TOPIC: Water and Mineral Absorption Through Roots
Submitted To:
Prof. Hina Tariq
Submitted by:
M Zubair 67
Babar Ali 49
Amna Batool 58
Iqra Khaliq 59
Uzma Shoukat 48
Soha Israr 55
Hira Sarwar 85
Areej Sdique 47
Fatima Murtaza 72
SECTION=Cf -1
Water and Mineral Absorption Through Roots:
Water is found in the spaces between the soil particles. Water and mineral salts first enter
through the cell wall and cell membrane of the root hair cell by osmosis. Root hair cells are
outgrowths at the tips of plants' roots. They function solely to take up water and mineral salts.
Root hair cells do not perform photosynthesis, and do not contain chloroplasts as they are
underground and not exposed to sunlight. These cells have large vacuoles which allow storage
of water and mineral salts. Their small diameter (5-17 micrometres) and greater length (1500
micrometres) ensure they have a large surface area over which to absorb water and mineral salts.
Water fills the vacuole of the root hair cell.
The following list summarises how the root hair is adapted to absorb water from the soil:
There are many, elongated root hairs to increase the total root surface area for water
absorption.
They have thin walls to speed up the intake of water by osmosis.
They have large vacuoles to absorb water quickly and transport it to the next cells.
The vacuoles have salts, which speed up water absorption from soil water.
Root hairs do not have cuticles, as this would prevent water absorption.
Water can now move from the root hair cells and across the parenchyma cells of the cortex in
two major ways. Some water passes through the cells by osmosis. Most water travels either in, or
between the cell walls (of the parenchyma cells) by simple diffusion. The water must pass through
the endodermis to enter the xylem. Once water is in the xylem of the root, it will pass up the
xylem of the stem.
If the mineral ion concentration of a certain ion is greater inside the root cell than the
surrounding soil, mineral ions have to be actively transported into the root cell. In addition the
charged particles cannot directly cross the cell membrane because of the non-polar region inside
the bilayer. Proton pumps use energy (ATP) to pump protons (H+) out of the root cell into the
surrounding soil. This results in a higher concentration of protons outside the root cells creating
an electrochemical and concentration gradient.
H+ can combine with sucrose, NO3-, PO43-, and other anions to bring them back into the root
cell through protein channels, following the concentration gradient established by the proton
pumps. K+ ions can flow directly through special channels following the electrochemical gradient
created by the proton pumps. Cations such as potassium can also enter the root cell through
specialized potassium pumps that use ATP to pump K+ directly into the cell.
Since there is a greater concentration of ions or solutes inside the root cells, water will move into
the root cells by osmosis
Transport to Leaves
We have dealt with the transport of water in plants from the soil into the root xylem. Now we
need to discuss how the water is transported against gravity from the roots to the leaves where
it is needed for the process of photosynthesis.
Water travels to the leaves via the stem. Recall, that three processes are necessary for the
transport of water in plants, namely; transpiration, capillarity and root pressure. All three of
these processes are passive and do not require an input of energy.
Transpiration: constant water loss via transpiration from the leaves causes a negative water
pressure in the leaves. The negative pressure in the leaves works like a 'suction' force, pulling the
water up the stem.
Capillary Action: water moves up the stem in response to the 'suction' caused by transpiration
because of two forces: adhesion and cohesion. Cohesion is the tendency for water molecules to
stick together and adhesion is the tendency for water molecules to stick to other surfaces, such
as the inside of the xylem vessels. Stem xylem is structurally adapted to take advantage of
capillarity, because they are very long with a narrow diameter.
Root Pressure: water can also be moved up the stem via a 'push' force from the roots. Water is
constantly being absorbed by the roots due to the negative water potential in the root cells. This
movement of water into the roots can cause the water pressure inside the roots to become high,
resulting in a force that 'pushes' water up the stem xylem.
Role of Xylem
Evaporation occurs when some of the light energy absorbed by the leaf is converted to heat,
thereby raising the temperature inside the leaf changing the water into water vapour.
Transpiration is the evaporation of water from the leaves, stems and flowers. The majority of
water lost during transpiration is through openings on the bottom of the leaves called stomata.
Transpirational pull results when water evaporates from the leaves and stems. More water is
drawn up through the plant to replace the water that is lost. Transpirational pull results from
the combined forces of cohesion and adhesion. Water moves into the roots by osmosis through
the cell walls (apoplast pathway) and through the cytoplasm (symplast pathway) because the
concentration of solutes inside the cells is greater than outside the root cells due to active
transport of mineral and ions.
Xylem vessels are transport tissue found in vascular plants composed of a number of different
types of cell, including long, continuous, thin, usually dead cells known as tracheids and vessel
elements. Xylem vessels have a cell wall strengthened with lignin wich thickens and makes them
stronger. Since atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure inside the xylem vessels, the
ridged structure prevent them from collapsing.
The xylem is responsible for the transport of water and soluble mineral nutrients from the roots
to the different parts of the plants (stems then leaves) that use water. This also allows minerals
absorbed from the soil to be transported through the xylem to the leaves
Water molecules cling together by hydrogen bonds between the molecules. This is know as
cohesive forces and helps water to to be pulled through the plant. Along with the adhesive forces
of water molecules to the xylem walls, a strong tension force is created within the xylem vessel.
The cohesive property of the water provides an unbroken column of water in the xylem
throughout the plant. Failure to have the cohesive property would stop all flow of water through
the xylem vessels.