Plant cell wall, chloroplast, xylem/phloem, stomata, meristems, phytohormones.
Plant Biology
Plant cell wall
Cellulose-hemicellulose-pectin composite (primary wall) + lignin (secondary wall). Mechanical support, turgor resistance, pathogen defence;…
Xylem and phloem
Vascular tissues. Xylem: dead tracheary elements conducting water + minerals upward by cohesion-tension (transpiration stream). Phloem:…
Stomata
Adjustable epidermal pore flanked by two guard cells. Opening allows CO2 influx + H2O vapour efflux. Regulated by light (blue), CO2, ABA.…
Meristem
Region of undifferentiated dividing plant cells. Apical meristems (SAM, RAM) drive primary growth; lateral meristems (vascular + cork…
Photosynthesis (C3)
Light-driven CO2 fixation: light reactions in thylakoids (photosystems → NADPH + ATP) + Calvin cycle in stroma (rubisco fixes CO2 to 3-PGA…
Auxin (IAA)
Indole-3-acetic acid — polar-transported plant hormone driving cell elongation, apical dominance, tropisms, vascular differentiation. Polar…
Biological nitrogen fixation
Conversion of N2 to NH3 by nitrogenase (MoFe protein + Fe protein), ~16 ATP per N2 reduced. Oxygen-labile. Found in diazotrophs…
C3/C4/CAM photosynthesis
C3 direct fixation (most plants); C4 Hatch-Slack concentrates CO2 via PEP carboxylase (maize, sugarcane) reducing photorespiration; CAM…
Plant hormones overview
Auxin (growth), gibberellin (stem elongation), cytokinin (cell division), abscisic acid (stress), ethylene (fruit ripening),…
Plant pathogen response
Two-tier immunity: PAMP-triggered (PTI) via LRR receptor kinases; effector-triggered (ETI) via intracellular NLR proteins. Systemic…
Cohesion-tension xylem water transport
Dixon-Joly 1894: water column in xylem held under tension by H-bond cohesion; transpiration pulls from leaf, root pressure pushes from…
Farquhar-von Caemmerer-Berry C3 photosynthesis model
FvCB 1980 ODE: A = min(W_c, W_j) - R_d with Rubisco-limited W_c = V_cmax(C_i-Γ*)/(C_i+K_c(1+O/K_o)) and RuBP-regeneration-limited W_j =…
C3/C4/CAM (Hatch-Slack 1966)
Hatch-Slack 1966 C4-cycle; CAM Crassulacean acid metabolism; modern engineered-C4 rice IRRI 2024.
Auxin (Went 1928)
F Went 1928 IAA + cholodny-Went hypothesis; modern PIN-AUX1 polar transport + TIR1 receptor.
Cell wall (Cosgrove 2005)
D Cosgrove 2005 + 2018 cell-wall expansion; modern expansin + xyloglucan + pectin biomechanics.
FLC vernalization (Amasino 1999)
Amasino 1999 + Sheldon 2000 FLC + vernalization; modern epigenetic-memory + adaptation; agricultural breeding target.
Plant defense (Bednarek 2009)
P Bednarek 2009 glucosinolate-isothiocyanate plant-defense; modern indolic + aliphatic GSL pathways.
Crop CRISPR
FASOULA 2024 + CRISPR-tomato + GMO-relabeling 2024; modern Sicilian-rouge GABA-tomato Sicily 2021 commercial.
Calvin cycle (Calvin 1961)
M Calvin 1961 (Nobel 1961) C3 cycle; modern modern foundational text + Farquhar-von-Caemmerer 1980 + 2024 ML-based…
C4 (Hatch-Slack 1966)
M Hatch-C Slack 1966 C4-photosynthesis; modern modern foundational + Kranz-anatomy + 2024 C4-rice-engineering NAS-Project International…
Auxin (Went 1928)
F Went 1928 + Darwin 1880 IAA + 1972 receptor; modern modern foundational + TIR1-AFB receptor + 2024 ML-driven phytohormone-perception.
FT-flowering (Koornneef 1991)
M Koornneef 1991 + Corbesier 2007 FT-florigen; modern modern foundational + photoperiod + vernalization + 2024 ML-flowering-time prediction.
Arabidopsis genome (2000)
Arabidopsis Genome Initiative 2000 first plant-genome; modern modern foundational + 1001-genomes 2016 + 2024 pan-genome plus epigenome.
Photorespiration (Bowes 1971)
G Bowes 1971 RuBisCO oxygenase; modern modern foundational + 2024 photorespiration-bypass GO-cycle synthetic-biology engineering yield.