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Phloem (/ ˈ f l oʊ. əm /, FLOH-əm) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as photosynthates, in particular the sugar sucrose, [1] to the rest of the plant. This transport process is called translocation. [2]
The phloem is the living portion of the vascular system of a plant, and serves to move sugars and photosynthate from source cells to sink cells. Phloem tissue is made of sieve elements and companion cells, and is surrounded by parenchyma cells. The sieve element cells work as the main player in transport of phloem sap.
The transport itself happens in the stem, which exists in two forms: xylem and phloem. Both these tissues are present in a vascular bundle, which in addition will include supporting and protective tissues. There is also a tissue between xylem and phloem, which is the cambium.
The phloem sugar is consumed by cellular respiration or converted into starch, which is insoluble and exerts no osmotic effect. With much of the sucrose having been removed, the water exits the phloem by osmosis or is drawn by transpiration into nearby xylem vessels, lowering the turgor pressure within the phloem. [ 4 ]
The cells in vascular tissue are typically long and slender. Since the xylem and phloem function in the conduction of water, minerals, and nutrients throughout the plant, it is not surprising that their form should be similar to pipes. The individual cells of phloem are connected end-to-end, just as the sections of a pipe might be.
Since then, multiple studies have been conducted on how sieve elements function in phloem in terms of working as a transport mechanism. [2] An example of analysis of phloem through sieve elements was conducted in the study of Arabidopsis leaves. By studying the phloem of the leaves in vivo through laser microscopy and the usage of fluorescent ...
The fascicular and interfascicular cambia thus join up to form a ring (in three dimensions, a tube) which separates the primary xylem and primary phloem, the cambium ring. The vascular cambium produces secondary xylem on the inside of the ring, and secondary phloem on the outside, pushing the primary xylem and phloem apart.
Xylem and Phloem A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant , the other being the root . It supports leaves , flowers and fruits , transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem , engages in photosynthesis, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. [ 1 ]