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Homeostasis Unit 2

This document discusses homeostasis and hormonal control in organisms. It defines key terms like homeostasis, receptors, effectors, and set point. It explains negative and positive feedback mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis. Specific examples of negative feedback controlling blood glucose levels and osmoregulation are provided. The document also discusses how hormones help maintain homeostasis, describing the actions of steroid hormones which enter cells and peptide hormones which bind to surface receptors. Finally, it covers plant growth regulators, the role of ethylene in fruit ripening, and methods for controlling and speeding up fruit ripening.

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86 views14 pages

Homeostasis Unit 2

This document discusses homeostasis and hormonal control in organisms. It defines key terms like homeostasis, receptors, effectors, and set point. It explains negative and positive feedback mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis. Specific examples of negative feedback controlling blood glucose levels and osmoregulation are provided. The document also discusses how hormones help maintain homeostasis, describing the actions of steroid hormones which enter cells and peptide hormones which bind to surface receptors. Finally, it covers plant growth regulators, the role of ethylene in fruit ripening, and methods for controlling and speeding up fruit ripening.

Uploaded by

Sashidae
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HOMEOSTASIS

AND HORMONAL CONTROL


DEFINITIONS
Homeostasis –the maintenance of a relatively constant environment of organisms.
Receptor – detects changes
Effector –takes corrective action and brings about a change back to the set point
Set Point –a narrow range of values maintained by homeostatic mechanism
Homeostatic equilibrium – maintenance of the set point
Feedback – refers to the control mechanism brought about by effectors. This is mostly in the form of:
- negative feedback, in which the responses oppose the change e.g. if body temperature increases, negative
feedback will bring about a decrease.
- positive feedback, in which the change is enhanced rather than reversed e.g. during pregnancy, when
progesterone levels rise to thicken the endometrium and even more progesterone is secreted to further thicken
the endometrium . Positive feedback is rare but does occur in some circumstances.
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
BLOOD GLUCOSE REGULATION
To lower blood glucose level:
• Body cells become more
permeable to glucose
• Rate of respiration increases
• Glucose is converted to
glycogen

To raise blood glucose level:


• Body cells become less
permeable to glucose
• Respiration rate decreases
• Glycogen is broken down to
glucose
Osmoregulation and Temperature Control
HORMONES
Hormones are chemical substances which function along with the nervous system to
maintain homeostasis. They have the following features:
- Produced by endocrine/ductless glands
-Secreted directly into blood
-Travel in blood to target organs
-Bind to receptors on target organs
-Bring about an effect by altering some aspects of a cell’s metabolism, usually by
making or activating enzymes
-There are two main types – steroids and peptides
Hormonal Action -Steroid hormones

Steroid hormones are able to enter the


cell membrane and bind to a receptor in
the cytoplasm.
The receptor hormone complex will
enter the nucleus and bring about
transcription and the making of a
protein, usually an enzyme, which will
alter some activity of the cell.
Steroid hormones include oestrogen,
progesterone and testosterone
Hormonal Action –Peptide Hormones
Peptide hormones cannot enter cells,
but bind to surface receptors and
activate messenger molecules: These
are the steps you need to know:
1. Hormone binds to receptor on the
cell surface of target cell- does not
enter cell
4 cyclic AMP is formed which acts as a
messenger molecule
5. cAMP activates an enzyme
6. Activated enzyme brings about
change e.g.
• Alter membrane permeability
• Produce secretion
• Alter cell structure or function
PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
(HORMONES)
Plant growth substances operate like hormones but are generally not called hormones as they take their effect
where they are produced, while hormones travel to a target site to take their effect.
These include:
• Auxins – promote stem elongation and apical dominance by inhibiting growth of lateral buds
• Gibberrelins – promote stem elongation and breaks dormancy of seeds and buds
• Cytokinins – promotes cell division a
• Ethylene (ethene) is a gas that promotes fruit ripening
ETHYLENE AND FRUIT RIPENING

Climacteric fruits produce a burst of ethylene as they ripen and will continue to ripen after
harvesting.
Non-climacteric fruits do not ripen once they have been picked.
Effect of some plant
hormones
Changes during Fruit Ripening
Ethylene brings about an increase in respiration rate and activates several enzymes to bring
about changes associated with fruit ripening.

Change Reason for change


Change from green to Chlorophyll broken down by hydrolases
yellow
softening Cellulose cell walls broken down by cellulases
Pectins are hydrolysed by pectinases lessening the pectin
content
scented Large organic compounds are broken down to smaller
aromatic compounds by hydrolases
Get sweeter Starches hydrolysed to sugars by amylase
Acids broken down by kinases
Easily picked/falls off Senescence – an abscission layer forms
Control of fruit Ripening
Fruits e.g. bananas are harvested and transported by ships, taking several days to reach their destination.
They are harvested and packaged while green and kept in this condition until they are close to their
destination. This entails removing ethylene and slowing down respiration.

To delay ripening: To speed up ripening:


- pack carefully to prevent bruising - provide warm temperature
- Keep refrigerated at about 14 degrees C -Remove ethylene blocker or provide extra
ethylene by spraying from cannisters
- reduce oxygen
-increase oxygen supply
- Increase carbon dioxide levels to inhibit
ethylene production - reduce carbon dioxide
- Remove ethylene using sodium or potassium
manganate VII
- Remove any ripe or rotting fruit which produce
large amounts of ethylene
Artificial fruit ripening

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