Organisma

l Biology
Learning Competency
The learners shall be able to compare and contrast the following
processes in Plants and Animals:
 Nutrient Procurement and Processing
 Gas Exchange
 Transport and Circulation
 Regulation of Body Fluids
 Immune Systems
 Chemical and Nervous Control
 Sensory and Motor Mechanisms
 Reproduction and Development
utrient Procuremen
and Processing
Plant Nutrition
Nutrient – refers to any substance required for the growth and
maintenance of an organism.

The two types of organisms based on the mode of nutrition are:

Autotrophs – organisms that obtain energy from sunlight and

chemicals to produce their own food.
Heterotrophs – organisms that cannot make their own food and
obtain their energy from other organisms.
Nutritional Requirements of Plants
 Water
 Carbon dioxide
 Essential nutrients or elements – macronutients and
micronutrients
Macronutrients – C, H, O, N, K, Ca, Mg, P, S
Micronutrients – Cl, Fe, B, Mn, Zn, Co, Mo
 Routes for the Absorption of Water and Minerals across
Plant Roots
• Symplast route – through plasmodesmata
• Apoplast route – along cell walls
Specialized Absorptive Structures
• Root hairs – slender extensions of specialized epidermal cells
that greatly increase the surface area available for absorption.
• Root nodules – localized swellings in roots of certain plants
where bacterial cells exist symbiotically with the plant. The
bacterial help the plant fix nitrogen and in turn, the bacteria
are able to utilize some organic compounds provided by the
plant.
Animal Nutrition
• Nutritional Requirements of Animals
– Carbohydrates – major energy source for the cells in the body. On average,
carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram.
– Proteins – can also be used as an energy source but the body mainly uses
these as building materials for cell structures such as enzymes, hormones,
parts of muscles, and bones. It also contain 4 calories per gram.
– Fats – used to build cell membranes, steroid hormones, and other cell
structures; also used to insulate nervous tissue, and also serve as an
energy source. Fats also contain certain fat – soluble vitamins that are
important for good health. They contain a higher amount of energy per
gram than carbohydrates or proteins, about 9 calories per gram.
• Mychorrhizae – a symbiotic interaction between a fungus and
roots. The fungus obtains sugars and nitrogen – containing
compounds from root cells while the plant is able to get some
scarce minerals that the fungus is better able to absorb from
the soil.
Essential Nutrients – include substances that animals can only get
from the food they eat because they could not be synthesized inside
the body. These include:
Essential Amino Acids – (8) lysine, tryptophan, threonine, methionine,
phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
Essential Fatty acids – used for making special membrane lipids.
Example: linoleic acid
Vitamins – organic molecules required in small amounts for normal
metabolism. (A,D,E,K and Vitamin B, B2, B3, B12, C)
Trace elements or minerals – inorganic nutrients needed by the body
in minute amounts; these form part of enzymes, body tissues, and
body fluids; Examples: I, Co, Zn, Mo, Mn, Se
 Food uptake in Cells
• Phagocytosis – engulfment of organic fragments or big
particles.
• Pinocytosis – uptake of extracellular fluid by a cell using small
vesicles derived from the plasma membrane.
Different Types of Animals Based on Feeding Mechanisms

• Substrate – feeders are animals that live in or on their food source.

(Examples: earthworm, caterpillars)
• Filter – feeders include many aquatic animals which draw in water
and strain small organisms and food particles present in the medium.
• Fluid – feeders – suck fluids containing nutrients from a living host.
Example: mosquitoes
• Bulk – feeders – eat relatively large chunks of food and have
adaptations like jaws, teeth, claws etc. that help in securing the food
and tearing it into pieces.
Different Kinds of Digestive Compartments in Animals

• Food vacuoles in unicellular organisms – these fuse with lysosomes that

contain hydrolytic enzymes.
• Gastrovascular cavity or Incomplete digestive system – composed of a
single opening through which food is taken in and where wastes are
disposed of; it is a sac – like body cavity. Examples: Hydra and Planaria
• Complete Digestive System – essentially like a tube with an opening at
one end for taking in food (mouth) and an opening at the other end
where unabsorbed waste materials are eliminated (anus). In between
the mouth and the anus, are specialized organs that carry out transport,
processing, and absorption of digested nutrients.
Main Stages of Food Processing
A. Ingestion – the act of eating or feeding; this is coupled with the mechanical
breakdown of food into smaller pieces allowing for greater surface area for
chemical digestion.
B. Digestion – breakdown of food into particles, then into nutrient molecules
small enough for chemical digestion by enzymes. It involves breaking of
chemical bonds through the addition of water i.e. enzymatic hydrolysis
C. Absorption – passage of digested nutrients and fluid across the tube wall and
into the body fluids; the cells take up (absorb) small molecules such as amino
acids and simple sugar.
D. Elimination – expulsion of the undigested and unabsorbed materials from the
end of the gut.
 Human Digestive System
A. The Oral Cavity, Pharynx, and Esophagus
I. Oral Cavity – it is where food is initially chewed into shreds by the teeth, and mixed
with saliva by the tongue. Saliva is secreted into the mouth by three pairs of salivary
glands located above the upper jaw and below the lower jaw.
II. Pharynx – the region in the back of the throat that serves as the entrance to the
esophagus that connects to the stomach and trachea that serves as airway to the
lungs. To block breathing as food leaves the pharynx, a flap-like valve (epiglottis) and
the vocal cords close off the trachea.
III. Esophagus – connects the pharynx with the stomach. No digestion takes place within
the esophagus but the contractions within its muscular wall propel the food past a
sphincter, into the stomach. The rhythmic waves of contraction of the smooth muscle
wall of the esophagus are called peristaltic contractions or peristalsis. The esophagus
is about 25 cm (10 in.) long.
B. The Stomach
I. The stomach is a muscular, stretchable sac located just below the
diaphragm. It has three important functions. First, it mixes and
stores ingested food. Second, it secretes gastric juice that helps
dissolve and degrade the food, particularly proteins. Third, it
regulates the passage of food into the small intestine.
II. The gastric juice is a combination of HCl and acid – stable proteases.
III. The churning action of the stomach together with the potent acidity
of the gastric juice convert food into a thick, liquid mixture called
chyme.
C. Small Intestine
I. The small intestine is approximately 6 meters long and is composed of
three regions: the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.
II. It is where most enzymatic hydrolysis of the macromolecules from food
occurs. The complete digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
occurs in the duodenum, about the first 25 cm. of the small intestine.
III. The rest of the small intestine is devoted to absorbing water and the
products of digestion into the bloodstream.
IV. Absorption of the end products of digestion takes place in the ileum,
the surface area of which is increased by villi and microvilli
 The Accessory Digestive Organs
I. Liver – secretes bile for emulsifying fats
II. Gallbladder – stores bile produced by the liver
III. Pancreas – secretes enzymes that break down all major food
molecules; secretes buffers against HCl from the stomach;
secretes the hormone insulin for control of glucose
metabolism.
E. The Large Intestine or Colon
I. The large intestine is much shorter than the small intestine, about 1
meter.
II. It concentrates and stores undigested matter by absorbing mineral ions
and water. A small amount of fluid, sodium, and Vitamin K are absorbed
through its walls.
III. Unlike the small intestine, it does not coil up and does not have villi and
has only 1/30 of the absorptive surface area of the small intestine.
IV. Many bacteria live and thrive within the large intestine where they help
process undigested material into the final excretory product, feces.
The Rectum and Anus
I. The rectum is a short extension of the large intestine and is
the final segment of the digestive tract. It is where the
compacted undigested food from the colon are pushed via
peristaltic contractions.
II. The distention of the rectum triggers expulsion of feces.
III. The anus is the terminal opening of the digestive system
through which feces are expelled.
Digestive Enzyme Substance Product
Organ Digested Formed
Salivary gland amylase Starch maltose

Stomach pepsin proteins Partly digested proteins

Pancreas Trypsin Proteins Peptidase and amino acid

Lipase Fats Fatty acid and glycerol
Amylase Starch Maltose
Small Intestine Peptidase Peptides Amino acids
Sucrase Sucrose Glucose and fructose
Lactase Lactose Glucose and galactose
Maltase Maltose glucose
Liver Bile Fat globules Fat droplets
Gas Exchange
Gas Exchange
I. Gas exchange – is the uptake of molecular oxygen from the
environment and the discharge of carbon dioxide to the environment.
II. It is often called respiratory exchange or respiration.
III. Oxygen is needed in tissues for aerobic cellular respiration to occur
and extract ATP from food.
IV. Carbon dioxide must be released to prevent physiological pH in tissues
from being very acidic. In plants however, the carbon dioxide that is
released as a by-product of cellular respiration may again be taken up
for the process of photosynthesis.
 Respiratory Pigments
A. Adaptations of animals for gas exchange include respiratory
pigments that bind and transport gases.
B. The respiratory pigment of vertebrates is hemoglobin while
that of invertebrates is hemocyanin.
C. Blood cannot carry sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide in
dissolved form to meet the body’s requirements;
hemoglobin helps to enhance its capacity.
 Structures for gas exchange in plants
I. Stomata in leaves
II. Lenticels in stems
III. Root hairs in aerial roots.
IV. Pneumatophores or the lateral roots of mangroves
 Respiratory Surfaces or Organs in Invertebrates
I. Cell surface or cell membrane – especially used in unicellular organisms
II. Integumentary exchange – refers to the general body surface or skin used by
animals with high surface-to-volume ratio (e.g. flatworm and earthworm).
Amphibians also use their skin in addition to lungs as gas exchange surface.
III. External gills – used by invertebrates that live in aquatic habitats; gills are
highly-folded, thin – walled, vascularized epidermis that project outward from
the body
IV. Tracheal System in arthropods – utilizes fine air-conducting tubules to
provide gaseous exchange at the cell; it is not dependent on a circulatory
system.
 Respiratory Organs in Vertebrates
I. External Gills – thin, vascularized epidermis that project from the
body surface of a few amphibians; e.g. larval salamander
II. Internal Gills – rows of slits or pockets in adult fishes positioned at
the back of the mouth such that water that enters the mouth can
flow over them as it exits just behind the head.
III. Lungs – internal respiratory surfaces shaped as a cavity or sac; lungs
provide a membrane for gaseous exchange. Since they are not in
direct contact with all other parts of the body, lungs require a
circulatory system to transport gases to the rest of the body.