Plant Animal Nutrition Organisms can be divided into two classes on the basis of their method of nutrition Autotrophs:

oManufacture their own organic compounds from inorganic raw materials taken from the surrounding medium oThe molecules of these raw materials are small enough to be dissolved in water, and can pass through cell membrane oAutotrophic organisms do not need to digest their nutrients before taking them into their cells oAutotrophs are photosynthetic oInclude bacteria, protozoans, brown algae and plant Heterotrophs oUnable to manufacture energy rich organic compounds from simple inorganic nutrients oMust obtain organic molecules from the environment oMost of the organic molecules are too large to be absorbed through cell membranes and so they have to be first digested into smaller, more easily absorbable molecular subunits oSome of the products of digestion will supply the energy to alter and reassemble the other into organic macromolecules such as lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids oInclude some bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and animals Autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms will differ both in their nutrient requirements and in the problems associated with nutrient absorption Evolved different adaptation in response to the different selections pressure acting upon thee

What plants are made of - the higher photosynthetic organisms need light, carbon dioxide and water

these raw materials supply the carbon oxygen and hydrogen are the predominant elements in the organic molecules they manufacture as well as the energy needed to drive the synthetic reaction where do plants get these elements? The atmosphere Hydrogen=water cohesion tension, turgor pressure Carbon=carbon dioxide respiratory waste Oxygen= water photosynthetic waste, photorespiration Nitrogen= soil no one has the enzymes 1648: Van Helmont where does plant matter come from? Atmospheric Co2 all the carbon and oxygen in the glucose made by plants comes from atmospheric Co2 Why plants need minerals? Make enzymes and coenzymes that run reactions

How plants feed - plants need carbon dioxide, water and minerals - Co2 is absorbed by laves - Most higher terrestrial plants have roots - An extensive root system is important both in anchoring the plants and providing sufficient absorptive surfaces - Roots increase their absorptive capacity with root hairs - The outer surface of the root is a layer of epidermis - Beneath the epidermis is the cortex, a wide area with numerous intercellular spaces o large quantities of starch are often stored in cortex cells o important in younger roots

innermost layer of the cortex, one cell thick, is the endodermis endodermal cells are characterized by a waterproof band known as the casparian strip which run through the sides and end walls. All roots and some stems have a well-defined endodermis the endodermis forms the outer boundary of the central core of the root that contains the vascular cylinder this core is called the stele just inside the endodermis is a layer of thin walled cells, called the pericycle pericycle: cells can initiate new growth and give rise to lateral roots the central portion of the stele, surrounded by endodermis and pericycle, is filled with the two vascular tissues, xylem and phloem

Dicots - the thick walled xylem cells often form a cross or star shaped figure - bundles of phloem cells are located between the arms of the xylem - instead of forming a continuous cylinder like the epidermis, cortex, endodermis and pericycle, the xylem and phloem alternate in this part of the stele Monocots - have an area of pith at the very center of the stele (starchy parenchyma cells) - xylem forms circular bundle - bundles of xylem and phloem still alternate Absorption of Nutrients - water from soil can cross a root-hair membrane, and then move from cell to cell through the cortex and across the endodermis to the core of the root - once across the root hair membrane, this intercellular movement is usually unimpeded by further membranes because the cytoplasm of adjacent plant cells often form a symplast an association in which open channels (the plasmodesmata) interconnect the contents of neighboring cells

the other method of water travel is apoplast a network of cell walls and intercellular spaces that leades through the cortex, but water never gets to the stele. The Casparian strip prevents apoplastic flow, so the water must cross an endodermal cell membrane getting through cell membrane happens through simple osmosis: water flowing from regions of low solute concentration to areas of higher concentration. Since cytoplasm has very high concentrations of dissolved substances like ions, sugar and other hydrophilic molecules, water will tend to enter the roots because plants have rigid cell walls, they can accept only a limited influx of water before turgor pressure creates a potential energy difference that balances the osmotic pressure, producing a water potential of 0 since it is essential for plants to maintain a net inward flow of water though the roots, mechanisms have evolved to help prevent 0 or negative water potential in the roots

Where plants get their nitrogen - another mutualistic relationship between plant roots and other organisms is well understood - Plants are amazingly successful at harvesting the minute amount of Co2 in the air - They have never evolved the ability to capture the much more abundant nitrogen - Instead most plants depend on nitrogen containing compounds absorbed from the soil - When the soil is poor, farmers add nitrogenous fertilizers for their crops to grow well - The legumes have overcome dependence on soil nitrogen through mutualistic association with bacteria known as Rhizobium - These bacteria live in nodules on the plants roots - The bacteria have powerful enzymes capable of breaking the triple bonds of molecular nitrogen and trapping (fixing) the nitrogen as ammonia - This endergonic reaction can only take place in anaerobic environments - Because of this, legumes make a protein called leghemoglobin to reduce the amount of O2 in the area - Some cyanobacteria (blue green algae) can fix nitrogen and perform high efficiency, oxygen generating noncyclic photophosphorylation

Animal Nutrition
Unlike plants and other Autotrophs, heterotrophs cannot synthesize high energy compounds from low energy inorganics To survive, they must feed on high energy molecules of other organisms Herbivores: obtain high energy compounds by eating plants Carnivores: obtain high energy compounds by eating other animals Omnivores: need both plant and animal material to survives

Internalized Digestion: Animals and Protozoans - In protozoans, food is taken up directly by a cell by phagocytosis and then digesting in a food vacuole intracellular digestion - The foor material is actually separated from the rest of the cellular material by a membrane that I cannot cross until after digestion occurs How Protozoans capture and digest food - When an amoeba is stimulated by nearby food, phagocytosis occurs - The food is completely engulfed by the cytoplasm and enclosed in a food vacuole where it is digested - Eventually, the vacuole breaks off and begins to move toward the anterior end of the cell - Digestive enzymes are secreted into the vacuole and digestion begins - As digestion begins, the products diffused across the membrane of the vacuole into the cytoplasm and the vacuole moves to the posterior end of the cell - When the vacuole reaches a tiny specialized region of the cell surface called the anal pore, it attaches there and ruptures, expelling by exocytosis any remaining bits of indigestible material - The vacuole functions as both a digestive chamber and helps distribute the products of digestion to all parts of the cell - Key: When a food vacuole is formed, a lysosome fuses with it, and good materials and digestive enzymes are mixed in the resulting vacuole. As this vacuole circulates in the cytoplasm, the products of digestion are absorbed and indigestible materials are eventually expelled from the cell by exocytosis How Cnidarians capture and digest food - Have small degree of specialization

Their saclike body is composed of two layers-an outer epidermis and an inner gastrodermis - The central body cavity serves as a digestive cavity. It has only one opening to the outside - Digestive cavity functions in both ingestion and excretion - Known as a gastrovascular cavity - Strictly carnivorous - Once food is inside the gastrovascular cavity, digestive enzymes are secreted into the cavity by gastrodermal cells and extracellular digestion begins - As soon as the food has been reduced to small fragments, gastrodermal cells engulf them by phagocytosis and digestion is comepleted intracellularly in digestive vacuoles - Indigestible materials are expelled from the gastrovascualr cavity via the mouth - Intracellular digestion limits the size of the food to items no larger than a cell; extracellular disgestion is limited only by the size of the mouth How Flatworms capture and digest food - Pharynx leads into a gastrovascular cavity this cavity branches through their body - The extensive branching transports food to all part of the body and greatly increases the total absorptive surface of the cavity - Some extracellular digestion occurs in the gastrovascular cavity but most of the food particles are engulfed by gastrodermal cells How Earthworms Capture and digest food - Complete digestive tract!! Two openings, a mouth, an anus - Food moves in one direction through a tubular system - All parts of the tube are divided and specialized - Food passes from mouth through a short passage called the esophagus to the thin walled crop, which function as a storage chamber. Next it enters a compartment with thick, muscular walls (the gizzard), where it is ground up by a chrining actions - The food then passes through the long intestine where enzymatic disgestion and absorption take place - In the rear of the intestine some of the water involved in the digestive process is reabsorbed and indigestive stuffs is eliminated from the body though the anus - Earthworms use extracellular digestion -

How Vertebrates Capture and digest food - The mouth o the first chamber is the mouth o here the teeth break up good by both biting and chewing o chewing is more important for herbivores because plant cells are enclosed in a cellulose cell wall o few animals can digest cellulose so most must break up the cell walls of the plants before the cell contents can be exposed to digestive enzymes o the oral cavity is where food is mixed with saliva o saliva dissolves some of the food and acts as a lubricant o saliva has carbohydrase carb digesting enzyme o pharynx prevents food from going into windpipe - The esophagus and the stomach o the esophagus runs downward through the throat and to the stomach in the upper portion of the absominal cavity o food moves quickly though the esophagus by muscle movements called peristalsis o at the junction between the esophagus and stomach is a special ring of muscle called the sphincter (it is normally closedm this preventing the contents of the stomach from moving back into the esophagus when the stomach moves during digestion) o sphincter opens when a wave of peristaltic contraction reaches the end of the esophagus o the stomach is a large muscular sac that functions in part as a storage organ, making possible discontinuous feeding o its thick walls are composed of three layers: an inner mucous layer, a thick middle layer of muscle and an outer layer of connective tissue o the muscle layer has fibers running around the stomach, hence the stomach is capable of a variety of movements o when the stomach has food, powerful contractions churn the food, mixing it and breaking up larger pieces o in this manner the stomach supplements the action of the teeth in the mechanical breakup of food o the glands of the stomach lining secrete mucus, which covers the stomach lining

o gastric juices a mixture of Hcl and digestive enzymes o stomach primarily digests proteins! The small intestine o Food leaves the stomach as a soupy mixture o Passes through the pyloric sphincter into the small intestine whish is the part of the digestive tract where most of digestion and absorption takes place o The first section of the small intestine attached to the stomach is the duodenum o It leads into a long coiled section lying lower in the abdominal cavity o Longer intestine enables herbivores to extract more nutrient from their food o Since the small intestine is the place where the products of digestion are absorbed, it is not surprising that it has strictures that vastly increase its serface area o The mucus lining is arranged in numerous folds and rides called villi o On top of villi and more smaller folds named microvilli o Villi+microvilli=increase the surface area for absorption o The total internal surface area=massive o Some vertebrate have other adaptation for increasing absorptive surface area o Special blind sacs, called caeca may branch from the small intestine The large intestine o In humans, the caecum is a blind sac at the junction between the small intestine and the large intestine o in humans the caecum is small, play no role in nutrient absorption o it may well be a relic of our long line of herbivorous ancestors o in some mammals, the caecum helps to digest cellulose