ROOT
1.) In vascular plants, the root is the
organ of a plant that typically lies
below the surface of the soil. Roots can
also be aerial or aerating, that is
growing up above the ground or
especially above water. Furthermore, a
stem normally occurring below ground
is not exceptional either (see rhizome).
Therefore, the root is best defined as
the non-leaf, non-nodes bearing parts
of the plant's body. However, important
internal structural differences between
stems and roots exist.
Definitions. The first root that comes
from a plant is called the radicle. A
root's four major functions are 1)
absorption of water and inorganic
nutrients, 2) anchoring of the plant
body to the ground, and supporting it,
3) storage of food and nutrients, 4)
vegetative reproduction and
competition with other plants.
1. Root is the descending or underground part
of the plant axis.
2. Root is usually positively geotropic (i.e.
grows downward into the soil) and positively
hydrotropic (i.e. grows towards the source of
water) but negatively phototropic (i.e. grows
away from sunlight).
3. Root is usually cylindrical and non-green (i.e.
lack chlorophylls), but sometimes green as in
Trapa and Taeniophylum.
4. Root does not bear nodes, internodes, leaves
or buds (exceptions are sweet potato, wood
apple etc.)
5. The growing point of root tip is sub-terminal
and protected by a root cap or calyptra.
6. Unicellular root hairs present just behind the
root caps which increase the absorptive surface
area of roots,
7. Lateral roots are endogenous in origin i.e.
arise from pericycle of the main root.
2.)
a.) dicot
root
a. The
dicotyledons, also known as
dicots (or more rarely dicotyls),
were one of the two groups into
which all the flowering plants
or angiosperms were formerly
divided. The name refers to
one of the typical
characteristics of the group,
namely that the seed has two
embryonic leaves or
cotyledons.
a.) Dicot root
Root hairs (unicellular root hair) form
an important surface over which plants absorb
most of their water and nutrients. They are also
directly involved in the formation of root
nodules in legumeplants. They have a large
surface area, which makes absorbing water
during osmosis and minerals during active
uptake more efficient.
Epiblema is the outermost covering of
the root formed by single layer of compactly
arranged, barrel-shaped, parenchyma cells.
The cells are characteristically thin-walled
since they are involved in absorption of water.
A cuticle and stomata are absent. Some of the
epiblema cells are produced into long
unicellular projections called root hairs. Hence,
the epiblema is also known as piliferous layer.
Pith is absent in the older root.
Cortex is a major component of the
ground tissue of root. It is represented by
several layers of loosely arranged parenchyma
cells. Intercellular spaces are prominent. The
cortex is mainly meant for storage of water.
The cells also allow a free movement of water
into the xylem vessels.
Epiblema or Epidermis - It is the
outermost unilayered with several unicellular
root hairs. It consists of thin walled, compactly
arranged living parenchymatous cells. Usually
epiblema is characterised by absence of
stomata and cuticle. Sometimes the epiblema
may be less cuticularised. It provides
protection to the roots due to presence of
unicellular root hairs it also helps in absorption
of water and minerals from soil.
Cortex - It is thin walled, multilayered
region made from circular or polygonal
parenchymatous cells. they usually have
intercellular spaces. The cortical cells have no
chloroplast but may contain leucoplast for
storage of starch grains. The cortex is
responsible for transportation of water and
salts from the root hairs to the center of the
root.
Endodermis - It is the innermost layer
of cortex and covers the stele. It consists of
compactly arranged barrel shaped parenchyma
without intercellular spaces. Most of the
cells are characterised by the presence of
special thickening of suberin and lignin on
their radial and tangential walls called
casparian strips. Some endodermal cell
near protoxylem has no casparian strips
and called passage cells or transfusion
cells. These cells allow radial diffusion of
water and minerals through the
endodermis.
Pericycle - It is the outermost
layer of stele and composed of uniseriate
layer of parenchymatous cells without
intercellular spaces. Some dicots and
hydrophytes do not bear pericycle.
Several lateral roots and lateral meristem
arise from pericycle region (hence lateral
roots are endogenous in origin). At the
time of secondary growth, it produces Primary Growth of Roots
secondary cambium or phellogens. The root system also has an apical meristem,
Vascular bundles - They are 2-8 in known as the root apical meristem. This acts
number, radial and arranged in ring. Xylem and in much the same way as the shoot apical
phloem bundles are separated from each other meristem, causing extension growth. The main
by parenchymatous cells called conjuctive or difference is this growth goes down into the
complementary tissue. ground, and roots, not leaves and branches,
Xylem is exarch (i.e. protoxylem come from the root apical meristem.
towards the periphery and metaxylem
towards the centre) and consists of Roots have really important jobs, and they
tracheids, vessels, xylem parenchyma dont get a lot of credit for their hard work
and xylem fibres. because they are underground all the time.
The pholem forms oval masses Roots are responsible for:
beneath the pericycle, alternating with 1. Anchoring the plant into the ground
xylem bundles. Pholem consists of 2. Absorbing water and nutrients
sieve tubes, companion cells and 3. Storing nutrients
pholem parenchyma. Usually pholem 4. Associating with soil microbes in
fibres are absent or reduced. symbiotic relationships
Pith - it is feebly developed and centrally As roots grow, they travel downward through
located. It consists of thin walled, polygonal the soil, dodging rocks and other obstacles that
parenchyma cells with intercellular spaces. might be in their way. Just as you should wear a
In dicots roots, it may be reduced or helmet when riding a motorcycle or playing
absent. It helps in storage of food hockey, roots have their own type of helmet:
materials. a root cap. The root cap protects the root
Metaxylem vessels are primary xylem apical meristem as the root pushes its way
vessels that are formed after protoxylem through the soil. It also secretes slimy ooze
vessels and are therefore larger and more that lubricates the soil around the tip of the
lignified. Metaxylem is formed behind the root, aiding the root on its journey through the
elongating stem apex. harsh soil.

Roots can take on many different forms, and

root form depends on whether the plant is
a eudicot or monocot. In eudicots, the first
root to form is the primary root. It grows
straight down and is the dominant root, also
known as a taproot. The taproot can produce
lateral roots that grow out to the sides.
Common eudicots include tomato plants, roses,
maple trees, oak trees, and raspberry bushes.

In eudicots, branch roots soon join the taproot

in its hunt for nutrients. These branch roots
form from an area called the pericycle. Branch
roots dont grow as long as taproots, but they
expand the plants ability to take up water and
nutrients from the ground.

Secondary Growth in Roots

Secondary growth occurs in many roots and

usually results in the thickening of the root
diameter by the addition ofvascular
tissue.
Initiation of secondary growth
occurs when cells in the residual
procambium and parts of the pericyle
begin to make periclinal divisions. Only
the pericyle cells opposite the xylem
points start to make periclinal divisions. The
inner layer of cells becomes the vascular
cambium. The outer layer is retained as
pericycle. The vascular cambium is continuous
around the primary xylem.
The vascular cambium continues to divide
periclinally. The daughter cells that result from
these divisions differentiate into secondary
xylem cells if they divide off towards the inside
of the root or secondary phloem cells if they
divide towards the outer surface of the root.
After many cell divisions and cell
differentiation, a root exhibiting secondary
growth might look like the one depicted in the
diagram to the right.
In light-dependent reactions,
the energy from sunlight is absorbed
by chlorophyll and converted
into chemical energy in the form
of electron carrier molecules like ATP a
nd NADPH.
Light energy is harnessed
in Photosystems I and II, both of which
are present in
the thylakoid membranes
of chloroplasts.
In light-independent reactions (the
Calvin cycle), carbohydrate molecules
are assembled from carbon dioxide
using the chemical energy harvested
during the light-dependent reactions.
Light-Dependent Reactions
In the light-dependent reactions,
energy from sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll
and converted into stored chemical energy, in
the form of the electron carrier molecule
NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
phosphate) and the energy currency molecule
ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The light-
dependent reactions take place in the thylakoid
membranes in the granum (stack of
thylakoids), within the chloroplast.
Light-Independent Reactions
In the light-independent reactions or Calvin
cycle, the energized electrons from the light-
dependent reactions provide the energy to
form carbohydrates from carbon dioxide
molecules. The light-independent reactions are
sometimes called the Calvin cycle because of
the cyclical nature of the process.
Although the light-independent reactions do
not use light as a reactant (and as a result can
take place at day or night), they require the
products of the light-dependent reactions to
function. The light-independent molecules
depend on the energy carrier molecules, ATP
and NADPH, to drive the construction of new
carbohydrate molecules. After the energy is
transferred, the energy carrier molecules
return to the light-dependent reactions to obtain
more energized electrons. In addition,
several enzymes of the light-independent reactions
are activated by light.
Metabolism is a term that is used to
describe all chemical reactions involved in
maintaining the living state of the cells and the
organism. Metabolism can be conveniently
divided into two categories: Catabolism - the
breakdown of molecules to obtain energy.
The chemical reaction for fermentation is
expressed as the chemical equation: C6H12O6 ? 2
C2H5OH + 2 CO2. Showing the alcoholic
fermentation of glucose as chemical formula
C6H12O6, this one glucose molecule is converted
into twoethanol molecules expressed as 2C2H5OH
and two carbon dioxide molecules expressed as
2CO2.
Bacterial growth is the asexual reproduction,
or cell division, of a bacterium into two
daughter cells, in a process called binary
fission. Providing no mutational event occurs,
the resulting daughter cells are genetically
identical to the original cell. Hence, "local
doubling" of the bacterial population occurs.
Both daughter cells from the division do not
necessarily survive. However, if the number
surviving exceeds unity on average, the
bacterial population undergoes exponential
growth.
Phases
In autecological studies, the growth of bacteria
(or other microorganisms,
as protozoa, microalgae or yeasts) in batch
culture can be modeled with four different
phases: lag phase (A), log
phase or exponential phase (B), stationary
phase (C), and death phase (D).[3]
1. During lag phase, bacteria adapt
themselves to growth conditions. It is
the period where the
individual bacteria are maturing and
not yet able to divide. During the lag
phase of the bacterial growth cycle,
synthesis of RNA, enzymes and other
molecules occurs.
2. The log phase (sometimes called the
logarithmic phase or the exponential
phase) is a period characterized by cell
doubling. The number of new bacteria
appearing per unit time is proportional
to the present population. If growth is
not limited, doubling will continue at a
constant rate so both the number of
cells and the rate of population
increase doubles with each consecutive
time period. For this type of
exponential growth, plotting the
natural logarithm of cell number
against time produces a straight line.
The slope of this line is the specific
growth rate of the organism, which is a
measure of the number of divisions per
cell per unit time.
3. The stationary phase is often due to
a growth-limiting factor such as the
depletion of an essential nutrient,
and/or the formation of an inhibitory
product such as an organic acid.
Stationary phase results from a
situation in which growth rate and
death rate are equal. The number of
new cells created is limited by the
growth factor and as a result the rate
of cell growth matches the rate of cell
death. The result is a smooth,
horizontal linear part of the curve
during the stationary phase.
4. At death phase (decline phase),
bacteria die. This could be caused by
lack of nutrients, environmental
temperature above or below the
tolerance band for the species, or other
injurious conditions.