Why study plants?

To help conserve
endangered plants and
threatened environments

To learn more about the
natural world

To better harness the
abilities of plants to provide
us with food, medicines,
and energy
Photo credit: tom donald
We could not live without plants
Plants produce most of the
oxygen we breathe.

Plants produce most of the
chemically stored energy we
consume as food and burn for
fuel.

Plants produce an amazing
assortment of useful
chemicals.
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
Plants are primary producers: Energy enters
the biosphere mainly through photosynthesis
by plants
TERRESTRIAL
BIOSPHERE
MARINE
BIOSPHERE
Some energy is
introduced by the
action of
chemotrophs
COAL, OIL
AND GAS
RESERVES
Field, C.B., Behrenfeld, M.J., Randerson, J.T. and Falkowski, P. (1998). Primary production of the biosphere: Integrating terrestrial and oceanic components. Science. 281: 237-240.
Plants fix carbon dioxide into energy- rich
molecules we animals can use as food
CO
2
Plants are autotrophs:
they convert CO
2
gas
into sugars and other
organic molecules
through the process of
photosynthesis.

O
2
is a waste product
of photosynthesis that
we need to survive
O
2
Organic
molecules

You are what you eat? Plants, food,
and human health
What we get from food
Macronutrients, micronutrients and
phytonutrients, minerals

How diet affects human health
Dietary deficiencies
Diet and chronic diseases
Image courtesy CDC and Mary Anne Fenley (number 13053)
Macronutrients
Carbohydrates (C-H
2
O)
Mikael Hggstrm
Carbohydrates
are sugars and
starches
(polymers of
sugars)
They are primarily
metabolized as
energy sources
Macronutrients - Proteins have many
roles enzymes, muscle, etc.
Muscle meat, milk and
eggs are concentrated
sources of animal protein
widely used as food, but
every animal and plant
cell contains protein.
Legume seeds are
particularly protein rich
Macronutrients
Lipids: fats and oils
Lipids are hydrocarbons, energy-rich
compounds. Like gasoline, lipids
release energy when oxidized. Plants
and animals store energy as lipids, and
lipids are also normal components of
every cell and the basis of the cell
membranes. At room temperature, fats
are solid and oils are liquid, but both
are lipids
Many animal-derived
foods are high in fat
Oils are lipids
extracted from plant
seeds or fruits
Micronutrients vitamins are
essential small molecules
Vitamins are essential
nutrients that we need to
eat because we cannot
synthesize them
Vitamin A
Vitamin B1,
thiamine
Vitamin B3,
niacine
Vitamin B9,
folate
Vitamin C,
ascorbic acid
Vitamin E
Several dietary minerals are
essential for human health
Iron (Fe) is assimilated
as heme (from animals)
and non-heme (from
plants) forms; non-
heme iron, are less
efficiently assimilated.

Leafy greens and beans
are sources of non-
heme iron

Brazil nuts are an
unusually good source of
selenium (Se). The Se
content of foods depends
largely on soil content

Potassium (K
+
) helps
maintain osmotic balance
and is abundant in fruits,
beans, potatoes
Calcium (Ca
2+
) is
abundant in milk-
products and green
leafy vegetables
Zinc (Zn
2+
) is
found in animal-
derived foods,
beans and nuts
The world population grows and grows ...
The world population is
expected to triple between
1950 (2.5 billion) and 2020
(7.5 billion), and grow to 9
billion by 2050.
Population growth has followed advances in agriculture
including recent mechanization, chemical fertilizer, and
science-based breeding and production practices (sanitation
and medicine are also important recent contributors)
The world population grows and grows ...
The world population is expected
to triple between 1950 (2.5 billion)
and 2020 (7.5 billion), and grow to 9
billion by 2050.
A major objective of plant science
is to increase food production;
current estimates indicate that we
need to increase production by 70%
in the next 40 years.
More than one billion people are chronically
hungry, and more than two billion people do not
get adequate vitamins or minerals in their diet
www.wfp.org
Plants can produce an amazing
assortment of chemicals
vitamin A
vitamin C
vanillin
caffeine
morphine
CO
2
O
2
Organic
molecules

2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
Herbal
medicines
have been
used for
millennia
1000s of
plants have
medicinal
uses
More people in the world
depend on herbal medicines
than pharmaceutical
medicines
More than half of
the 150 most-
prescribed
medicines have at
least one compound
derived from plants
Credits: WHO photo by D. Henrioud; Mycelium101
Written records of medicinal plants
date back 4000 years
NIH Images from the history of medicine; Beijing Digital Museum of TCM;
Sumerian and Egyptian
texts from more than 3500
years ago describe the use
of medicinal plants
The use of herbal medicines
in China and India date back
at least 4000 years
These ancient texts mention hundreds of
plants including aloe, peppermint, opium,
willow, wormwood and many more
From 1800 to the present: Quest for
active compounds
Taxus breviola,
Pacific yew
1966 - Taxol purified from
Pacific yew (Taxus breviola)
1820 Quinine
purified from
Cinchona tree
(Cinchona spp)
1820s - Salicin
was isolated
from willow
bark
eventually to
become
aspirin
1805 Morphine
purified from opium
poppy
(Papaver
somniferum)
Plant cell walls provide important
durable materials
Wood is
primarily
composed of
plant cell
walls.
Photo credit: tom donald
Wood and fibers are everywhere
Rembrandt van Rijn (1631)
Clothing made
from plant fibers
(cotton, linen)
Plant fibers are used
for making paper, and
before that papyrus.
Wood is used for
buildings and
furniture.
Painting
canvas is made
from flax or
hemp fibers.
Plants provide fibers for
paper and fabric

Cotton is being bred for increased pest
resistance and better fiber production.
Photo credits: Chen Lab; IFPC
The genome sequence of poplar, a
source of fiber for paper, was
recently completed
This information is being used to improve
the efficiency of paper production.
Photo credit: ChmlTech.com
Plants can replace petroleum for many
products and purposes
Petroleum is NOT a
renewable resource
When I grow
up I want to be
a fossil fuel
creativecartoons.org.
It takes millions of years to
convert dead organic
material into petroleum....
And we are running out.

One gallon of gasoline
comes from ~89 metric
tons (~180,000 pounds) of
ancient lycophytes and
ferns that dominated the
earth 300 million years
ago.
Plants can be a source of biofuels
Energy
from
sunlight
Image source: Genome Management Information System, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Sugars, starches and
cellulose can be
fermented into ethanol

Biodiesel produced
from rape, algae and
soybeans are replacing
petroleum-derived
diesel.
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
What are Plants? Plants are multicellular,
terrestrial and photosynthetic (Streptophytes)
Multicellular: Different cells can
have various functions, but they
must integrate their activities
Terrestrial: Plant ancestors were
aquatic, but terrestrial plants
have to cope with very dry air
Photosynthetic: Plants and many
other organisms can convert solar
energy to chemical energy
Leaf cross section image from Bouton, J.H., et al., (1986). Photosynthesis, leaf anatomy, and morphology of progeny from hybrids between C
3
and C
3
/C
4
Panicum Species. Plant Physiol. 80: 487-492.
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
What are (not) plants? Plants are
photosynthetic eukaryotes
ALL LIFE
PHOTOSYNTHETIC
ORGANISMS
CYANOBACTERIA +
DESCENDANTS
EUKARYOTES WITH
CYANOBACTERIA-DERIVED
CHLOROPLASTS
Non-
photosynthetic
bacteria
Archaea
Fungi
Animals
You are here
Green
sulfur
bacteria
Purple
sulfur
bacteria
Other
bacteria
Cyanobacteria
Diatoms
Red algae
Brown
algae
PLANTS
GREEN ALGAE AND
DESCEDANTS
(Circles not
drawn to
scale)
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
Plants descended from a eukaryotic ancestor &
a cyanobacteria
The first prokaryotes arose >3.5 bya
in the seas, and were heterotrophs.
Photosynthesis evolved in bacteria
shortly after, and flourished as
energy-rich organic molecules were
depleted
Eukaryotes arose through endo-
symbiosis ~2.0 bya (mitochondria)
and 1.5 bya (chloroplasts)
Toxic oxygen was first absorbed by
iron, but began to accumulate in the
atmosphere ~2.5 bya and reached
modern levels ~550 mya
This lead to ozone layer ~450 mya
and allowed life to survive closer to
the water surface and on the shores
Adapted from Govindjee and Shevela, D. (2011). Adventures with cyanobacteria: a personal perspective. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2: 28.
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
Opportunities and challenges of the terrestrial environment
However, plants had to
overcome significant challenges
to adapt to dry land
The aquatic environment was
competitive and filled with
herbivores and limiting resources
Initially, land offered less competition
and fewer herbivores, more mineral
nutrients and more CO
2
Life flourished near land were mineral nutrients were plentiful, but the
environment was harsh / complicated
>650 mya, Larger multicellular organism evolved and had advantages
Specialized structures formed that anchored organisms to land
>450 million years ago, plants moved onto dry land nutrients and sun
were plentiful (too plentiful!), but water was limiting.
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
The terrestrial environment is challenging:
Too heavy, dry, hot and cold and bright

Aquatic environment:
Buoyancy
Abundant water
Moderate temperatures
Filtered light
Terresrial environment:
No buoyancy
Scarce water
Extreme temperatures
Excess light including UV
waxy cuticle, stomata, protected spores, vascular tissues, lignified cell
walls, roots, stems, leaves, and protected embryos (seeds), etc., are all
evolutionary traits for movement onto land and into the air.
2013 American Society of Plant Biologists
Family tree: Plants, green algae, & adaptations for
the transition from water to land & air
Adapted from Hay, A. and Tsiantis, M. (2010). KNOX genes: versatile regulators of plant development and diversity. Development. 137: 3153-3165 and Prigge,
M.J. and Bezanilla, M. (2010). Evolutionary crossroads in developmental biology: Physcomitrella patens. Development. 137: 3535-3543.
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Green algae
Plants
Terrestrialization
Stomata
Vascular tissues
Seeds
Flowers
Among land plants, the root system
serves to anchor the plant in the ground
& collect water & minerals from the soil
The stem raises the photosynthetic
parts of the plant up toward the sun
The leaves are highly specialized
photosynthetic organs
Roots stems and leaves are
connected by a complicated and
efficient vascular system for the
transport of food and water.
Collectively, the roots make up the root system, and
the stems and leaves together make up the shoot
system. Stems are divided into nodes and internodes.
The node is the part of the stem at which one or more
leaves are attached, and the internode is the part of
the stem between two successive nodes.