Biology – transport systems

 Cells need a constant supply of energy and raw materials to survive

 In multicellular organisms such as large flowering plants and mammals, cells are often
long distances from the sources of the substances they require
 The leaves of plants make organic compounds such as sucrose and amino acids
 These compounds are made from triose phosphates made in photosynthesis and are
known as assimilates
 These are transported long distances to stems, roots, flowers, fruits and seeds that need
them for respiration and growth
 Most multicellular animals have specialized structures for gaseous exchange and a
transport system to carry oxygen from the gas exchange surface to every cell in the body
 Transport system also carries nutrients and water
 Flowering plants have a specialized transport system for water and nutrients but do not
have one for oxygen and carbon dioxide
 The gases simply diffuse through air spaces within the plant body
 Transport is the movement of substances throughout the bod of organisms. This is
achieved through specialized tissue and organs that make up the transport systems
 These are:
o Mammals – circulatory system containing of blood, blood vessels and the heart
o Flowering plants – transport systems consisting of xylem and phloem tissue
 These systems rely on the movement of fluids inside a tube in a single direction. This
type of transport is known as mass flow
Feature of Transport Systems Flowering Plants Mammals
Nutrients transported Sucrose, amin acids, ions Glucose, amino acids, fatty
(minerals) acids, vitamins, ions
(minerals)
Water Into the xylem In the blood
Transport of respiratory gases No system – supply of A system present – oxygen
oxygen and carbon dioxide is and carbon dioxide
via diffusion through air transported
spaces and cells
Fluids transported Xylem sap, phloem sap blood
Tubes Xylem vessels, phloem sieve Arteries, capillaries and veins
tubes (intracellular transport) (extracellular transport)
Mechanism Xylem – transpiration pull, Heart pumps blood, giving it
cohesion, tension hydrostatic pressure
Phloem – pressure flow
Rate of flow Slower Faster
Sealing of wounds to prevent Production of callose to seal Blood clotting
loss of fluids phloem sieve tubes
The uptake of water and ions
 There are 4 aspects to transport in plants:
o Absorption of water and ions from the soil
o Movement of water and ions over short distances within organs (roots, stems and
leaves)
o Long distance transport of xylem sap and phloem sap from roots to leaves
o Evaporation and loss of water vapor from leaves to the atmosphere
 Plants roots absorb ion s and water form the soil. They are adapted via:
o Long tap roots that reach sources of water and ions are depths in the soil
o Extensive branching system that occupies large volumes of soil
o Fast growth of branching roots to reach new sources of ion, especially of
phosphate ions, especially of phosphate ion stat remain bound to soil particles
unlike nitrate ion which are mobile in the soil
o