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Study Questions

Discuss several ways in which form has been dictated by function in the evolution of flowering plants.
Compare and contrast shoot and root morphology (external structure) and anatomy (internal structure). What functional differences are indicated by the different structures?
Compare and contrast the growing tips of shoots and roots and discuss how each is adapted to its function.
Compare and contrast the methods of branching in shoots and roots.
Describe the various cell types found in the three major tissue systems: dermal, ground, and vascular. How are these cell types adapted for their respective functions?
What are pits? Where and how do they occur?
Discuss the various types of biochemical modifications that allow biological membranes to perform the following specialized cellular functions: solute transport, macromolecular trafficking, energy transduction, and signal transduction.
What are nucleosomes and what role do they play in DNA packaging?
Describe the basic steps involved in the synthesis and processing of a typical secretory protein.
How do coat proteins facilitate the processes of Golgi vesicle secretion and membrane recycling?
Discuss three functions of plant vacuoles.
Which organelles, derived from the endomembrane system, are independently dividing?
What roles do motor proteins play in cytoplasmic streaming and organelle traffic?
What are four types of plastids and where in the plant do they usually occur?
Compare and contrast the internal structures and functions of chloroplasts and mitochondria.
What are “microbodies”? What roles do they play in the plant?
Discuss the various roles played by microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments in plant cells. How do their functions differ in plant and animal cells?
What is meant by the “cell cycle,” and how is it regulated by protein kinases?
Diagram the internal structure of plasmodesmata and discuss how structure relates to function.