Both the uptake and assimilation of nutrients are regulated according to a plant’s needs.
learning outcomes
You should be able to:
Explain how growth is involved in a plant’s search for nutrients.
Describe how a plant is able to control the rate of movement of nutrients into a cell.
How do plants control the uptake and assimilation of mineral nutrients?
Plants express specialized transporter molecules to move nutrients in soil water across root cell membranes. The more of a certain transporter that is made, the more its nutrient moves into the plant.
How does the ability to grow throughout their lifetimesallow plants to seek out nutrients?
Plants can grow toward nutrients in the soil and orient stems and leaves to maximize exposure to light and air for photosynthesis.
Plants acquire many essential elements from the soil. As you will see in the next section, soils have complex structures that affect the availability of nutrients for plants.