FSH and LH from the anterior pituitary
• FSH and LH regulate processes in the gonads and the production of sex hormones
• The sex hormones are androgens, estrogens, and progesterone
• Sex hormones regulate:
• The development of primary sex characteristics during embryogenesis
• The development of secondary sex characteristics at puberty
• Sexual behaviour and sex drive
The reproductive cycles of females
• Hormones closely link the two cycles of female reproduction:
• Changes in the uterus define the menstrual cycle (also called the uterine cycle)
• Changes in the ovaries define the ovarian cycle
Menopause
• After about 500 cycles, human females undergo menopause, the cessation of ovulation and
menstruation
• Menopause is very unusual among animals
• Menopause might have evolved to allow a mother to provide better care for her children
and grandchildren
Menstrual vs oestrous cycles
• Menstrual cycles are characteristic of
humans and some other primates:
• The endometrium is shed from the uterus in a bleeding called menstruation
• Sexual receptivity is not limited to a timeframe

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• Oestrous cycles are characteristic of most mammals:
• The endometrium is reabsorbed by the uterus
• Sexual receptivity is limited to a “heat” period
• The length and frequency of oestrus cycles varies from species to species
• After blastocyst formation, the embryo implants into the endometrium
• The embryo releases human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which prevents menstruation
• Pregnancy, or gestation, is the condition of carrying one or more embryos in the uterus
- Duration of pregnancy in other species correlates with body size and maturity of the
young at birth
- Human gestation can be divided into three trimesters of about three months each
PLANT REPRODUCTION
Angiosperm reproduction
 Asexual reproduction – offspring with same genetic makeup as parents
 Sexual reproduction - offspring with different genetic makeup from parents
Asexual reproduction
 Advantageous in stable environment
 Risk of local extinction from outbreak of disease or predator
 Able to make many clones rapidly
 Offspring often more resilient than seedlings
 Often mature vegetative parts of parent
 Indeterminate growth of plants means:
 Meristematic tissues have undifferentiated cells to sustain new growth
 Parenchyma cells throughout plant can differentiate into specialised cells
 Detached fragments may be able to form whole new plant
 Most development takes place after germination
Fragmentation
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 Stolons
 Rhizomes
 Tubers
 Suckers
 Plantlets on leaves
Apomixis
 Diploid cell in ovule produces embryo
 Seeds formed without fertilisation
 Seeds that are genetically identical to parent
Able to be dispersed like normal seeds
Sexual reproduction
 Genetic variation
 Important in adapting to changing environment
 Important in arm’s race with predators
 Need to produce large number of seeds because low individual survival
 Expensive in terms of resources
 Seeds enable greater dispersal
 Seed dormancy enables plants to survive through unfavourable conditions
Angiosperm reproduction
 Dominant phase is sporophyte
 Trend in evolution in land plants
 Reduction of gametophyte
 Gametophyte dependent on sporophyte
 Main reproductive structure is flower
Flowers
 Can be complete or incomplete
 Can be unisexual (imperfect) or bisexual (perfect)
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 Monoecious plants have male and female flowers on same plant
 Dioecious plants have male and female flowers on separate plants
Stamens
 Consist of filament (stalk) and anther which contains pollen sacs (microsporangia) containing
microspore mother cells
 These cells undergo meiosis to produce 4 haploid microspores (male gametophyte)
 Microspores divide to produce generative cell and tube cell
 Two celled immature male gametophyte is pollen grain
Fertilisation
 Pollen germinates on stigma
 Pollen tube grows down style to ovary
 Generative cell nucleus divides mitotically to produce 2 sperm
 Discharged through micropyle into embryo sac
 One sperm fertilisers egg to form zygote
Double fertilisation
 Other combines with 2 polar nuclei to form triploid nucleus
 The triploid central cell forms endosperm
 Endosperm is food storage tissue
 Double fertilisation ensures that endosperm only develops when egg is fertilised
 Conserves nutrients
Phytochromes
 Plant pigments (chromophores)
 Function as photoreceptors and may be involved in the photoperiodic control of flowering

and seed germination
 Located in leaves and seeds
Pollination
 Transfer of pollen from anther to stigma
 Some self pollinate
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 Many have evolved mechanisms to favour cross pollination
 Selection pressure to optimise pollen transfer
 Wind or water
 Insects such as bees, beetles, moths and butterflies and flies
 Birds
 Mammals
Wind pollination
 Deciduous trees, conifers and grasses
 Large amounts of small, smooth pollen
 Long stamens and long styles with feathery stigmas
 Flowers tend to be small, inconspicuous
 No scent or nectar
 Awns and other structures produce eddy currents that increase pollen capture
ALSO LOOK AT POWERPOINTS PRINTED ON DNA
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Term2, 2010

Functional Biology NOTES

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Rebecca Jenner BIOL11100 (Func Biology)

FUNCTIONAL BIOLOGY (BIOL11100)

PLANT FORM AND FUNCTION – PART 1: Cell Types and stems

 Organisms interact with their environment, exchanging matter and energy

Plant Tissue Systems

Dermal Ground Vascular

 Some plant cells have primary cell wall

Primary and secondary cell walls

Primary cell walls

Secondary Cell walls

 Large rounded relatively unspecialised cells with large central vacuoles

 Have thickened primary walls

 Thick secondary walls strengthened with lignin

 Sieve tube members

 Water and mineral transport

Tracheids and vessel elements

 Tracheids are long thin tapered cells

 Above ground portion of plant

 Growth of shoot occurs by development of apical meristem

 Most plants have indeterminate growth

Primary vascular arrangement

 Vascular tissue runs through the stem in vascular bundles

 In dicots increase in girth comes from secondary growth

 Wood is the accumulation of secondary xylem tissue

 Cork cells have waxy walls impregnated with suberin

WEEK1 – PART 2: Plant form and function - Roots and leaves

 Below ground portion of plant

Balance between shoot and root

 Seedling usually has far greater water absorbing surface

 Root to shoot ratio decreases as plant ages

Prop Roots Adventitious Roots

Storage Roots Strangling Aerial Roots

 Dicots and gymnosperms have a taproot system

 Absorption of water and minerals occurs near tip

• Growth of root occurs by development of apical meristem

• The apical meristem of the root is protected by a root cap

• The protoderm develops into epidermis

• The procambium develops into vascular tissue

• The ground meristem into the cortex

• Zone of cell division

• Zone of elongation – pushes tip

• Root hairs and functional xylem

 Formed from small somatic region of meristematic cells

 Mucilage is produced to provide lubrication

 Cortex occupies the greatest area of primary body of most roots

 Dicots with secondary growth often shed cortex early

 Monocots retain cortex

 Cortical tissue contains air spaces

 Innermost layer, endodermis, is compact and lacks air spaces

Primary Vascular System

 Monocots have many protoxylem

 The inner most layer of cortex is

 The layer of cells within the

 Endodermis cells has Casparian strips

 Contains suberin in spaces in walls

 Blocks apoplastic movement of water

 Controls water movement into protoxylem points

 Originates from procambium

 Gives rise to lateral roots

 In secondary growth gives rise to first cork cambium