Transport in Plants

Structure of Transport Tissues

Plan diagram of leaf:

Plan diagram of root:

Plan diagram of stem:

 Arrangement of xylem and phloem
(vascular bundle) in:

1. Leaf - Located in the middle, with the xylem being above the phloem

2. Root - Located in the centre, enclosed by the endodermis

3. Stem - Located on the periphery, with xylem being inwards and phloem being outwards

Xylem and Phloem

 Xylem vessels:

o These are dead cells

o Form a long, narrow and hollow tube to increase capillarity

o They transport water unidirectionally (from roots to leaves)

o Hollow / no cell contents and no end walls: Little resistance to flow of water

o Wide lumen: Large amounts of water can be transported

o Lignified cell walls: Prevent collapse of vessels - mechanical support, impermeable to

water

o Cellulose cell wall: Allows adhesion of water molecules to xylem walls as walls are
hydrophilic

o Pits: Allow lateral movement of water and connect to all parts of plant

o Narrow diameter: For adhesion and to prevent air locks

  Phloem:

o Contains 2 types of cells

 Sieve tube element: It does not contain many organelles (no vacuole and
nucleus) to decrease resistance to flow of phloem sap

 Companion cell: Contains higher numbers of mitochondria and ribosomes as

they are metabolically active cells

o Adaptations:

 Sieve pores: Allow easy flow from one sieve tube element to the next

 Sieve plates: Prevent sieve tube from bursting

 Little cell contents: Little resistance to flow of sap

 Plasmodesmata: Allows flow to/from companion cells for loading and unloading
of sucrose

 Thin walls: Rapid entry of water at source to build up hydrostatic pressure

Transport Mechanisms

 Some mineral ions and organic compounds can be transported within plants dissolved in water
 Water reaches the root hair from the soil by:

o The root hairs from the soil take up water

o The soil has a relatively high-water potential, while the cytoplasm of the root hair cell
has a relatively low water potential, as it contains many more inorganic and organic
substances

o Therefore, water moves into the root hair cells by osmosis

o The large number of root hairs increases the surface area, allowing more water and ions
to be taken up by the cells

o Ions may be taken up with water by osmosis or separately through facilitated diffusion
or active transport

 Water reaches the xylem from the root hair through two main pathways:

o Apoplast pathway:

 The movement of water through cell walls and intercellular spaces/ dead
material by mass flow

 Water can pass via apoplast pathway until it reaches the Casparian strip, as it is
impermeable to water due to a suberin deposition in the cell wall

 Water moves through the xylem takes the apoplastic route as xylem vessels are
dead and contain no cytoplasm

o Symplast pathway:

 This pathway involves the movement of water through the cytoplasm/ living
material

 Firstly, water passes through the partially permeable membrane

 Then, the water passes through cytoplasm and vacuole before moving from one
cell to another through the plasmodesmata
Transport in the Xylem

 Transpiration:

o A process involving the loss of water in the form of water vapour from the aerial parts of
the plant

o It is an inevitable consequence of gaseous exchange and thus photosynthesis, as

stomata open, and this allows water vapour to diffuse

o Water vapour in air spaces diffuses out of the leaf through stomata down the water
potential gradient

o Water evaporates from the cell walls of spongy mesophyll cells into the intercellular air
spaces

o This causes water to move from the cell's cytoplasm into the cell wall

o Water from neighbouring xylem vessels (through pits) moves into mesophyll cells by
osmosis, down a water potential gradient

o A cohesion-tension and transpiration pull is created at the top of the plant due to the
evaporation of water, as the hydrostatic pressure at the top of the xylem is reduced

o This causes water to move up the xylem from roots to leaves

o Factors affecting the rate of transpiration:

 The surface area of the leaf

 Humidity

 Wind speed

 Number of stomata

 Temperature
  Light intensity

 Thickness of cuticle

 Water potential gradient between leaf and surrounding air

 Hydrogen bonding in water causes:

o Cohesion:

 Hydrogen bonds are formed between individual water molecules

 Therefore, as one water molecule moves up the xylem, it pulls the other
molecule along with it

 This allows for water molecules to move up as a continuous stream

o Adhesion:

 Hydrogen bonds are temporarily formed between a water molecule and

cellulose cell walls of the xylem.

 This allows water molecules to continue moving upwards against gravity.

Transport in the Phloem

 Translocation:

o The transport of soluble organic substances within a plant

o These are called assimilates, and they include sucrose and amino acids

o Sugars are transported as sucrose instead of glucose as glucose interferes with the water
potential of cells

 Loading of sucrose:

o Sucrose is loaded into the phloem tubes by companion cells at the source (leaves)

o This is made possible due to the transport proteins present in the cell surface membrane
of companion cells

o The two transport proteins are:

 The proton pump, driven by ATP, pumps H+ ions (protons) out of the companion
cell’s cytoplasm into the cell wall (apoplast pathway), creating a high
concentration of H+ ions in the cell wall

 The H+ ion-sucrose co-transporter then drives the movement of H+ ions from a

region of high concentration (the cell wall of companion cells) to a region of low
concentration (cytoplasm of companion cell) via facilitated diffusion, along with
sucrose, against its concentration gradient via secondary active transport/co-
transport
 o After sucrose is in the cytoplasm of the companion cell, it diffuses into the phloem sieve
tubes through plasmodesmata, down a concentration gradient.

o When sucrose enters phloem sieve tubes, the water potential of the cells decreases due
to an increase in solute.

o This causes water to move in from xylem vessels, causing an increase in hydrostatic
pressure.

o Unloading occurs at the sink (roots, tubers), where sucrose is used for metabolism or
storage.

o Assimilates are transported in large quantities by mass flow and from a region of high
hydrostatic pressure to a region of low hydrostatic pressure from the source to the sink.

Adaptations of Xerophytes

 Rolled leaf:

o Increases humidity around stomata, reducing the water potential gradient

 Thick waxy cuticle:

o Increases distance for diffusion, acting as a barrier for transpiration

o The shiny surface reflects heat, lowering the temperature

 Hairs/trichomes on the surface:

o Trap moisture to reduce water potential gradient

 Sunken stomata/ stomata in pits:

o Moist air trapped in pits reduces water loss.

 No stomata on the upper surface:

o Not exposed to sunlight, reducing the evaporation rate

 Small leaves, reduced to spines:

o Reduce the surface area for transpiration