Chapter 37

Plant Nutrition

PowerPoint Lectures for

Biology, Seventh Edition
Neil Campbell and Jane Reece

Lectures by Chris Romero

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 • Overview: A Nutritional Network

• Every organism
– Continually exchanges energy and materials
with its environment

• For a typical plant

– Water and minerals come from the soil, while
carbon dioxide comes from the air

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 • The branching root system and shoot system
of a vascular plant
– Ensure extensive networking with both
reservoirs of inorganic nutrients

Figure 37.1
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 • Concept 37.1: Plants require certain chemical
elements to complete their life cycle
• Plants derive most of their organic mass from the
CO2 of air
– But they also depend on soil nutrients such as
water and minerals
CO2 H2 O
CO2, the source
of carbon for O2
Photosynthesis,
diffuses into Through
leaves from the stomata, leaves
air through expel H2O and
stomata. O2.

Roots take in
O2 and expel
CO2. The plant
uses O2 for cellular
respiration but is
a net O2 producer.
O2
Minerals
Roots absorb
CO2
H2O and
minerals from H2 O
Figure 37.2 the soil.

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 Macronutrients and Micronutrients
• More than 50 chemical elements
– Have been identified among the inorganic
substances in plants, but not all of these are
essential

• A chemical element is considered essential

– If it is required for a plant to complete a life
cycle

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 • Researchers use hydroponic culture
– To determine which chemicals elements are
essential
APPLICATION In hydroponic culture, plants are grown in mineral solutions without soil. One use of hydroponic culture
is to identify essential elements in plants.

TECHNIQUE Plant roots are bathed in aerated solutions of known mineral composition. Aerating the water provides
the roots with oxygen for cellular respiration. A particular mineral, such as potassium, can be omitted to test whether it is
essential.

Control: Solution Experimental: Solution

containing all minerals without potassium

RESULTS If the omitted mineral is essential, mineral deficiency symptoms occur, such as stunted growth and
discolored leaves. Deficiencies of different elements may have different symptoms, which can aid in diagnosing mineral
Figure 37.3 deficiencies in soil.

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 • Essential elements in plants

Table 37.1
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 • Nine of the essential elements are called
macronutrients
– Because plants require them in relatively large
amounts

• The remaining eight essential elements are

known as micronutrients
– Because plants need them in very small
amounts

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 Symptoms of Mineral Deficiency
• The symptoms of mineral deficiency
– Depend partly on the nutrient’s function

– Depend on the mobility of a nutrient within the

plant

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 • Deficiency of a mobile nutrient
– Usually affects older organs more than young
ones

• Deficiency of a less mobile nutrient

– Usually affects younger organs more than
older ones

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 • The most common deficiencies
– Are those of nitrogen, potassium, and
phosphorus
Healthy

Phosphate-deficient

Potassium-deficient

Nitrogen-deficient

Figure 37.4
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 • Concept 37.2: Soil quality is a major determinant
of plant distribution and growth
• Along with climate
– The major factors determining whether particular
plants can grow well in a certain location are the
texture and composition of the soil
• Texture
– Is the soil’s general structure

• Composition
– Refers to the soil’s organic and inorganic chemical
components
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 Texture and Composition of Soils
• Various sizes of particles derived from the
breakdown of rock are found in soil
– Along with organic material (humus) in various
stages of decomposition

• The eventual result of this activity is topsoil

– A mixture of particles of rock and organic
material

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 • The topsoil and other distinct soil layers, or
horizons
– Are often visible in vertical profile where there is a
road cut or deep hole
The A horizon is the topsoil, a mixture of
broken-down rock of various textures, living
organisms, and decaying organic matter.
A
The B horizon contains much less organic
B
matter than the A horizon and is less
weathered.
C The C horizon, composed mainly of partially
broken-down rock, serves as the “parent”
material for the upper layers of soil.

Figure 37.5
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 • After a heavy rainfall, water drains away from the
larger spaces of soil
– But smaller spaces retain water because of its
attraction to surfaces of clay and other particles

• The film of loosely bound water

– Is usually available to plants
Soil particle surrounded by
film of water

Root hair

Water available
to plant

Air space
(a) Soil water. A plant cannot extract all the water in the soil because
some of it is tightly held by hydrophilic soil particles. Water bound
Figure 37.6a less tightly to soil particles can be absorbed by the root.

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 • Acids derived from roots contribute to a plant’s
uptake of minerals
– When H+ displaces mineral cations from clay
particles
Soil particle
K + – – +
K
– –
– – –
– –
Mg2+ Ca2+
Cu2+ K+

H+
H2O + CO2 H2CO3 HCO3– + H+

Root hair

(b) Cation exchange in soil. Hydrogen ions (H+) help make nutrients
available by displacing positively charged minerals (cations such as
Ca2+) that were bound tightly to the surface of negatively charged
soil particles. Plants contribute H+ by secreting it from root hairs
and also by cellular respiration, which releases CO2 into the soil
solution, where it reacts with H2O to form carbonic acid (H2CO3).
Figure 37.6b Dissociation of this acid adds H+ to the soil solution.

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 Soil Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture
• In contrast to natural ecosystems
– Agriculture depletes the mineral content of the
soil, taxes water reserves, and encourages
erosion

• The goal of soil conservation strategies

– Is to minimize this damage

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 Fertilizers
• Commercially produced fertilizers
– Contain minerals that are either mined or
prepared by industrial processes

• “Organic” fertilizers
– Are composed of manure, fishmeal, or
compost

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 • Agricultural researchers
– Are developing ways to maintain crop yields while
reducing fertilizer use

• Genetically engineered “smart” plants

– Inform the grower when a nutrient deficiency is
imminent

No phosphorus deficiency Beginning phosphorus Well-developed phosphorus

Figure 37.7 deficiency deficiency
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 Irrigation
• Irrigation, which is a huge drain on water
resources when used for farming in arid
regions
– Can change the chemical makeup of soil

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 Erosion
• Topsoil from thousands of acres of farmland
– Is lost to water and wind erosion each year in
the United States

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 • Certain precautions
– Can prevent the loss of topsoil

Figure 37.8
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 • The goal of soil management
– Is sustainable agriculture, a commitment
embracing a variety of farming methods that
are conservation-minded

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 Soil Reclamation
• Some areas are unfit for agriculture
– Because of contamination of soil or
groundwater with toxic pollutants

• A new method known as phytoremediation

– Is a biological, nondestructive technology that
seeks to reclaim contaminated areas

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 • Concept 37.3: Nitrogen is often the mineral that
has the greatest effect on plant growth
• Plants require nitrogen as a component of
– Proteins, nucleic acids, chlorophyll, and other
important organic molecules

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 Soil Bacteria and Nitrogen Availability
• Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert atmospheric N2
– To nitrogenous minerals that plants can absorb as
a nitrogen source for organic synthesis
Atmosphere
N2 N2
Atmosphere
Nitrate and
Soil nitrogenous
organic
compounds
Nitrogen-fixing
N2 bacteria
exported in
Denitrifying xylem to
bacteria shoot system
H+
(From soil)
NH3 NH4+
Soil (ammonia)
NH4+ NO3–
(ammonium) Nitrifying (nitrate)
bacteria

Ammonifying
Organic bacteria
material (humus) Root
Figure 37.9
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 Improving the Protein Yield of Crops
• Agriculture research in plant breeding
– Has resulted in new varieties of maize, wheat,
and rice that are enriched in protein

• Such research
– Addresses the most widespread form of
human malnutrition: protein deficiency

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 • Concept 37.4: Plant nutritional adaptations
often involve relationships with other organisms
• Two types of relationships plants have with
other organisms are mutualistic
– Symbiotic nitrogen fixation

– Mycorrhizae

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 The Role of Bacteria in Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation
• Symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing
bacteria
– Provide some plant species with a built-in
source of fixed nitrogen

• From an agricultural standpoint

– The most important and efficient symbioses
between plants and nitrogen-fixing bacteria
occur in the legume family (peas, beans, and
other similar plants)

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 • Along a legumes possessive roots are swellings
called nodules
– Composed of plant cells that have been “infected”
by nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium bacteria

Nodules

Roots

(a) Pea plant root. The bumps on

this pea plant root are nodules
containing Rhizobium bacteria.
The bacteria fix nitrogen and
obtain photosynthetic products
Figure 37.10a supplied by the plant.

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 • Inside the nodule
– Rhizobium bacteria assume a form called
bacteroids, which are contained within vesicles
formed by the root cell 5 µm

Bacteroids
within
vesicle

(b) Bacteroids in a soybean root

nodule. In this TEM, a cell from
a root nodule of soybean is filled
with bacteroids in vesicles. The
Figure 37.10b cells on the left are uninfected.
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 • The bacteria of a nodule
– Obtain sugar from the plant and supply the
plant with fixed nitrogen

• Each legume
– Is associated with a particular strain of
Rhizobium

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 • Development of a soybean root nodule
Rhizobium
Infection bacteria
thread Dividing cells 2 The bacteria penetrate
1 Roots emit chemical in root cortex the cortex within the
signals that attract Infection thread. Cells of
Rhizobium bacteria. Bacteroid Dividing cells in
Infected the cortex and pericycle
The bacteria then emit 1 pericycle
root hair begin dividing, and
signals that stimulate vesicles containing the
root hairs to elongate 2 bacteria bud into cortical
and to form an cells from the branching
infection thread by an infection thread. This
invagination of the process results in the
plasma membrane. formation of bacteroids.

Developing
root nodule

3 Bacteroid

3 Growth continues in the

4 affected regions of the
cortex and pericycle,
4 The nodule develops and these two masses
vascular tissue that of dividing cells fuse,
supplies nutrients to the forming the nodule.
nodule and carries
nitrogenous compounds
into the vascular
cylinder for distribution
throughout the plant. Nodule
vascular
Bacteroid tissue
Figure 37.11
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 The Molecular Biology of Root Nodule Formation
• The development of a nitrogen-fixing root
nodule
– Depends on chemical dialogue between
Rhizobium bacteria and root cells of their
specific plant hosts

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 Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation and Agriculture
• The agriculture benefits of symbiotic nitrogen
fixation
– Underlie crop rotation

• In this practice
– A non-legume such as maize is planted one
year, and the following year a legume is
planted to restore the concentration of nitrogen
in the soil

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 Mycorrhizae and Plant Nutrition
• Mycorrhizae
– Are modified roots consisting of mutualistic
associations of fungi and roots

• The fungus
– Benefits from a steady supply of sugar donated by
the host plant

• In return, the fungus

– Increases the surface area of water uptake and
mineral absorption and supplies water and
minerals to the host plant
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 The Two Main Types of Mycorrhizae
• In ectomycorrhizae
– The mycelium of the fungus forms a dense sheath
over the surface of the root

a Ectomycorrhizae. The mantle

(a) Epidermis Cortex Mantle 100 µm
of the fungal mycelium (fungal
ensheathes the root. Fungal sheath)
hyphae extend from the mantle
into the soil, absorbing water
and minerals, especially
phosphate. Hyphae also
extend into the extracellular Endodermis
spaces of the root cortex,
providing extensive surface
area for nutrient exchange
between the fungus and its Fungal
host plant. hyphae
between
Mantle cortical
(fungal sheath) cells (colorized SEM)

Figure 37.12a

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 • In endomycorrhizae
– Microscopic fungal hyphae extend into the root

2 Endomycorrhizae. No mantle
(b) Epidermis Cortex 10 µm
forms around the root, but Cortical cells
microscopic fungal hyphae
extend into the root. Within
the root cortex, the fungus
makes extensive contact with Endodermis
the plant through branching
of hyphae that form Fungal
arbuscules, providing an hyphae Vesicle
enormous surface area for
nutrient swapping. The Casparian
hyphae penetrate the cell strip
walls, but not the plasma
membranes, of cells within Root
the cortex. hair Arbuscules

(LM, stained specimen)

Figure 37.12b

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 Agricultural Importance of Mycorrhizae
• Farmers and foresters
– Often inoculate seeds with spores of
mycorrhizal fungi to promote the formation of
mycorrhizae

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 Epiphytes, Parasitic Plants, and Carnivorous Plants
• Some plants
– Have nutritional adaptations that use other
organisms in nonmutualistic ways

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 • Exploring unusual nutritional adaptations in plants
EPIPHYTES

Staghorn fern, an epiphyte

PARASITIC PLANTS

Host’s phloem

Dodder
Haustoria

Mistletoe, a photosynthetic parasite Dodder, a nonphotosynthetic Indian pipe, a nonphotosynthetic parasite

parasite

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS

Venus’ flytrap
Figure 37.13 Pitcher plants Sundews

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