Unit 2 - Transport in Plant

Unit 2: Transport in plants
Structure of cellular and tissue of dicot leaf in cross section
The leaf consists of many layers, starting from the ‘Cuticle’ at both surfaces then
the ‘upper Epidermal layer’ then the ‘mesophyll cells’ which are classified into 2
parts:
 Palisade mesophyll
 Spongy mesophyll
And at the center, there are ‘vascular bundles’ which have phloem and xylem.
And then there are the ‘lower epidermal layer’, ‘Guard cells’, and stomata.
The function of cellular and tissue in leaf:

Each part of the leaf has a specific function, which is responsible for the metabolic
reactions inside the leaf.
Cuticle: A thin layer above the leaf to prevent evaporation of water.
Upper epidermal: a thin and transparent layer to allow light to enter the palisade
mesophyll
Palisade mesophyll: consists of cells that are tightly packed with chloroplasts to
absorb more light
Spongy mesophyll: Has air spaces, to increase the rate of diffusion of gasses such
as carbon dioxide.
Lower epidermal: contain guard cells and stomata
Guard cells: open and close stomata depending on conditions, for getting out
oxygen and for carbon to enter
Stomata: Responsible for gas exchange, and for water evaporation
Vascular bundle: located in spongy mesophyll and contain xylem and phloem
 Xylem: For transferring water and minerals to stem and leaves
 Phloem: to transfer sucrose and amino acid in process called translocation.
Chloroplasts: for absorbing light
Adaptation of the leaf:
Transport vessels in plant
Plants contain 2 types of transport vessels:

 Xylem
 Phloem
Xylem:
transport water and minerals from the roots to the stem and leaves, and it only
moves upward
Phloem:
transport food materials (mainly sucrose and amino acids) made by the plant
from photosynthesis, and they move upward and downward
Phloem and xylem are located in the vascular bundle in spongy mesophyll
Position of
xylem and
phloem in
‘monocot
plant’ and in ‘dicot plant’ in both stem and root
In root:
In stem:
monocot stem
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Uptake of water by plant
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Pathway of water from soil to air

surrounding the leaf:
1. Osmosis causes water to pass into
the root hair cells,
2. Then it passes through the root
cortex and then into the xylem
vessel
3. Once the water gets into the xylem, it is carried up to the leaves where it
enters mesophyll cells
4. Then in diffuse through stomata in a process called transpiration
root hair cell → root cortex cells → xylem →
leaf mesophyll cells → stomata
Water potential gradient in uptaking water by plant:

Water passes from the soil to the root hair cell’s cytoplasm, by osmosis throw a
partially permeable cell membrane. This happens because the water in the soil
has a higher water potential than root hair cells. To maintain the concentration
gradient, root hair cells actively transport mineral salts into the cell to keep the
water low concentrated so it has high potential.
Investigation
Investigating Water Movement in Plants using stain:

1. Place plant in dyed water
2. Leave the plant for a suitable time for water to be uptake by plant
3. After a few hours, you can see the leaves turning the same color as the
dyed water, proving that water is being taken up
4. But to be more sure, we are going to make a cross-section
So, xylem vessels will be the same color as the stain (dyed water):
Investigating water movement in plants using a stain
Investigation: Prepare a slide
How to prepare a slide of cross-section for root hair dicot:
1. Wear gloves, coat, goggles, and mask to avoid infection. And sterilize the
plant with HCL.
2. Cut a slide from the roots using a sharp knife to have a thin slide, to allow
the light of the microscope to enter. You can use scalped
3. Get a slide of glass and put the sample, and add suitable stain blue, then
wait some time to make sure that the dye is absorbed by the tissue
4. Cover the plant with a cover slip, then add it to the microscope
5. Use the lowest power lens
6. Let the objective lens as close as possible from the stage, then start to
zoom out until maintain focus
Microscope structure:
Transpiration
It’s the loss of water from spongy mesophyll to the air, by diffusion throw
stomata in the form of water vapor.
How transpiration occurs:
When stomata open to let in carbon dioxide, water on the surface of spongy
mesophyll and palisade mesophyll diffuse out from the leaf throw the stomata.
Due to the large air spaces in the spongy mesophyll, more water will be on the
surface of spongy mesophyll, so transpiration increase
Importance of transpiration:
 To maintain turgidity
 Provides water for leaf cells for photosynthesis
 Transporting mineral ions, to maintain the concentration gradient of water
 to maintain water potential gradient
Factors affecting the rate of transpiration:
 Temperature
 Humidity
 Air movement
 Light intensity
 If humidity increases, the water concentration outside the plant increase,
so diffusion decreases.
Wilting of plant
If more water evaporates from the leaves of a plant than is available in the soil to
move into the root by osmosis, then wilting will occur.
Because plants will not have enough water to maintain their strength.
So, when the temperature is high most plants close their stomata avoiding high
loss of water.
Investigation: rate of transpiration
Potometer:
It’s used to measure the water uptake and rate of transpiration.
Bubble potometer:
Measure the distance oved by the air bubble in a certain time indicates the rate of
transpiration.
Investigating factors that affect the rate of transpiration:
Procedures:
1. Set up the potometer under the water using petroleum jelly between the
shot and the potometer.
2. Dry the plant from water
3. Insert an air bubble and note its place, and leave it for a certain time
4. Then note the new place that bubble moved to it, and the time taken
5. Divide the distance moved by air bubble by the time taken
6. Reset the apparatus by using reservoir
7. Repeat experiment 3 times and take average
Precautions:
 Insert small air bubble
 Set up the apparatus under the water, to avoid the entry of any unwanted
air bubbles
 Dry plant
As the water transpired from the leaves, plant uptake water from the beaker. So,
when the rate of transpiration increases more water uptaked by plant, so bubble
travel more distance in less time.
Mechanism of water uptake and transpiration pull
There are 4 forces enhancing the movement of water throw xylem:

 Cohesion (force between water molecule)
 Adhesion (force between water molecules and xylem walls)
 Root pressure (force produced by root) it’s also called hydrostatic force
 Transpiration pull
Mechanism of water uptake by transpiration pull:
Water moves through the xylem vessels in a continuous transpiration stream
from roots to leaves via the stem.
Transpiration stream happen because more water is absorbed by root hair cells
and transported to the leaves, to replace the water lost throw transpiration.
As water molecules are held together by cohesive forces (each individual
molecule ‘pulls’ on the one below it), so water is pulled up from the roots to the
leaves in a continuous column.
So, if the rate of transpiration from the leaves increases, water molecules are
pulled up the xylem vessels quicker.
Adaptations of xerophytes and hydrophytes
So, there is a correlation between water loss and water uptake
Xerophytes:
Plants live is hot and dry climate, that has poor water.
Adaptation of xerophytes leaves: (Marram plant)
 Thin leaves with small surface area and Hairy leaves
To trap water, and to reduce transpiration
 Thick wax cuticle
To decrease the evaporation and to decrease light intensity to prevent water loss
 Has sunken stomata
To increase humidity by trapping most of air, so transpiration decrease
 Has swollen stem
To store water
 Has no lower epidermis
No stomata, so loss of water is reduced
Hydrophytes:
Plants living in fresh water, so they have problem receiving carbon dioxide during
day and oxygen during night. Because water has high density than CO2 and O2
Adaptations of hydrophytes:
 Floating leaves, with large surface area
Have thin leaves that has large air spaces inside it. To keep it close to the surface
to absorb more CO2 and O2 and light intensity
 Lack of wax cuticle
Because no need to prevent water from evaporating
 Stomata located in upper the surface of leaves
To allow gas exchange of CO2 and O2
 Small roots
To make plant flow more
 Reduced xylem
Comparison between Hydrophytes and xerophytes:
Hydrophytes Xerophytes
Have large leaves, with large surface area. Has thin leaves with low surface area, and
hairy leaves
Lack of wax cuticle Thick wax cuticle
Stomata located upper the plant Has sunken stomata
Small roots Large roots
No xylem, and many air spaces Swollen to store water

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Unit 2: Transport in plants

Structure of cellular and tissue of dicot leaf in cross section

The function of cellular and tissue in leaf:

Adaptation of the leaf:

Transport vessels in plant

Plants contain 2 types of transport vessels:

Pathway of water from soil to air

Water potential gradient in uptaking water by plant:

Investigating Water Movement in Plants using stain:

Investigation: Prepare a slide

How to prepare a slide of cross-section for root hair dicot:

Investigation: rate of transpiration

Mechanism of water uptake and transpiration pull

There are 4 forces enhancing the movement of water throw xylem:

Adaptations of xerophytes and hydrophytes

So, there is a correlation between water loss and water uptake

Comparison between Hydrophytes and xerophytes:

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