9.

3
Understandings:
1) Undifferentiated cells in the meristems of plants allow indeterminate growth
a) Growth: irreversible increase in size
b) Plants generally have indeterminate growth, meaning there is no cap on how
large they can become if not limited by environment or conditions
i) This makes plants particularly unique from most animals
c) Growth in plants is limited to meristems
i) Meristems are composed of undifferentiated cells actively undergoing
division
d) Primary meristems are found at the tips of stems and roots
i) Theyre known as apical meristems
e) The root apical meristem is responsible for the growth of the root
f) The shoot apical meristem is at the tip of the stem
2) Mitosis and cell division in the shoot apex provide cells needed for extension of the stem
and development of leaves
a) Cells in meristems are small
i) This means that they have to go through the cell cycle multiple times to
produce more cells through mitosis and cytokinesis
b) Young leaves are produced at the sides of the shoot apical meristem
i) They appear as small buds called leaf primordia
c) The shoot apical meristem throws off cells needed for the growth of the stem and
produces the groups of cells that grow into leaves and flowers
3) Plant hormones control growth in the shoot apex
a) Hormone: a chemical message produced and released in one part of an
organism to have an effect in another part of the organism
b) Auxins are hormones. They affect root growth, the development of fruits, and
regulation of leaf development
c) Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is what controls the shoot apexs growth. IAA also
promotes the elongation of cells
d) As the shoot apical meristem grows and grows leaves, parts of meristem are left
remaining at the node
4) Plants respond to the environment by tropisms
a) Use hormones to control the growth of stems and roots, both rate and direction
are controlled
b) Direction of growth can be influenced by: light and gravity
c) Stems grow towards the source of the brightest light = phototropism
d) In the absence of light they grow upwards opposite to gravity = gravitropism
5) Auxin influences cell growth rates by changing the pattern of gene expression
a) First stage of phototropism = absorption of light by photoreceptors - phototropins
have this role
 b) When they absorb light of an appropriate wavelength, their conformation changes
- they can bind to receptors within the cell which control the transcription of
specific genes
c) Seems likely that the genes involved are those coding for a group of
glycoproteins located in the plasma membrane of cells in the stem that transport
the plant hormone auxin from cell to cell = PIN3 Proteins
6) Auxin efflux pumps can set up concentration gradients of auxin in plant tissues
a) The position and type of PIN3 proteins can be varied to transport auxin to where
growth in necessary
b) If phototropins in the tip detect a greater intensity of light on one side of the stem
than the other - auxin is transported laterally from the side with brighter light to
the more shadier side
c) Higher concentrations of auxin on shadier side = growth in a curve towards the
source of the brighter light