Plant Anatomy: Heavy Water (H2O18), C3 vs. C4 Plants
Each question is worth 20 points and you must answer all five.
1)Structure suits function has been the major theme of this course. Choose three anatomical features of plants that you have learned and describe how their structure suits their function.
2)For at least the past two decades, studies in plant anatomy have come to rely on a variety of analytical techniques as much as the descriptive text that has been classically used. Describe what these analytical approaches have involved. Be sure to talk about both their advantages and their limitations.
3)The root of a plant is injected with heavy water (H2O18) as a tracer. Describe the path, including all the cell types, tissue types, and organs that this water would travel before being transpired from the leaves.
4)Explain how the cellular and tissue composition and arrangement in the leaves of C3 vs. C4 plants is evolutionarily adaptive to the environments in which these plants thrive, respectively.
5)Identify and describe the male and female reproductive structures of angiosperms and discuss how their structure suits their function.
FINAL
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1)Structure suits function has been the major theme of this course. Choose three anatomical features of plants that you have learned and describe how their structure suits their function.
Plants like animals are made up of cell types that are organized to form tissues. Tissues are organized into organs, and the organs function together in the system. At each level, the structure of the plants cells, tissues or organs is suited to its function. The organs are made up of cells that can be broken down into three types of tissues: the dermal tissue, the vascular tissues, and the ground tissue.
The dermal tissue makes up the outer plant layer. It contains epidermal cells that are coated with a cuticle. The cuticle is a waxy coating that prevents the loss of water from the plant. The main purpose of the dermal layer is to protect the plant but also has other specialized roles according to where it is located. In leaves, the dermal tissues contain guard cells that make up the stomata. The Stomata are small openings that help in the exchange of gases. Carbon dioxide(CO2) which is used in photosynthesis diffuses into the leaf through the stomata, and after photosynthesis, Oxygen(O2) diffuses out as a waste product. The stomatal opening is also crucial since it helps in the evaporation of water from the plant. In the roots, epidermal cells are found. They have a thin wall hence facilitate the absorption of water and nutrients. They also have root hairs and long membranous extensions and this serve as to increase the surface area for absorption.
According to Chary $& Reddy (2003), The ground tissue contains parenchyma, sclerenchyma, and collenchyma. The parenchyma cells are found close to the surface of the leaf. They have chloroplasts that absorb sunlight that is used during photosynthesis. Thus, they are used to produce and store a plant's nutrients. Collenchyma cells have thick, pliable cells walls thus are suited to provide support to new portions of the plant without restricting growth. Sclerenchyma cells, on the other hand, have a thick wall containing lignin that makes the wall hard. It is suited to provide support for mature plants.
According to Berg(2008), the vascular tissue conducts materials throughout the plant. It contains the xylem tissues that are used to transport water from the root to shoot of a plant. The xylem has tracheids that are long thin dead cells with tapered ends and are suited for this function. The phloem tissue contains the sieve tube and companion cells. Roberts(2007) says that companion cells make up the major part of the phloem tissue. The sieve tube elements have sieve-like areas along their walls that aid in the movement of nutrients from cell to cell. Companion cells have nuclei that sieve tube members do not hence the companion cells helps regulate the activity and content of the sieve tubes.
2)For at least the past two decades, studies in plant anatomy have come to rely on a variety of analytical techniques as much as the descriptive text that has been classically used. Describe what these analytical approaches have involved. Be sure to talk about both their advantages and their limitations.
Various analytical techniques are used to study the anatomy of plants. To start with is drawing schemes and diagrams then analyzing the schemes and diagrams. The importance of this is that it contains shorthand conventional signs. The structure of the plant's anatomy can also be understood from the drawings. However, one cannot be able to know how the structure functions by analyzing the drawing. A simple microscope is also used to analyze a plant's anatomy.. though being better than the drawing technique and requiring simple preparation and set up, this technique has a performance issue when it comes to studying complex cells. Differential Interference Contrast microscopes are also used t...