Lesson 18.

1: Compare and Contrast Process in Plants and Animals:

Nutrient Procurement and Processing (1 of 3)

What is Nutrition?
- Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and
other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth,
reproduction, health and disease of an organism.
- It includes food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis,
catabolism and excretion. Commented [u1]: Definition of terms:

Digestion - the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules

into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be
Two Types of organisms based on the mode of nutrition. absorbed into the body.

Biological assimilation - is the combination of two

A. Autotrophs- organisms that obtain energy from sunlight and chemicals to processes to supply cells with nutrients. Such as Absorption
produce their own food. Examples are plants; chemosynthetic bacteria of Vitamins and other chemicals from food and the chemical
alteration of substances in the bloodstream by the liver or
cellular secretions.
B. Heterotrophs- organisms that cannot make their own food and obtain their
energy from other organisms. Examples are animals and fungi Biosynthesis - is a multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed process
where substrates are converted into more complex
products in living organisms. In biosynthesis, simple
Plant Nutrition compounds are modified, converted into other compounds,
or joined together to form macromolecules.

Basic Definition of plants Catabolism- breaks down large molecules (such as

polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins) into
smaller units (such as monosaccharides, fatty acids,
A Plant is a living organism growing in a permanent site. It absorbs water and nucleotides, and amino acids, respectively).
inorganic substances through its roots and synthesizing nutrients in its leaves
by the process of photosynthesis. Excretion - is a process by which metabolic waste is
eliminated from an organism.

Plants are unique organisms that can absorb nutrients and water through Reference- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition
their root system, as well as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Soil
quality and climate are the major determinants of plant distribution and
growth. The combination of soil nutrients, water, and carbon dioxide,
along with sunlight, allows plants to grow.

Nutritional Requirements of plants

1. Water
2. Carbon dioxide

Water and carbon dioxide are the raw materials needed for photosynthesis,
the process by which plants convert the energy from sunlight into chemical
energy.
The majority of volume in a plant cell
is water; it typically comprises 80 to
90 percent of the plant’s total weight.

Plant roots absorb water from the

soil through root hairs and transport Commented [u2]: Root hairs- slender extensions of
specialized epidermal cells that greatly increase the
it up to the leaves through the xylem. surface area available for absorption.

As water vapor is lost from the

leaves, the process of transpiration
and the polarity of water molecules
(which enables them to form
hydrogen bonds) draws more water
from the roots up through the plant to
the leaves (Figure 1).

Plants need water to support cell

structure, for metabolic functions, to
carry nutrients, and for
photosynthesis.

3. Essential Nutrients or Elements

Plant cells need essential substances, collectively called nutrients, to

sustain life. Plant nutrients may be composed of either organic or
inorganic compounds.

It also includes macronutrients which are normally required in amounts

above 0.5% of the plant’s dry weight; and micronutrients which are
required in minute or trace amounts
Two routes for the absorption of water and minerals across plant roots:

A. Symplast Route
- The symplast route is where water moves between adjacent cells through
the plasmodesmata, which are gateways for the exchange of molecules
of adjacent cells. It occurs by means of osmosis.

B. Apoplast Route
- Facilitates the transportation of water and solutes across a tissue or
organ. Apoplast route includes the cell wall and intercellular spaces,
which are fully permeable. This route takes water and solute near the
xylem until it reaches the Casparian strip where water and solutes shifts
to the cytoplasm to continue. It occurs by means of passive diffusion.

Both routes carry water and nutrients towards the xylem

 Nutritional Adaptation by plants

Autotrophic Plants
Nitrogen Fixation: Root and Bacteria Interactions
Nitrogen is an important macronutrient because it is part of nucleic acids and proteins. Atmospheric
nitrogen, which is the diatomic molecule N2, or dinitrogen, is the largest pool of nitrogen in terrestrial
ecosystems.

However, plants cannot take advantage of this nitrogen because they do not have the necessary
enzymes to convert it into biologically useful forms. However, nitrogen can be “fixed,” which
means that it can be converted to ammonia (NH3) through biological, physical, or chemical
processes. As you have learned, biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is the conversion of
atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), exclusively carried out by prokaryotes such as
soil bacteria or cyanobacteria. Biological processes contribute 65 percent of the nitrogen used in
agriculture. The following equation represents the process:

N2+16 ATP+8e−+8H+⟶2NH3+16 ADP+16Pi+H2

The most important source of BNF is the symbiotic interaction between soil bacteria and
legume plants, including many crops important to humans The NH3 resulting from fixation
can be transported into plant tissue and incorporated into amino acids, which are then made into
plant proteins. Some legume seeds, such as soybeans and peanuts, contain high levels of protein,
and serve among the most important agricultural sources of protein in the world.

Soil bacteria, collectively called rhizobia, symbiotically interact with legume roots to form specialized Commented [u3]: root nodules – localized swellings in
structures called nodules, in which nitrogen fixation takes place. This process entails the reduction of roots of certain plants where bacterial cells exist
symbiotically with the plant. The bacteria help the plant
atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, by means of the enzyme nitrogenase. fix nitrogen and in turn, the
bacteria are able to utilize some organic compounds
provided by the plant.
Through symbiotic nitrogen fixation, the plant benefits from using an endless source of nitrogen from
the atmosphere. The process simultaneously contributes to soil fertility because the plant root system
leaves behind some of the biologically available nitrogen. As in any symbiosis, both organisms benefit
from the interaction: the plant obtains ammonia, and bacteria obtain carbon compounds generated
through photosynthesis, as well as a protected niche in which to grow.

Mycorrhizae: The Symbiotic Relationship between Fungi and Roots

A nutrient depletion zone can develop when there is rapid soil solution uptake, low nutrient
concentration, low diffusion rate, or low soil moisture. These conditions are very common; therefore,
most plants rely on fungi to facilitate the uptake of minerals from the soil. Fungi form symbiotic
associations called mycorrhizae with plant roots, in which the fungi actually are integrated into the
physical structure of the root. The fungi colonize the living root tissue during active plant growth.

Mycorrhizae (singular, mycorrhiza) – a symbiotic interaction between a young root and

a fungus. The fungus obtains sugars and nitrogen-containing compounds from root cells
while the plant is able to get some scarce minerals that the fungus is better able to absorb
from the soil.

Through mycorrhization, the plant obtains mainly phosphate and other minerals, such as zinc and
copper, from the soil. The fungus obtains nutrients, such as sugars, from the plant root (Figure 6).
Mycorrhizae help increase the surface area of the plant root system because hyphae, which are narrow,
can spread beyond the nutrient depletion zone. Hyphae can grow into small soil pores that allow access
to phosphorus that would otherwise be unavailable to the plant. The beneficial effect on the plant is
best observed in poor soils. The benefit to fungi is that they can obtain up to 20 percent of the total
carbon accessed by plants. Mycorrhizae functions as a physical barrier to pathogens. It also provides an
induction of generalized host defense mechanisms, and sometimes involves production of antibiotic
compounds by the fungi.

Heterotrophic Plants
Some plants cannot produce their own food and must obtain their nutrition from outside
sources—these plants are heterotrophic. This may occur with plants that are parasitic or
saprophytic. Some plants are mutualistic symbionts, epiphytes, or insectivorous.

Plant Parasites

A parasitic plant depends on its host for survival. Some parasitic plants have no leaves. An
example of this is the dodder (Figure 7a), which has a weak, cylindrical stem that coils around
the host and forms suckers. From these suckers, cells invade the host stem and grow to connect
with the vascular bundles of the host. The parasitic plant obtains water and nutrients through
these connections. The plant is a total parasite (a holoparasite) because it is completely
dependent on its host. Other parasitic plants (hemiparasites) are fully photosynthetic and only use
the host for water and minerals. There are about 4,100 species of parasitic plants.
Saprophytes

A saprophyte is a plant that does not have chlorophyll and gets its food from dead matter,
similar to bacteria and fungi (note that fungi are often called saprophytes, which is incorrect,
because fungi are not plants). Plants like these use enzymes to convert organic food materials
into simpler forms from which they can absorb nutrients (Figure 7b). Most saprophytes do not
directly digest dead matter: instead, they parasitize fungi that digest dead matter, or are
mycorrhizal, ultimately obtaining photosynthate from a fungus that derived photosynthate from
its host. Saprophytic plants are uncommon; only a few species are described.

Symbionts

A symbiont is a plant in a symbiotic relationship, with special adaptations such as mycorrhizae

or nodule formation. Fungi also form symbiotic associations with cyanobacteria and green algae
(called lichens). Lichens can sometimes be seen as colorful growths on the surface of rocks and
trees (Figure 8a). The algal partner (phycobiont) makes food autotrophically, some of which it
shares with the fungus; the fungal partner (mycobiont) absorbs water and minerals from the
environment, which are made available to the green alga. If one partner was separated from the
other, they would both die.

Epiphytes

An epiphyte is a plant that grows on other plants, but is not dependent upon the other plant for
nutrition (Figure 8b). Epiphytes have two types of roots: clinging aerial roots, which absorb
nutrients from humus that accumulates in the crevices of trees; and aerial roots, which absorb
moisture from the atmosphere.

Insectivorous Plants

An insectivorous plant has specialized leaves to attract and digest insects. The Venus flytrap is
popularly known for its insectivorous mode of nutrition, and has leaves that work as traps
(Figure 9).

The minerals it obtains from prey compensate for those lacking in the boggy (low pH) soil of its
native North Carolina coastal plains. There are three sensitive hairs in the center of each half of
each leaf. The edges of each leaf are covered with long spines. Nectar secreted by the plant
attracts flies to the leaf. When a fly touches the sensory hairs, the leaf immediately closes. Next,
fluids and enzymes break down the prey and minerals are absorbed by the leaf. Since this plant is
popular in the horticultural trade, it is threatened in its original habitat.

Ref: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-biology2/chapter/plant-nutrition/
https://www.majordifferences.com/2013/12/difference-between-apoplast-
and.html#.XcgFktYRXIU

https://www.biologyexams4u.com/2012/11/plasmodesmata.html#.XcgHg9YRXIV

https://www.vedantu.com/biology/apoplast