What are the differences between the transport of material in xylem and phloem

XylemXylem is a vascular tissue found in plants composed of tracheids, vessels, xylem fibers, and xylem parenchyma.PhloemPhloem is a vascular tissue found in plants comprising companion cells, sieve tube elements, phloem fibers, and phloem parenchyma. Transport of material in Xylem Transport of material in phloem 1. The xylem supplies water from the roots to the stem and leaves. 1. Phloem transports food resources from leaves to other plant portions. 2. Water is transported from ascending roots to aerial parts of the plants. 2. The movement of food in phloem is bidirectional. 3. Physical forces such as transpiration pull are required for transport in the xylem. 3. The transport of food through the phloem requires ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) energy.

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XylemXylem is a vascular tissue found in plants composed of tracheids, vessels, xylem fibers, and xylem parenchyma.PhloemPhloem is a vascular tissue found in plants comprising companion cells, sieve tube elements, phloem fibers, and phloem parenchyma. Transport of material in Xylem Transport of material in phloem 1. The xylem supplies water from the roots to the stem and leaves. 1. Phloem transports food resources from leaves to other plant portions. 2. Water is transported from ascending roots to aerial parts of the plants. 2. The movement of food in phloem is bidirectional. 3. Physical forces such as transpiration pull are required for transport in the xylem. 3. The transport of food through the phloem requires ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) energy.
Comparison chart
Sap components
Transportation
Functions of Xylem and Phloem
Types of plant cells
References
What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem in tabular form?
What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem compare the functioning of alveoli in the lungs and nephrons in the kidneys with?
What is the role of xylem and phloem in the transportation of material in plants?
What is the main difference between the forces causing flow in the phloem and xylem?

Last updated date: 28th Dec 2022

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Hint: Xylem and phloem are the vascular tissues of the plants that help in the conduction of the minerals and nutrients along with water in the plants. They are also called conduction tissues.

Complete answer:
Xylem is a conducting tissue that is responsible for the transport of water while phloem is a conducting tissue that is responsible for the transport of food in plants.
Difference between xylem and phloem

Xylem	Phloem
Xylem transports soluble minerals and water molecules.	Phloem transports food and other nutrients like sugar and amino acids.
Water is absorbed by the roots and is transported to the aerial parts of the plant like the stem and leaves.	Food is formed in the leaves from where it is transported to the storage organs and the growing parts of the plants.
Xylem tissues are composed mainly of dead cells.	Phloem tissues are mainly composed of living cells.
Transportation in the xylem is unidirectional from roots to leaves.	Phloem transportation is bidirectional from leaves to various plant parts.
Xylem provides mechanical strength to the plant.	Phloem transports the sugar in the storage organs.
Xylem is responsible for the amount of water loss through transpiration and photosynthesis.	Phloem is responsible for transporting proteins and mRNAs throughout the plant.
Xylem consists of tracheids, vessels, parenchyma, and fibers.	Phloem consists of sieve tubes, companion cells, parenchyma, fibers.

So, the correct answer is ‘Xylem transports water and minerals absorbed by roots whereas phloem transports food prepared by leaves.’

Note: Xylem has two separate chambers tracheids and vessels for transporting minerals and water. The transportation of food through phloem requires energy in the form of ATP. The term xylem and phloem were introduced in 1858 by Carl Nägeli. The term "xylem" was derived from the Greek word xylon, meaning "wood”. The term phloem was derived from the Greek word phloios, meaning "bark".

The differences between the transport of materials in Xylem and Phloem are given below:

Transport of materials in Xylem	Transport of materials in Phloem
i> Xylem tissues helps in the transport of water and minerals.	i> Phloem tissues helps in the transport of food and minerals.
ii> Water is transported upwards from roots to aerial parts of the plant.	ii> Food is transported in both upward and downward directions.
iii> Transport in xylem requires forces such as transpiration pull.	iii> Transport of food in phloem requires energy in the form of ATP.

Phloem and xylem are complex tissues that perform transportation of food and water in a plant. They are the vascular tissues of the plant and together form vascular bundles. They work together as a unit to bring about effective transportation of food, nutrients, minerals and water.

Comparison chart

Phloem versus Xylem comparison chart

	Phloem	Xylem
Function	Transportation of food and nutrients such as sugar and amino acids from leaves to storage organs and growing parts of plant. This movement of substances is called translocation.	Water and mineral transport from roots to aerial parts of the plant.
Movement	Bidirectional (Moves up or down the plant's stem from "source to sink")	Unidirectional (Moves up the plant's stem)
Occurrence	Roots, stems and leaves. transports sucrose to growth (roots and shoots) and storage regions of the plant (seeds fruit and swollen roots)	Roots, stems and leaves
Additional Functions	Forms vascular bundles with xylem	Forms vascular bundles with phloem and gives mechanical strength to plant due to presence of lignin cells. The lignified secondary wall also makes the xylem waterproof and prevent it from collapsing under the pressure of water transpiration
Structure	Elongated, tubular shape with thin walled sieve tubes. The sieve tubes have pores at each end in the cross walls and microtubules that extend between sieve elements allowing longitudinal flow of material.	Tubular shape with no cross walls which allows a continuous column of water + facilitates more rapid transport within the xylem vessels. There are two types - protoxylem (first formed xylem) + metaxylem (mature xylem) depending on pattern of lignin.
Elements	Sieve tubes, companion cells, phloem parenchyma (loosely packed resulting in intercellular spaces which allows gas exchange), bast fibers, intermediary cells,	Tracheids, vessel elements, xylem parenchyma (loosely packed resulting in intercellular spaces which allows gas exchange), xylem sclerenchyma
Nature of tissue	Living tissue with little cytoplasm but no nucleus/tonoplast.	Dead tissue at maturity so it is hollow with no cell contents
Shape	Phloem is not star shaped.	Xylem is star shaped.
Location in vascular bundle	Phloem occur on outer side of the vascular bundle.	Xylem occupies the center of the vascular bundle.

Anatomy

Xylem is formed by tracheary elements like tracheids and vessels predominantly. There are a variety of other cells giving it the status of complex tissue. Primary xylem originates from the procambium during primary growth while secondary xylem has its origin in vascular cambium during secondary growth.

Structure of xylem cells

Phloem has sieve tubes, companion cells, bast fibers as its elements. Phloem originates from meristematic cells in vascular cambium- primary phloem from apical meristem and secondary phloem from vascular cambium.

Structure of phloem cells

Sap components

Xylem sap contains water, inorganic ions and a few organic chemicals. Phloem sap contains water and sugars.

Differences between Xylem and Phloem vessels

Transportation

Both phloem and xylem are tubular structures that facilitate easy transportation. In xylem vessels water travels by bulk flow rather than cell diffusion. In phloem, concentration of organic substance inside a phloem cell (e.g., leaf) creates a diffusion gradient by which water flows into cells and phloem sap moves from source of organic substance to sugar sinks by turgor pressure.

Negative pressure facilitates movement of water and minerals in xylem while in phloem positive hydrostatic pressures are responsible for transportation. Hence phloem loading and unloading brings about translocation.

Functions of Xylem and Phloem

Xylem transports water and soluble mineral nutrients from roots to various parts of the plant. It is responsible for replacing water lost through transpiration and photosynthesis. Phloem translocates sugars made by photosynthetic areas of plants to storage organs like roots, tubers or bulbs.

This video explains the biological makeup of xylem and phloem and their role in plant transport.

Girdling

A plant can be killed by stripping away the bark in a circle around the trunk or stem. This destroys the phloem, which is present towards the outside of xylem. This is calle girdling, but such a process has no effect on xylem. This method is used to produce oversized fruits and vegetables.

Types of plant cells

This picture presents the various types of plant cells, including xylem, phloem, sclerenchyma and collenchyma.

References

Xylem - Wikipedia
Phloem - Wikipedia

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What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem in tabular form?

What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem? ... .

What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem compare the functioning of alveoli in the lungs and nephrons in the kidneys with?

Transport in xylem requires physical forces such as transpiration pull. Transport of food in phloem requires energy in the form of ATP. 13ans-(i) Alveoli are tiny balloon-like structures present inside the lungs. (i) Nephrons are tubular structures present inside the kidneys.

What is the role of xylem and phloem in the transportation of material in plants?

Xylem transports water and minerals. Phloem transports sugars and amino acids dissolved in water.

What is the main difference between the forces causing flow in the phloem and xylem?

In xylem vessels water travels by bulk flow rather than cell diffusion. In phloem, concentration of organic substance inside a phloem cell (e.g., leaf) creates a diffusion gradient by which water flows into cells and phloem sap moves from source of organic substance to sugar sinks by turgor pressure.