Assignment 4 Dawna Berry Introduction to Biology SCI 115 Professor Tamara Allen August 17, 2012

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1. Why are some fruits sweet and some sour, whereas others have no specific taste? It all depends on the chemistry of the fruits, fruits contain different levels of fructose and glucose which will affects their sweetness and contain different levels of acids such as vitamin c/ascorbic acid and citric acid (in lemons and limes) which will determine how sour the fruit is. They contain all sorts of other compounds/vitamins/minerals as well, which will affect how they taste. Actually, the taste of a fruit depends on the compounds present in it. Normally a fruit contains the materials like cellulose, proteins, starch, vitamins, certain acids, fructose or sugar. All these materials are found in mixed form inside the fruit and they have different proportions in different fruits. Fruits of sweet taste have more fructose in them whereas the fruits of sour taste have more acids in them. Some fruits are sweet as well as sour in taste like orange, as it has almost equal quantities of fructose and acids in it. Normally, the raw fruits have more acids but on ripening the quantity of acids get decreases and the amount of sugar gets increase. This is the reason that raw mangoes are sour in taste but on ripening they become sweet. Raw bananas have more starch but when the fruit gets ripen, the starch gets converted into fructose. The chemical changes take place inside the fruit during the process of ripening, due to these changes the amount of sugar increases in fruit and it becomes sweet. 2. How does the ripening of fruit affect the process of seed dispersal? Ripening of fruits can cause a premature level of seed dispersal sometimes beforehand. A fruit that opens and releases seeds on a regular basis are called dehiscent and when the fruit does not open it is called indehiscent. When a fruit ripens and bursts open it literally throws or flings the seeds away or into the wind to spread them. Frugivores assist in the dispersal of seeds if they are not totally consumed. Fortunately, the ability to maintain dispersal of seeds is contributed by
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wind, ripening of fruits, birds, fish, tortoises, lizards, amphibians, mammals and humans that spread seeds more farther than they would have otherwise could. 3. How do humans interfere in this process by consuming grains and fruits? In theory, humans would disrupt dispersion because seeds we consume would only be "dispersed" to landfills and the sewage system or septic tanks. However, in practice, since almost all of the plant-based foods humans consumed are farmed and cultivated, it's not an issue, because the farmer would take care of the new and upcoming crop the following year.

But here is a little fact for your brain. 10,000 years later, everyone still thinks we can outsmart nature and invent our diet rather than eating the foods we evolved on and are built to thrive on. Maybe our smaller brains are preventing us from realizing the flaw in this approach. Not only have we failed to recognize this significant problem, but weve made it much worse with the technological advances of food processing. Most modern grain based foods are highly processed, have excessive amounts of sugar and refined carbohydrates, and contain toxins from pesticides and additives. These foods are bad for all of us regardless of the fact that many of us are unable to digest the grains that theyre derived from.

4. Does the seed use the fructose or starch in fruits for its metabolism? Germinating seeds use aerobic respiration to obtain energy from their food reserves were provided by the parent plant; and, sucrose is the usual starting material in plants. Starch is broken down into sucrose.

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Plants store glucose (which has fructose in it) as starch. Like the cells of a potato contain granules where starch resides during the winter until energy is needed for growth in the spring.

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References: The Gemini Geek; copy write 2012 Why are some fruits sweet while others are sour? retrieved August 17, 2012 at: http://www.thegeminigeek.com/why-are-some-fruits-sweet-while-othersare-sour/ Giovannoni, J.; March 2004; American Society of Plant Biologists; The Plant Cell; Genetic Regulation of Fruit Development and Ripening retrieved August 17, 2012 from; http://www.plantcell.org/content/16/suppl_1/S170.full AcademicWritingTips.org; March 4, 2011 Fruits retrieved on August 17, 2012 at; http://academicwritingtips.org/component/k2/item/1955-fruits.html

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