Transport in plants Handout

1. Transport in plants
Plants have a small SA:V ratio and therefore they need a transport system. Every cell in the
plant needs a supply of oxygen, water, nutrients and minerals. The leaves photosynthesise
and therefore need water but they cannot absorb this from the air. So, water and mineral
ions must be transported from the roots up to the leaves and the sugars are transported from
the leaves to the rest of the plant.

Vascular tissue
The xylem tissue transports water and soluble mineral ions upwards. The phloem tissue
transports assimilate up or down. These tissues are highly specialised to carry out their
function.
Dicotyledonous plants have 2 seed leaves and have a characteristic distribution of vascular
tissue. The xylem and phloem are found together in vascular bundles. These bundles may
contain other types of tissue such as collenchyma or sclerenchyma. They give support and
strength to the plant.

Young roots
The vascular bundle is found at the centre of a young root. There is a central core of xylem
(often in the shape of an x) and the phloem is found between the arms of the X shaped
xylem tissue. This arrangement provides strength
to withstand the pulling forces the roots are
exposed to.
Around the vascular bundle is the endodermis
which is involved in the pathways of transporting
water. Around the vascular bundle are cortex
cells and just inside the endodermis are
meristematic cells called the pericycle.

Stem
The vascular bundles are found near the outer
edge of the stem and in non woody plants, the
bundles are separate. However, in woody plants,
the bundles become continuous in older stems.
The xylem is found on the inside of each vascular
bundle and the phloem is on the outside. In
between is a layer of meristematic cambium which
produced new xylem and phloem.

Leaf
The vascular bundles form the midrib and veins of the leaves. A dicotyledonous leaf has a
branching network of veins that get smaller as the spread away from the midrib. In each
vein, the xylem is on top of the phloem.
 2. Transport tissue
Xylem
Xylem is a tissue used to transport water and mineral ions from the roots up to the leaves and
other parts of the plants. Xylem tissue consists of vessels to carry water and dissolved mineral
ions, fibres to help support the plant and living parenchyma cells which act as packing tissue
to separate the vessels.
As xylem vessels develop, lignin is embedded into the walls of the cells, making the walls
waterproof but also killing the cell. The end walls and contents of the cells decay, leaving a
long column of dead cells. The lignin strengthens the vessel and prevents it from collapsing.
The lignin forms patterns in the wall which and be spiral, annular (rings) or reticulate (broken
rings). This adds flexibility to the stem.
Some area of the wall are not lignified, leaving gaps. These gaps form bordered pits which
allow water to move between vessels or into living parts of the plant.

Adaptations
Xylem vessels can transport water because;
• They are made from dead cells aligned end to end to form a continuous column.
• The tubes are narrow, so water columns do not break, and capillary action is
continuous.
• Bordered pits allow water to move sideways,
• Lignin in patterns allows xylem to stretch and bend.
• There are no cell contents or cytoplasm to block water flow.

Phloem
Phloem is a tissue used to transport assimilates which are mainly sucrose and amino acids.
The sucrose is dissolved in water to form sap. The phloem is composed of sieve tubes and
companion cells.

Sieve tube elements

Companion cells
In between the sieve tube elements are small cells with a large nucleus and dense
cytoplasm. These are companion cells which have many mitochondria to produce ATP
needed for active processes. The companion cells carry out metabolic processes needed to
load assimilated into the sieve tubes.
 3. Transpiration
Transpiration is the loss of water vapour
though the stomata in the leaf. Some
water may evaporate through the upper
surface of the lead, but this is minimised
by the waxy cuticle. The stomata are
where most water vapour is lost as they
have to remain open for gas exchange.
The pathway often looks like this:
• Water enters the leaf through
xylem and moves into the spongy
mesophyll via osmosis. It may also
take the apoplast pathway and
travel via cell walls.
• Water evaporated from cell walls
of the spongy mesophyll
• Water vapour moves by diffusion
out through the open stomata.
This depends on the water vapour
potential gradient.
Transpiration is an unavoidable
consequence of gas exchange however
it is also essential for the plant to survive. It
transports mineral ions up the plant,
maintains cell turgidity, supplies water for
growth, elongation and photosynthesis.

4. Transpiration Stream
The transpiration stream is the movement of water from the soil to the air through the plant.
The pull is mainly created by the water potential gradient between the soil and air in the leaf.
The epidermis of the roots contain root hair cells which have a large surface area and
absorb mineral ions and water from the soil. The water moves across the cortex cells around
the vascular bundle and down the water potential gradient into the vascular bundle past
the endodermis. Water may travel down the apoplast pathway up to the endodermis
however, it must then enter the symplast pathway as it is blocked by the Casparian strip. This
is because the walls of the xylem are waterproof/lignified whilst the cell walls of the cortex
are living.

Root pressure
The action of actively pumping mineral ions into the xylem draws water into the xylem. This
builds pressure up in the root medulla and water is forced up the xylem by a few meters.

Transpiration pull
Water lost through transpiration must be replaced by water in the xylem. In the xylem, water
molecules are attracted to each other by cohesive forces. They are also attracted to the
molecules in the wall by adhesive forces. This holds the water in a long column. As water
molecules are lost at the top, the chain is pulled up. The pull creates tension in the water
column and therefore xylem vessels must be lignified.
If one column of water breaks, water can continue upwards through another vessels vie
bordered pits.

5. Adapted Plants
Terrestrial plants
All plants need water however, those that live on land may find it difficult to acquire water.
Plants take up lots of CO2 during the day and remove oxygen as a by-product of oxygen.
So, stomata must be open, and water can be lost easily. So, terrestrial plants must be
adapted to reduce water loss and replace the water that is lost.
This can be through adaptations such as a waxy cuticle, stomata on the bottom of the leaf,
stomata open during the day only and deciduous plants losing leaves in the winter.

Xerophytes
Xerophytes are plants that are adapted to living in arid conditions where there is little water.
Leaves can be rolled up to trap air and water vapour. They have thick waxy cuticles to
reduce water loss though evaporation. Stomata are often on the inside of the leaves to
reduce the water vapour potential gradient. They are also found in sunken pits for the same
reason.
Cacti are succulents which means they store water in stems which are fleshy. Their leaves are
in fact spines and therefore there is less surface area. The stem is green for photosynthesis
and the roots are widespread.
Some xerophytes close their stomata when there is little water available and they may even
only open their stomata during nights.

Hydrophytes
Hydrophytes are plants that are adapted to living in water and they have to face challenges
such as getting oxygen. A water lily is an example of a xerophyte and it has the following
adaptations:
• Large air spaces in the leaf to keep the leaf floating to absorb sunlight at the water
surface.
• The stomata are on the upper layer of the leaf rather than facing downwards, into
the water.
• The stem has large air spaces for buoyancy but also to slow quicker diffusion of
oxygen to the roots
Transpiration will be very slow in hydrophytes as the water vapour potential gradient is very
small. However, if transpiration stops, the plant may die. So many hydrophytes contain
structures called hydathodes which release water droplets from the tips of leaves to increase
the water potential gradient.

6. Translocation
Assimilates are transported around the plant by translocation in the phloem. Assimilates are
mainly sugars (sucrose) and amino acids. They are made by the plant using resources from
the environment. A part of the plant that loads assimilates into the phloem sieve tubes is a
source and a part that uses it up is called a sink

Active Loading
Sucrose is loaded into the sieve tube by an active process. Companion cells provide the ATP
to actively transport H+ ions into the photosynthesising cell. As a result, there is a
concentration gradient of H+ ions and the ions diffuse back into the companion cell though
special cotransport proteins. These proteins only allow hydrogen ions to pass if accompanied
by sucrose molecules. So, sucrose is actively loaded into the companion cell. This is called
Cotransport. The from the companion cell, the sucrose can diffuse through the
plasmodesmata into the sieve tube.

Movement of sucrose
Sucrose is moved along the phloem via mass flow. A solution of sucrose, amino acids and
other assimilates flows along in a sap. The flow of sap is caused differences in hydrostatic
pressure causing a pressure gradient. Water enters the tube at the source and leaves at the
sink.

Source
Sucrose that enters the sieve tube makes the water potential more negative and as a result,
water molecules are drawn into the sieve tube from surrounding cells. This increases the
hydrostatic pressure at the source.
A source is any part of the plant that loads sucrose into the sieve tube. In spring, this may be
the roots where stored starch is converted into sucrose. The obvious source is the leaf.

Sink
A sink is anywhere that removes sucrose from the sieve tubes. Sucrose may be used for
respiration or growth or it could be converted into starch. Sucrose can diffuse out of the sieve
tube through the plasmodesmata. The removal of sucrose increases the water pressure at
the sink and water moves out of the sieve tube into the surrounding cells. This decreases the
hydrostatic pressure at the sink.