Bio 121

Introductory Botany
Y.Ntaila
Reading materials

• Mauseth, J. D. (2014). An Introduction to Plant

Biology ( 5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Burlington
• Nabors, M. W. (2004). Introduction to botany
(No. 580 N117i). Pearson,
• Berrie, G. K., Berrie, A., & Eze, J. M. O. (1990).
Tropical Plant Science. ELBS
•Botany
• Botany is a branch of Biology that deals with
the study of plants; including their structure,
properties and biochemical processes.

• In Botany, we deal with;

• Plant; anatomy, physiology, taxonomy,
geography, ecology, morphology, genetics,
molecular biology, ethnobotany and cytology
IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS

1. Ecological.
2. Conservation value
3. Experimental tools
4. Human Food
5. Medicines
6. Economic value
BOTANY; A HISTORY
• Why turn to plant?

• Alternative (“pleistocene overkill”)

• Medicine (disease prevalence) (35000-15000)

• Agriculture led to villages, communities, towns and

then cities (Civilization).

• Botany traced to early philosophers (Aristotle);

Studies animal plant interactions + more
 BOTANY; A HISTORY
Theophrastus (Father of Botany)

Wrote >200 articles in Botany

The most influential being;

1. “On the causes of plants”

2. “History of plants”
BOTANY; A HISTORY
• Pedanius Dioscorides wrote De Material medica ; A book
with illustrations used to identify plants of medicinal value
(First pharmacopoeia)

• This was followed up by herbals

• Herbals contain information (name, where found, plant

part used etc.) of how a given plant can be used.

• Early Herbals & Pharmacopoeia were not entirely correct

healing recipes! Based on doctrine of signatures
(Paracelsus)
Doctrine of signature
BOTANY; A HISTORY

Doctrine of signatures statement

•Herbs that resemble various parts of the body can be

used to treat ailments of that part of the body.
•Religion thought;
•“It was reasoned that the Almighty must have set his
sign upon the various means of curing disease which
he provided.”
BOTANY; A HISTORY
BOTANY; A HISTORY
Ginger: Good for your
stomach, spleen and
intestines. Ginger is
extremely good for a
good digestion and
the burning of
calories.
Kidney Beans: Kidney
beans are a rich
source of fiber, which
is helpful in lowering
cholesterol. High
cholesterol levels can
cause kidney disease.
Botany; A History
1. Some herbs treat ailments to which they do
not resemble at all.
2. The active ingredients (for healing properties)
are more abundant in other herbs than in
those herbs that resemble the organ in
question
3. Signatures are sought after the healing
properties of a herb are already identified.
BOTANY; BECOMES A
SCIENCE
BOTANY, A SCIENCE

• How did botany “become” a

science?

• Is science all about

herbals/pharmacopoeia?
What is science?

• Science is an organised attempt to understand

related phenomena or observed phenomena of
the nature.

• This is achieved using a specific protocol (the

scientific method)
BOTANY, A SCIENCE

• This protocol (the scientific method) comprises

four clearly defined
1. Observation
2. Hypothesis
3. Experiment
4. Results (data) for conclusions and theory
construction.
• NB: A theory is an explanation of an observation
based on facts or data
 BOTANY, A SCIENCE
• Various Scientific discoveries led to evolution of
Botany.
• Today Botany is a big field of Biology (along side
Zoology and Microbiology)
• Today, in Botany, we deal with;

• Plant; anatomy, physiology, taxonomy,

geography, ecology, morphology, genetics,
molecular biology, ethnobotany and cytology

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

• In Bio 111, we shall focus on plant life
i.e. its;
• Organization,
• Life chemistry,
• LIFE HISTORY, (Metabolism, Growth, reproduction,
• Movement, Response and Physiological processes.
• The aim at this level is to understand how the
above processes have gradually changed over time!
Introductory Botany
• Botany is a branch of Biology that deals with the
study of plants; including their structure, properties
and biochemical processes
• A plant is any multicellular eukaryotic life-form
characterised by;
i. Photosynthetic nutrition
ii. Unlimited growth in meristems
iii. Cells with cellulose
iv. Absence of locomotion and nervous systems
v. Life cycles with alternation of generations

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Attributes of plants
• They are eukaryotic and multicellular.
• Photosynthetic nutrition,
• Have essentially unlimited growth at meristems,
• Their cells contain cellulose in their walls
• Absence of organs of movement,
• Absence of sensory and nervous systems.
• They have life cycles with alternation of generations
• Have asexual or sexual Reproduction

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Bio 111: Focus will be on the Gradual Change

From single celled photosynthetic Bacteria

to the multi-cellular complex seed plants
 Bio 111,Overview of the topics
• Plants are those organisms with the capability to
synthesise their own organic substances via
photosynthesis.
• Under botany we shall study photosynthetic
1. Bacteria
2. Fungi
3. Lichens
4. Algae (Protista)
5. Liverworts & Mosses
6. Ferns
7. Conifers
8. Flowering Plants
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Classification of Life
CLASSIFICATION OF LIFE
Kingdoms of life
 KINGDOMS UNDER BOTANY

Botany

Monera

Protista Fungi

Plantae
 KINGDOM MONERA

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 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION SCHIZONTA
(EUBACTERIA)

Structural organization
•These lack;
rhodospirillum 1.Nuclear membranes
2.Vacuoles
3.Golgi apparatus
4.Endoplasmic reticulum
nitrobacter
•They have;
1.Cell wall
2.Cell membranes and other non
nitrozomonas • developed organelles
Ntaila
 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION SCHIZONTA
(EUBACTERIA)
Nutrition in Schizonta
•Photoautotrophic i.e. carry out photosynthesis (this
makes use of bacteriochlorophyll)
•Chemoautotrophic i.e. energy from oxidation of
inorganic components of their environment.

•NH4+ + 2O2 2H2O + NO-2 + Energy

•Heterotrophic: i.e. obtain ready made energy from other
organisms.
 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION SCHIZONTA
(EUBACTERIA)

REPRODUCTION IN SCHIZONTA
•By binary fission i.e. cell division
•(with no genetic exchange of materials).

•Where genetic exchange occurs its via;

1.Conjugation
2.Transformation (free environmental genetic material)
3.Transduction (bacteriophages)
 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION SCHIZONTA
(EUBACTERIA)

Conjugation process
 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION SCHIZONTA
(EUBACTERIA)

Transformation Process
KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION SCHIZONTA
(EUBACTERIA)
Transduction process
 KINGDOM MONERA;
DIVISION CYNOPHYTA (Blue-Green Algae)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION
CYNOPHYTA (Blue-Green Algae)

Structural organization

Can be unicellular, colonial or

filamentous (“multicellular”)
oscillato Gloeeothece
ria They lack;

1.Nuclear membranes
2.Vacuoles
scystone 3.Golgi apparatus
ma 4.Endoplasmic reticulum anabaena
•NUTRITION IN CYNOPHYTA

•Contain chlorophyll a for photosynthesis

•Produce Oxygen as by product.
•Chlorophyll enclosed in thyllakoids
(without a membrane)
•Contain other pigments (phycocyanin &
phycoerythrin).
•Have capacity to fix Nitrogen (in
heterocysts)
 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION CYNOPHYTA

✔ Cyanobacterial symbionts differentiate

into hormogonia and enter plants.

✔ The bacteria develop specialized

nitrogen- fixing cells called heterocysts.

✔ Whilst inside plants they enter into a

working symbiosis with the plant.
© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION
CYNOPHYTA
KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION
CYNOPHYTA
 HETEROCYSTS
Specialised cells for nitrogen fixation.

i.They have nitrogenase as enzyme.

ii.Devoid of oxygen (to protect enzyme) .
iii.Achieved by 4 cell walls with hydrophobic
properties
iv.Oxygen harvesting proteins
v.Polar plugs to limit cell to cell movement.
 KINGDOM MONERA; DIVISION
CYNOPHYTA
HAVE CAPACITY TO STORE FOOD.

Most of these organisms can store food (in

akinetes) for emergencies
✔Akinetes are called the resting pores.
✔They store food for emergencies.
✔They have thick cell wall with 3 layers
 REPRODUCTION IN CYNOPHYTA
✔Can proceed merely by; cell division

✔Fragmentation of filaments (hormogonia)

✔Genetic recombination is as yet still speculative.

✔Transformation is highly likely.

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Endosymbiosis theory
▪ The endosymbiotic theory posits that some
eukaryotic cell organelles, such as
mitochondria and plastids, evolved from
free-living prokaryotes.
▪ Some of the organelles in today's
eukaryotic cells were once prokaryotic
microbes.
The origins of eukaryotic plants
✔ Prokaryotic (anaerobic) cells grew in size and
developed infoldings
✔ There folding break off surrounding cells
organelles
The origins of eukaryotic plants
 A B C D
A prokaryote Over a long period Some prokaryotes Over time, the
ingested some of time, these ingested some cyanobacteria
aerobic bacteria. bacteria became cyanobacteria became chloroplasts
These bacteria were mitochondria, and which contained and could no longer
protected by the could no long live on photosynthetic live on their own.
prokaryote and their own. pigments.
produced energy for
it.
 The origins of eukaryotic plants
✔ An aerobic protobacterium ingested by
eukaryotic cell. (Protobacterium becomes
mitochondria)
✔ The aerobic bacterium ingests cyanobacteria
(the later becomes chloroplast)
✔ The final product is aerobic photosynthetic
organism (plant)

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