Transport In Plants

Mind Map
By: Dr. Anand Mani

inCounse
 INTRODUCTION
• In a flowering plant the substances that would need to be transported are water, mineral
nutrients,organic nutrients and plant growth regulators.

• Water and mineral nutrients are taken up by roots and food is synthesised in the leaves.

• But plants do not have a circulatory system.

• So in plants, there are two broad strategies for transport ,short-distance and long-distance.

• Short-distance movement is through-diffusion ,cytoplasmic streaming and active transport, and

transport through longer distances is through vascular system ( xylem and phloem) and is called
TRANSLOCATION.

• Transport in xylem is essentially UNIDIRECTIONAL (of water and minerals) from roots to leaves
through the stems.

• Organic and mineral nutrients undergo MULTI DIRECTIONAL transport.

• From SENESCENT plant parts nutrients are withdrawn and moved to growing plants. So the
transport is complex but orderly Each organ is receiving some substances and giving out some
other.
 SHORT DISTANCE MOVEMENT

Property Simple Facilitated Active

Diffusion Diffusion Transport
1. Need special No Yes Yes
membrane
proteins
2. Highly No Yes Yes
selective
3. Transport No Yes Yes
saturates
4. Uphill No No Yes
movement
5. Need ATP No No Yes
1. Diffusion is the only means for gaseous movement within the plant body.

2. Porins are proteins that from large pores in outer membrane of plastids,
Mitochondria and some Bacteria.

3. In facilitated diffusion extracellular molecule is bound to transport protein which

then rotates and releases the molecule inside the cell e.g. water channels-
made of 8 different types of aquaporins.

Fig: Facilitated diffusion

4. Passive symports and antiports

• In Symport two molecules move

together in the same direction
and in opposite direction in
Antiport.

• In uniport a molecule moves

across a membrane independent
of other molecules in one
direction.
 PLANT-WATER RELATIONS
Water is essential for all physiological activities of plant . Because of its high demand water is
often the limiting factor for plant growth and productivity.

Terns:

1. Water Potential: water molecules possess kinetic energy.

The greater the concentration of water in a system, the greater is its kinetic energy or water potential.

i. Pure water have greatest water potential.

ii. Water moves from a system at higher water potential to the one having low water potential.
iii. It is denoted by Psi or Ψ and expressed in pascals.
iv. Water potential of pure water at standard temperature.
Which is not under any pressure, is taken as zero.
 2. Solute Potential:

The magnitude of lowering of water potential due to dissolution of solute

is called solute potential or Ψs.

(i) Ψs is always negative.

(ii) More the solute molecules, the lower is the Ψs

3. For a solution at atmospheric pressure, ( water potential)

Ψw = Ψs (Solute potential)

4. Numerically osmotic pressure is equivalent to the osmotic potential but the

sign is opposite.

5. Osmotic pressure is the positive pressure applied, while osmotic potential

is negative.
6. Pressure Potential:

Pressure builds up in a plant system when water enters a plant cell

due to diffusion, it makes the cell turgid, this increases the pressure
potential.

(i) It is usually positive.

(ii) Though negative potential or tension in xylem plays a major role
in water transport.

7. Water Potential is affected by both solute and pressure potential.

The relationship is : Ψw = Ψs + Ψp
OSMOSIS

1. Refer specifically to the diffusion of water across a differentially or

selectively permeable membrane.
2. Net direction and rate of osmosis depends on both pressure gradient
and concentration gradient.
3. Water moves from higher chemical potential to region of lower chemical
potential until equilibrium is reached

Fig: Demonstration of osmosis - Thistle funnel experiment

 PLASMOLYSIS

1. Occurs when water moves out of the cell and cell membrane of plant cell
shrinks away from its cell wall.
2. This happens when a cell tissue is placed in hypertonic solution.
3. The process of plasmolysis is reversible, when cells are placed in
hypotonic solution the cell regains its shape.
4. When water flow into the cell and out of the cells are in equilibrium, the
cells are said to be flaccid.
 IMBIBITION

1. Special type of diffusion when water is absorbed by solids-colloids

causing them to increase in volume.
2. Water potential gradient between the absorbent and the liquid
imbibed is essential for imbibition.
3. For any substance to imbibe any liquid, affinity between the adsorbant
and the liquid is also a pre-requisite.
Example: Absorption of water by seeds and dry wood.

Watermelon has over 92% water, herbaceous plants have only 10 to

15% of fresh weight as dry wt. A seed may appear dead but it still has
water.

1.Transport proteins of endodermal cells are control points, where a plant

adjusts the quantity and type of solutes that reach xylem.
2. Root endodermis because of suberin, actively transport ions in one
direction.
 LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT
1. Diffusion is a slow process. It can account for only short distance movement.
2. Long distance movement of water and minerals and food generally occur by
mass or bulk flow.
3. Mass flow is en masse movement due to pressure differences between the
two points.
4. Bulk movement is through vascular tissues called TRANSLOCATION .
5. Xylem mainly translocates WATER, MINERAL SALTS, some ORGANIC
NITROGEN and HORMONES.
6. PHLOEM, Translocates a variety of organic and inorganic solutes.
7. Water is absorbed by two distinct pathways.

• Apoplast: A system of adjacent cell wall except at casparian strips of

endodermis. This movement is dependent on the gradient.
• Symplast: A system of interconnected protoplasts.
8. In some plants symbiotic mycorrhizal association of fungus with root
system help in water and mineral absorption eg. Pinus seeds.
 WATER MOVEMENT UP A PLANT

1. Root Pressure : Only provide a modest push in overall process of water

transport. They do not play a major role in water movement up tall plants.

• The greatest contribution of root pressure is to re-establish

the continuous chains of water molecules in xylem.
• In many herbaceous plants, grass blades, root pressure is
the cause of loss of water in the form of liquid droplets
called GUTTATION.

2. TRANSPIRATION PULL: Cohesion-tension-transpiration pull model

of water transport accomplishes water movement in tall plants.

Transpiration is the evaporative loss of water by plants through stomata.

 The opening of stomata is caused due to change in turgidity of guard cells.

Opening is also aided by radial orientation of cellulose microfibrils in cell wall of guard cell.

Stomatal aperture with guard cells

Water movement in leaf

Transpiration driven ascent of xylem sap depends mainly on physical properties of water.
TRANSPIRATION & PHOTOSYNTHESIS- A COMPROMISE

1. An actively photosynthesising plant has an

insatiable need for water
2. Photosynthesis is limited by available water which
can be swiftly depleted by transpiration

3. A C4 plant loses only half as much water as a C3

plant for the same amount of CO2 fixed.
4. Temperature, light, humidity and wind
speed affect transpiration.

5. Plant factors like number and distribution of

stomata, percent of open stomata , water
status of plants, canopy etc. affect
transpiration.
 UPTAKE AND TRANSPORT OF MINERAL NUTRIENTS
1. Plants obtain their carbon and most of their oxygen from CO2 in
the atmosphere. However, their remaining nutritional
requirements are obtained from water and minerals in the soil.
2. Most minerals must enter the root by active absorption into the
cytoplasm of epidermal cell.
3. The active uptake of ions is partly responsible for the water
potential gradient in roots and therefore for the uptake of water
by osmosis.
4. Some ions also move into epidermal cells passively.
5. Mineral ions are frequently REMOBILISED from older,
senescing, dying parts (leaves) to younger leaves.
6. Elements most readily mobilised are phosphorus, nitrogen and
potassium. Some elements like calcium are not remobilised.
PHLOEM TRANSPORT : PRESSURE FLOW OR MASS FLOW HYPOTHESIS

1. Food, primarily SUCROSE, is transported by vascular tissue phloem form

source to sink.

2. Source: leaf (synthesise food), roots (storage)

3. Sink: Where needed or stored (buds of trees)

4. Since source – sink relation is variable, so direction of movement of phloem can

be bi-directional.

5. Phloem sap is mainly water and sucrose, but other sugars, hormones and
amino –acids are also translocated through phloem.
6. GIRDLING EXPERIMENT

• identifies the tissues through which food is transported.

• it shows that phloem is the tissue responsible for food

translocation.

• And transport takes place in one direction, i.e. towards the

roots.
Mechanism of Translocation
 MASS FLOW HYPOTHESIS
1. The accepted mechanism used for the translocation of sugars from source
to sink is called the pressure flow hypothesis.

Companion Living Phloem

2. Glucose Sucrose cells Sieve tube cells
(Prepared at the source) (Converted to
disaccharide) Loading
(Active
Unloading Transport)
(Active Transport)
Builds osmotic
pressure
Sink Water from
xylem
Used or stored

3. Loading and unloading are active processes.

 Means of Transport
1
23
24
 Plant-Water Relations
2
26
27
28
 Long Distance Transport
of Water
3
30
31
32
 Transpiration
4
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
 Phloem Transport: Flow
from Source to Sink
5
45
46
47
48
Thank You

inCounse