Interactions Among Plant Systems
Biology 10(B)
Interactions Among Plant Systems
Learning objectives
• Identify major systems in plants
• Describe the interactions that occur among systems to
carry out vital plant functions
Plant Systems
– Shoot system – above- ground
– Root system – below-ground
Shoot system
• Organ systems:
– Dermal – barrier
– Ground – metabolic functions
– Vascular – transport
Root system
• Tissue systems:
Tissues
Dermal
Ground
Vascular
Interactions Among Plant Systems
Organ and tissue systems interact to carry out vital functions
• Transport
• Reproduction
• Response
Transport
• Movement of needed
materials throughout plant
• Major function of vascular
tissue
– Xylem – transports water and
minerals
– Phloem – transports glucose
– Both transport hormones
Interactions Among Plant Systems
Interactions during transport
• Root system
– Absorbs water and minerals
• Shoot system
– Ground tissue produces glucose through photosynthesis
• Both organ systems
– Produce hormones
– Vascular tissue transports all materials throughout the plant
Reproduction
Vegetative propagation –
offspring produced from
part of a plant organ
• Asexual
Image by Roberto MM [GFDL]
Pollination – offspring
produced via pollinated
seeds
• Sexual
Reproduction by Pollination
• Flower – organ that
produces seeds
• Fruit – develops
around fertilized
ovule(s)
• Seed – fertilized ovule
(embryo) and stored food
(cotyledon) surrounded
by a protective seed coat
Interactions Among Plant Systems
Interactions during reproduction
• Vegetative propagation
– Shoot and root systems: part of an organ produces a new plant
• Pollination
– Shoot system: flowers are the site of seed pollination and fruit
development
– Shoot and root systems: produce hormones, transported by the
vascular tissue, that regulate flower budding, fruit ripening and
seed growth
Response
• Tropisms – plant’s hormonal growth response toward or
away from an external stimulus
• Examples:
– Phototropism – stem and leaves grow toward a light source
– Positive gravitropism – roots grow toward gravity (downward)
– Negative gravitropism – stem and leaves grow away from gravity
(upward)
Interactions Among Plant Systems
Interactions during response
• Root system
– Grows toward gravity
• Shoot system
– Grows toward light and/or away from gravity
• Both systems
– Produce hormones
– Transported hormones
Interactions Among Plant Systems
Learning objectives
• Identify major systems in plants
• Describe the interactions that occur among systems to
carry out vital plant functions