General Biology 2

NOTES

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Module No. : Module Name

Specific Topic
↪​
↪​ description
→​ sub-description OR continuation of desc.

Multicellular Plant Body

Basic Plant Morphology

↪​ Vascular Plant Organ Systems

→​ Shoot System
⇨​ Above Ground: Photosynthetic
↳​ Vegetative (Non-Reproductive)
➢​ Leaves, Stems (2)
↳​ Reproductive Parts
➢​ Flowers, fruits (2)
●​ Produce seeds (1)
→​ Root System
⇨​ Underground: Water & Mineral Absorption and anchorage
↳​ Roots (1)

Note: Plants have 6 basic organs.

↪​ Meristems
→​ Growing points (similar to animal stem cells)
⇨​ Primary (all plants)
↳​ Plant lengthening
➢​ Apical
●​ Located at the tips of roots and shoots
○​ Shoot Apical Meristem (SAM)/Primary Shoot Meristem
(PSM)/Shoot Apex
○​ Root Apical Meristem (RAM)/Root Apex
➢​ Intercalary
●​ Located at the internodes/leaf bases.
⇨​ Secondary (some plants)
 ↳​ Plant widening
➢​ Lateral/Axillary
●​ Vascular cambium → wood
●​ Cork cambium → bark

↪​ Basic Tissue Types

→​ Dermal
⇨​ Outer layer: protection and gas exchange
↳​ Stomates (guard cells)
↳​ Trichomes (extensions in the shoot system)
➢​ Glandular: secretes irritants, toxins, or pollinator attractors.
 ➢​ Non-glandular: no secretion
↳​ Root hairs (extensions in the root system)
↳​ Epidermal cells
→​ Ground
⇨​ Inner layer: support, storage of food, and photosynthesis
↳​ Parenchyma
➢​ Thin-walled and alive at maturity; soft and flexible.
➢​ Photosynthesis, storage, secretion, mitosis, and protection.
↳​ Collenchyma
➢​ Unevenly-thickened walls and alive at maturity; flexible
➢​ Support in primary growth.
↳​ Sclerenchyma
➢​ Evenly-thickened walls and dead at maturity; stiff
➢​ Strength/support/protection
→​ Vascular
⇨​ Transportation: Xylem (water transport) and phloem (food transport)
→​ Complex
⇨​ Continue…

Roots
↪​ Takes in water and nutrients from the soil.
↪​ Main Functions
→​ Anchorage
⇨​ Keeps plants and soil in place.
→​ Absorption
⇨​ Through root hairs.
→​ Conduction
⇨​ Transportation of water and nutrients through the xylem (upward) and
phloem (downward).
→​ Storage
 ⇨​ Excess carbohydrates and nutrients

Characteristics of Roots
↪​ Are non-green due to lack of chlorophyll
↪​ Not divided into nodes and internodes
↪​ Absence of leaves and buds
↪​ Positive geotropism and hydrotropism
→​ Roots grow downwards with gravity and towards water
⇨​ Gravitropism // Positive: grows with gravity
⇨​ Phototropism // Negative: grows away from light

Root Systems
↪​ Taproot System (Dicots)
→​ Consists of one prominent main root with smaller lateral roots branching
from it
→​ Provide strong anchorage due to its depth
→​ Main roots of dicot plants
↪​ Fibrous System (Monocots)
→​ Consists of several adventitious roots of approximately equal size that
arise from the base of the stem
→​ Do not branch profusely, are shallow and spread horizontally hence,
cannot provide strong anchorage
→​ The main root system of monocots
Root Cap
↪​ A covering of cells over the root tip that protects delicate meristematic tissue
directly behind it
↪​ Contains statocytes (cells), involved in gravity perception
Root Hair
 ↪​ Increases absorption through increased surface area of root in contact with
the soil.
↪​ An extension of an epidermal cell of a root that increases the absorptive
capacity of the root

Layers of Primary Eudicot Roots

↪​ Epidermis
→​ The outer protective covering that helps absorb water and minerals
↪​ Ground Tissues
→​ Cortex
→​ Endodermis
⇨​ A layer of cells just inside the cortex
⇨​ Casparian Strip
↳​ Waterproof strip that ensures water and nutrient uptake is
regulated.
→​ Pericycle
⇨​ A layer of cells just inside the endodermis that give rise to lateral
roots.
↪​ Lateral Roots
→​ Roots that extend horizontally from the primary root.
↪​ Pith
→​ Found in certain roots
↪​ Vascular Tissues
→​ Xylem
⇨​ Conducts water and dissolved minerals.
→​ Phloem
⇨​ Conducts dissolved sugars.
Monocot Vs Eudicot Roots
↪​ Monocot roots often have a pith in the center of the roots
 →​ In contrast, herbaceous eudicot roots have the vascular tissues forming a
solid mass in the center of the roots
↪​ Monocot roots lack a vascular cambium

Components of Root Cortex​

Apoplasts (through Cell)

↪​ Consists of everything external to the plasma membrane
→​ Includes the cell walls, extracellular spaces, and the interior of vessel
elements and tracheids
↪​ Apoplastic Movement
→​ Movement of water occurring through intercellular spaces
Symplasts (through Plasmodesmata)
↪​ Consists of the cytosol of all the living cells in a plant, as well as a
plasmodesmata
→​ Do not have secondary growth
↪​ Symplastic Movement
→​ Movement of water occurring through plasmodesmata

Tite Diagram (?)

Modified Roots​

Food Storage Roots

↪​ Stores carbohydrates and other nutrients.

Propagative Roots
↪​ Develop adventitious buds that grow into new plants.
Pneumatophores
↪​ Specialized aerial roots produced by trees in swampy habitats.
↪​ Facilitate gas exchange between the atmosphere and submerged roots.

Aerial Roots
↪​ Roots that grow above ground for support, absorption, or respiration.

Photosynthetic/Assimilating Roots
↪​ Found in some orchids; capable of photosynthesis.

Contractile Roots
↪​ Found in some herbaceous dicots and monocots.
↪​ Contracts and pulls the plant to a desirable depth in the soil.

Buttress Roots
↪​ Swollen bases that provide structural support, commonly found in tropical
rainforest trees.
→​ Aid in the extensive distribution of shallow roots.

Parasitic Roots
↪​ Penetrate host plants to absorb nutrients.

Symbiotic Roots
↪​ Include mycorrhizae (fungus roots) and nitrogen-fixing nodules in legumes.
↪​ Mycorrhizae
→​ Fungus-plant mutualism that enhances nutrient absorption
→​ Fungal Components
⇨​ protect against some types of pathogens
⇨​ increase the surface area for absorbing essential nutrients (e.g.,
phosphorous) from the soil.
→​ Plant Components
⇨​ provides food for the fungus in the form of sugar and amino acids
↪​ Root Nodules
 →​ Small swelling on the root; found in legumes (e.g., peas, beans, peanuts)
→​ Where the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Rhizobium, live
Prop Roots
↪​ Adventitious roots from the stem which provide additional support.

Root Crops
↪​ Taproots (More Predominant)
→​ Carrots, beets, sugar beets, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, radishes.
↪​ Fibrous Roots
→​ Sweet potatoes, cassava

Suckers
↪​ Above-ground stems that develop from adventitious buds on the roots
↪​ Asexual reproduction method of some roots.

Stem Functions
↪​ Support // holds leaves and reproductive structures
↪​ Conduct // transports water, minerals, and carbohydrates
↪​ Production // generation of new tissues at apical and lateral meristems
(secondary growth)

Stems V Roots
↪​ Stems
→​ Above ground, have nodes, internodes, leaves, and buds
→​ Nodes
⇨​ 1+ leaves attached
→​ Internode
⇨​ The area between 2 successive nodes
 →​ Bud
⇨​ Embryonic or undeveloped shoot
↪​ Roots
→​ Underground, include root caps, hairs, endodermis, and pericycle.

Stem Variation
↪​ Aerial
↪​ Underground
↪​ Sub-Aerial

Stem Classification
↪​ Monocots (Herbaceous)
→​ Scattered vascular bundles, ground tissue replaces cortex and pith.
→​ Circular, with lateral branches bounded with a layer of dermis.
→​ Do not exhibit secondary growth.
↪​ Dicots
→​ Well-defined dermis with cuticle and multicellular hairs
→​ Herbaceous Dicots
⇨​ Vascular bundles are arranged in a ring, distinct cortex, and pith;
exhibit primary growth only.
→​ Woody Dicots
⇨​ Exhibit primary and secondary growth.

Types of Stem Growth

↪​ Primary Growth
→​ Apical meristems contribute to elongation
→​ Apical dominance inhibits axillary bud growth but can be modified
through pruning. (Botanical Risk Management)
→​ Produces primary tissues.
↪​ Secondary Growth
 →​ Lateral Meristems
⇨​ Thickens stems.
→​ Vascular Cambium
⇨​ Produces secondary xylem and phloem.
⇨​ Located between the xylem and phloem.
→​ Cork Cambium
⇨​ Forms protective bark, phelloderm, and periderm and produces
suberin, a waxy substance that repels water.

Tissues in Herbaceous Stems

↪​ Epidermis
→​ Protective outer layer with a water-conserving cuticle.
→​ May contain stomata and trichomes.
↪​ Vascular Tissues
→​ Xylem
⇨​ Conducts water and minerals.
→​ Phloem​
⇨​ Conducts carbohydrates and sugars (sucrose).
↪​ Storage Tissues
→​ Ground tissues for nutrient storage.
⇨​ Cortex
↳​ area between the epidermis and the vascular tissue in a plant's
stem or root; involved in substance storage and transport
⇨​ Pith
↳​ central portion or core of the plant stem or root
↳​ involved in storage and support

Cell Types
Parenchyma - thin-walled cells that store nutrients and perform metabolic functions
Chlorenchyma - elongated cells with thick cell walls; flexible support
Sclerenchyma - cells with thick, rigid cell walls for support
Secondary Growth in Wood
↪​ Lateral Meristems
→​ Vascular Cambium
⇨​ Produces secondary tissues (xylem and phloem).
→​ Cork Cambium
⇨​ Generates protective layers of cork parenchyma.
↳​ Near stem surface, either continuous devising cells or series of
overlapping cells
↪​ Lenticels
→​ Porous tissues made of vast intercellular gaps for gas exchange.

Variation in Bark
↪​ Sapwood
→​ Younger, lighter, and softer. The outer layer.
↪​ Heartwood
→​ Older, darker, provides structural support, and is resistant to decay.
→​ Technically dead wood; the inner layer.
↪​ Tree-Ring Dating (Dendrochronology)
→​ Determines historical growth conditions.

Modified Stems
↪​ Rhizomes
→​ Underground horizontal stems for storage and sexual reproduction (e.g.,
ginger, turmeric, ferns, bamboo).
↪​ Tubers
→​ Thickened ends of rhizomes for starch storage (e.g., white potato,
cassava, yams, sweet potato).
⇨​ Flashy and enlarged for food storage (starch)
↪​ Corms
 →​ Short, thickened underground stems for food storage and asexual
reproduction (e.g., crocus, taro, saffron).
↪​ Bulbs
→​ Rounded, fleshy underground buds with flashy leaves storing nutrients
(e.g., onion, garlic, tulips, daffodils).
↪​ Stolons
→​ Aerial horizontal stems with long internodes often form buds that develop
into separate plants (e.g., strawberries).
↪​ Tendrils
→​ Slender, threadlike appendages for climbing support.
→​ Often grows in a spiral form; found in climbing plants
↪​ Cladophylls
→​ Flattened stems function in photosynthesis (e.g., cacti).

Economic Importance of Stems

↪​ Food
→​ Sugarcane, potatoes, ginger.
↪​ Medicine
→​ Quinine, aspirin.
↪​ Paper
→​ Derived from wood pulp.
↪​ Resin
→​ Used in varnishes and adhesives.
↪​ Fuel
→​ Firewood, charcoal.
↪​ Lumber
→​ Used for construction and furniture.

​
Secondary Growth in Wood
↪​ Lateral meristems - thickens stems
○​ Vascular cambium
■​ Secondary xylem and phloem.
■​ The tissue inside plants is responsible for secondary growth
(branches).
■​ P… Tangential division
○​ Cork Cambium
■​ Cork parenchyma
■​ Near stem surface, either continuous devising cells or series of
overlapping cells.

EARLY WOOD???

When resin is introduced to a vascular …, function is gone. Structure is retained.

*LOOK FOR PICTURES OF THE PROCESS OF STEM THICKENING?*

Functions of the Leaf

↪​ Photosynthesis
→​ biological process that includes the capture of light energy and its
transformation into chemical energy of organic molecules
↪​ Gaseous Exchange
↪​ Transpiration
→​ water vapour can be lost from the surface of the leaf

Leaf Adaptations
↪​ Desert Plants (Xerophytes)
→​ thick and reduced leaves with a thick waxy layer
→​ Stomata opens only at night time
→​ Ex. cacti
↪​ Floating leaves
→​ Stomates only on the upper epidermis
↪​ Submerged leaves
→​ NO stomates
↪​ Conifers
→​ have waxy needle leaves with thick waxy
cuticle
→​ Evergreen, with sunken stomata

Leaf Morphology
Types of Leaves
↪​ Simple Leaves
 →​ Single blade per petiole
↪​ Compound leaves
→​ Divided into smaller leaflets but originate from a single axillary bud
→​ Pinnately Compound
⇨​ Have leaflets in pairs along an extension of the petiole
→​ Palmately Compound
⇨​ All the leaflets are attached at the same point at the end of the petiole

Leaf Attachment
↪​ Blade
→​ the flat part of the lamina
↪​ Shape or Outline of the leaves
→​ Linear-Thin
→​ Lanceolate
⇨​ spear-like
→​ Ovate
⇨​ oval shape
→​ Cordate
⇨​ heart-shaped
Venation
↪​ The arrangement of veins
→​ Parallel Venation (Monocot)
⇨​ Veins running parallel with one another
→​ Netted
⇨​ Pinnately veined leaves
↳​ One Midvein is included within an enlarged midrib
⇨​ Palmately veined leaves
↳​ Several primary veins fan out from the base of the blade

Phyllotaxy
↪​ The leaf arrangement on a stem
→​ Alternate
⇨​ Leaves are attached alternately in a spiral along a stem
⇨​ There is one leaf per node
→​ Opposite
⇨​ Two leaves arise from the opposite node
 →​ Whorled
⇨​ Three or more leaves occur at a node
→​ Basal
⇨​ Three or more leaves occur at the base of the plant

Leaf Apex, Bases and Margins

Tissues in a Leaf Blade
↪​ Cuticle
→​ Waxy covering over epidermis of a plant
→​ Enables the plant to survive in the dry conditions of a terrestrial
environment
→​ Minimize water loss and effectively reduce pathogen entry due to their
waxy secretion
↪​ Leaf Epidermis
→​ 3 basic kinds of epidermal cells
⇨​ Ordinary Epidermal Cells
↳​ May show variety of shapes depending on the species and usually
covered by cuticle
⇨​ Trichomes (Hair Cells)
↳​ Reduce too much water loss and protect the leaves from predatory
animals
⇨​ Guard Cells
→​ Stomata
⇨​ Pore or opening mostly in the lower epidermis
⇨​ Only passageway of atmospheric gasses into and out of the leaves
↳​ CO2 enters while water and O2 exit
⇨​ Opening and closing is based on the movement of guard cells
⇨​ Average of 100 per sq mm.
⇨​ Factors affecting opening and closing of stomata
 ↳​ Light // generally causes it to open, and darkness closes it
↳​ Water/Moisture Availability // causes it to close to prevent further
water loss
➢​ Atmospheric CO2 is indirectly proportional to stomata density
↳​ Temperature Changes // higher temperature will cause stomata to
close to prevent water loss

Monocot and Eudicot Leaves

↪​ Monocot Leaves (Parallel Venation)
→​ Usually narrow, they wrap around the stem in a sheath
→​ Ligule
⇨​ the collar extension of the sheath
curving around the stem
↳​ membranous, hairy, or absent
→​ Auricle
⇨​ appendage that surrounds the stem at the junction of the blade and
sheath
→​ Isobilateral Mesophyll Layer // not well-differentiated into palisade and
spongy layers
⇨​ Bulliform Cells
↳​ large, thin-walled cells located at the upper
epidermis
 ➢​ specifically on both sides of the midvein
↳​ helps reduce water loss
↳​ may help the leaf roll or fold inward during drought
↪​ Eudicot Leaves (Netted Venation)
→​ usually have a broad, flattened blade

Modified Leaves
↪​ Cotyledons (Seed Leaves)
→​ produced by a germinating seed
⇨​ often contains a store of food obtained from
the endosperm to help seedlings become
established
↪​ Colored Bracts
→​ have brightly colored to attract pollinators
↪​ Insect-Trapping Leaves
→​ used to capture insects
→​ ex. pitcher plants, sundews, venus flytraps, and bladderworts
⇨​ all these plants live under nutrient-poor conditions and depend on
insect body dissection
↪​ Tendrils
→​ used for support, climbing, and attachment
↪​ Spines
→​ sharp, pointy leaves
→​ ex. cacti and euphorbias
⇨​ often reduced such that they serve as spines to discourage herbivory
and reduce water loss
⇨​ stems serve as the primary organ of photosynthesis
↪​ Storage Leaves
→​ succulent leaves retain water in large vacuoles
↪​ Absorptive Leaves, as in Hydrilla sp.
↪​ Reproductive Leaves
 →​ Kalanchoe plantlets arise on the margins of leaves
↪​ Window Leaves
→​ plant is buried in soil with a transparent part exposed to light
→​ being buried reduces the loss of water in arid environments
↪​ Flower Pot Leaves
→​ structure to catch water and debris for nutrient collection
→​ ex. Elephant’s foot

Leaf Abscission
↪​ in temperate climates, most woody plants with broad leaves shed leaves in fall
→​ helps them survive low temperatures of winter
↪​ involves physiological and anatomical changes
↪​ PROCESSES OF ABSCISSION
→​ as autumn falls, plant reabsorbs sugar
⇨​ essential minerals are transported out of leaves
→​ chlorophyll is broken down
⇨​ red water-soluble pigments are synthesized and stored in vacuoles of
leaf cells (in some species)
→​ a protective layer of cork cells develops on the stem side of the
abscission zone
⇨​ area where leaf petiole detaches from the stem, composed primarily
of thin-walled parenchyma cell
→​ enzymes dissolve middle lamella in the abscission zone
⇨​ cement that holds primary cell walls of adjacent cells together
→​ after the leaf detaches, a protective layer of cork seals off the area,
forming a leaf scar

Sexual vs Asexual Reproduction

↪​ Axesual
 →​ Results in new individuals genetically identical to the parent. Both parent
and children are equally adapted to the environment
↪​ Sexual
→​ Results in progeny that differ from each other genetically.
→​ Progeny may have a combination of both mother’s and father’s
⇨​ Angiosperms
↳​ Flowers produce seeds when pollinated

Parts of the Flower

↪​ Floral Whorls
→​ Accessory Parts
⇨​ Sepals (Calyx)
⇨​ Petals (Corolla)
→​ Essential Parts
⇨​ Stamen (androecium)
↳​ Male reproductive organs of the flower
⇨​ Carpel or pistil (gynoecium; AKA carpel)
↳​ Female reproductive organs of the flower

Carpels and Stamens

↪​ Carpels
→​ Evolved from open leaf to closed leaf
→​ They protect the seeds.
→​ Occurs at the center of the flower
⇨​ Ovary
⇨​ Style
⇨​ Stigma
↪​ Stamen
→​ Evolved from modified lead until the modified part was left
→​ Occurs surrounding the carpels
→​ Produces pollen grains
⇨​ Anther
⇨​ Filament
 →​ Arrangement determined by species variation
⇨​ Unicerate
⇨​ Bicerate
⇨​ Tricerate

Gynoecial Fusion
↪​ Apocarpous
→​ Multiple carpels are distinct
⇨​ 3 carpels, 1 locule per carpel
→​ Ancestral condition of angiosperms
→​ Ex. rosa
↪​ Syncarpous
→​ Single locule of carpels; loner
→​ Most common type in flower plants
⇨​ E.g., tomatoes

Floral Parts Fusion

↪​ Connation // from same WHORL
↪​ Perianth Fusion
→​ Collective fusion of petals and sepals

Floral Variations
↪​ Floral Whorls
→​ Complete Flower
⇨​ Sepals
⇨​ Petals
⇨​ Stamens
⇨​ Pistil
→​ Incomplete Flower
⇨​ Lacking one or more of the whorls
↪​ Essential parts
 →​ Perfect Flower
⇨​ Male
⇨​ Female
→​ Imperfect Flower
⇨​ Lacking one part

Floral Symmetry
↪​ Radial (actinomorphic)
→​ It can be halved and will be symmetrical
↪​ Bilateral (zygomorphic)
→​ Divided into two equal halves only by medal cut through central axis
⇨​ Orchidaceous
⇨​ Papilionaceous

Nature of Corolla
↪​ Attracts pollinators through scents and colors.
→​ Polypetalous
⇨​ free
→​ Gamopetalous
⇨​ fused together
→​ Apetalous

Nature of Corolla
↪​ Perigynous
↪​ Epigynous
↪​ Hypogynous

Insertion of Parts
→​ Ovary superior, flower hypogynous, no hypanthium…
→​ Ovary superior, flower hypogynous, with hypanthium…
→​ Ovary inferior, flower epigynous, with hypanthium
↪​ Placentation Types
→​ Marginal
 →​ Axile
→​ Paretal
→​ Free-Central
→​ Basal
→​ Apical

Inflorescence
↪​ Collection of flowers, with boundaries defined by vegetative leaves.
→​ Peduncle // stalk of inflorescence
→​ Inflorescence axes // branches of inflorescence
→​ Bract
⇨​ Flower bract
⇨​ Inflorescence bract
⇨​ Involucre
⇨​ Spathe
→​ Positions
⇨​ Axillart
⇨​ Terminal
→​ Development
⇨​ Determinate - terminal flower first
↳​ Dichasium
↳​ Clematis
⇨​ Indeterminate - basal flower first
↳​ Racemes
↳​ Panicles
↳​ Spikes
↳​ Catkins/Aments
↳​ Corymbs
↳​ Heads
→​ Special
⇨​ Spadix
 ⇨​ Hypanthodium
⇨​ Cyanthium
⇨​ Spikelet (grass)

Flowers are for Sexual Reproduction

↪​ Sexual reproduction is important for evolution
→​ This is because it produces variable offspring
→​ Creating diversity and variation among populations
↪​ Variation is needed for natural selection to occur
↪​ Most (97%) plants are hermaphroditic

Selfing
↪​ Around 10-15% of flowers are predominantly selfers
↪​ Requires self-compatibility
↪​ Often accompanied by structurally enforced mechanisms
→​ cleistogamous flowers

Methods to prevent self pollenation

↪​ Dichogamy
→​ Anthers & stigmas mature at different times to minimize self-pollination
→​ Protandry
⇨​ Androecium ripens first
→​ Protogyny

Heterostyly FUCK

↪​
Pollination
↪​ In seed plants, the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma
→​ After pollination, fertilization occurs.
↪​ Fertilization
→​ Fusion of male and female gametes
⇨​ After fertilization, flowering plants produce seeds inside fruits
↪​ Flowers rely on biotic and abiotic pollinating agents
→​ 80% of pollinators are biotic
⇨​ ex. Bees and butterflies
→​ among abiotic pollinators, 98% rely on wind, 2% rely on water
↪​ Coevolution
→​ Occurs when two different organisms form such an interdependent
relationship that they affect the course of each other’s evolution
→​ While plants were coevolving specialized features to attract pollinators,
animal pollinators coevolved specialized body parts and behaviors that
enabled them to aid pollination and obtain nectar and pollen grains as a
reward
Agents of Pollination