Solute transport and Photoassimilate translocation

WATER POTENTIAL
Chapter-2
References :
Notes are made from(SOURCES):
1. Plant physiology & Developmental by Lincoln Taiz, Eduardo Zeiger, Ian M. Møller, and Angus Murphy -6ED
2. Introduction to Plant physiology ,4th Edition. Author, William G. Hopkins.
3. Authentic google websites.
4. Review and research papers(NCBI )
WATER POTENTIAL AND
ABSORPTION
(Plant-water Relationship)
 Introduction
➢ To prevent leaf desiccation, water must be absorbed by the roots and transported through the
plant body. Balancing the uptake, transport, and loss of water represents an important challenge
for land plants.
➢ A major difference between plant and animal cells, which has a large impact on their respective
water relations, is that plant cells have cell walls and animal cells do not.
➢ Cell walls allow plant cells to build up large internal hydrostatic pressures, called turgor
pressure.
➢ Turgor pressure is essential for many physiological processes, including cell enlargement,
stomatal opening, transport in the phloem, and various transport processes across membranes.
Turgor pressure also contributes to the rigidity and mechanical stability of nonlignified plant
tissues.
➢ Of all the resources that plants need to grow and function, water is the most abundant and yet
often the most limiting. The reason that water is frequently a limiting resource for plants, but
much less so for animals, is that plants use water in huge amounts. Most (~97%) of the water
absorbed by a plant’s roots is carried through the plant and evaporates from leaf surfaces.
Such water loss is called transpiration
 Water potential
➢ Water is an excellent solvent.
➢ Water potential is a measure of the free energy of water per unit volume .
➢ Water potential is the potential energy of water per unit volume so we can say that-Water
potential is thus a measure of the free energy of water per unit volume ( J m–3).
➢ It is the Potential of water molecule to do some work and is represented by psi (Ψw or Ψ). Unit
of water potential is Pascal.
➢ Water potential of Pure water is zero (0 MPa) as there are maximum water molecule in pure
water.
➢ Solution will always have negative water potential.
➢ If you add solute in pure water, the solution has fewer free water molecule and concentration
of water decreases, so the water potential decreases. In this way the solution will always have
less water potential than zero.
 Water potential

❑ The water potential is used to described the direction of the

movement of water.
❑ The water molecule diffuse from the higher water potential
to the lower water potential .
❑ For example- if a plant cell is immersed in a solution that has a
higher water potential than the cell, water will move into the
cell.

Water enters the cell along a water potential gradient

Which has high water potential??

System 1 System 2
Which has high water potential??

System 1 System 2

SYSTEM 2 Its me dude!!

Which has high Negative water potential??

System 1 System 2
This time
Which has high Negative water potential??
its me!!

System 1 System 2

SYSTEM 1
 Water potential in a plant system
➢ Water potential in a plant system can never be positive.
It is usually a negative and can never be greater than
zero.
➢ Water potential refers to the tendency for water to move
from one part of the plant to another. It enables us to
assess where water will move to and also the rate of flow.
➢ Since evaporation occurs at the top of the plant this area
has the greatest negative potential.
➢ Since the roots are always absorbing, or attempting to
absorb water, these areas have the least negative
potential.
➢ A positive potential would imply that fully saturated plant
tissue could still absorb more water - which is illogical.
Ψsoil > Ψroot > Ψstem > Ψleaf > Ψatmosphere
 Three major factors contribute to cell water potential
The major factors influencing the water potential in plants are concentration, pressure, and gravity. Water
potential is symbolized by Ψ (the Greek letter psi), and the water potential of solutions may be-

Ψw = Ψs + Ψp + Ψg
1. Gravitational Potential (Ψg )
2. Osmotic /Solute /Concentration Potential (Ψs)
3. Pressure Potential/turgor pressure (Ψp)
Gravitational potential is always proportional to the height of tree.
The terms Ψs and Ψp and Ψg denote the effects of solutes, pressure,
and gravity, respectively, on the free energy of water.
 Osmotic potential/solute potential (Ψs)
➢ It is the Effect of dissolved solutes on water potential.
➢ Solutes reduce the free energy of water by diluting the water. This is primarily an entropy effect; that is, the mixing of
solutes and water increases the disorder or entropy of the system and thereby lowers the free energy. This means
that the osmotic potential is independent of the specific nature of the solute.
➢ Solute potential (Ψs), also called osmotic potential, is negative(minus) in a plant cell .
➢ The minus sign indicates that dissolved solutes reduce the water potential of a solution relative to the reference state
of pure water.
➢ Pure water at atmospheric pressure has a solute potential of zero.
➢ Solute concentration of the solution, expressed as osmolarity.
➢ Water potential is defined by its chemical activity or free energy. Bound water has less free energy than free water
and therefore has a negative water potential. Different solute concentrations also reduce its free energy.
 Pressure potential(Ψp)
➢ The term Ψp, called the pressure potential, represents the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the free energy of
water.
➢ Positive pressures raise the water potential; negative pressures reduce it. Both positive and negative
pressures occur within plants.
➢ The positive hydrostatic pressure within cells is referred to as turgor pressure.
➢ Negative hydrostatic pressures, which frequently develop in xylem conduits, are referred to as tension. Tension is
important in moving water long distances through the plant.
➢ Ψp = 0 MPa for water in the standard state. Thus, the value of Ψp for pure water in an open beaker is 0 MPa, even
though its absolute pressure is approximately 0.1 MPa (1 atmosphere).
Values for Ψp within cells of well-watered plants may range from 0.1 to as much as 3 MPa, depending on the value of
Ψs inside the cell. A plant wilts when the turgor pressure inside the cells of such tissues falls toward zero.
The higher solute concentration inside cells causes
water to flow in or be retained, and this causes a
pressure (turgor pressure) on the cell walls. Pressure
potentials have positive signs, in contrast to the other
potentials that normally have negative signs.
A negative hydrostatic pressure in soil water lowers soil water potential
➢ Like the water potential of plant cells, the water potential of soils may be dissected
into three components: the osmotic potential, the pressure potential, and the
gravitational potential.
➢ The osmotic potential of soil water is generally negligible, because except in saline
soils, solute concentrations are low; a typical value might be –0.02 MPa. In soils that
contain a substantial concentration of salts, however, Ψs can be significant, perhaps –
0.2 MPa or lower.
➢ The second component of soil water potential is the pressure potential (Ψp). For wet
soils, Ψp is very close to zero. As soil dries out, Ψp decreases and can become quite
negative.
➢ As soil dries out, water is first removed from the largest spaces between soil
particles and subsequently from successively smaller spaces between and within soil
particles. In this process, the value of Ψp in soil water can become quite negative.
➢ The third component is gravitational potential (Ψg). Gravity plays an important role
in drainage. The downward movement of water is due to the fact that Ψg is
proportional to elevation: higher at higher elevations, and vice versa.
 Gravitational potential(Ψg)
➢ Gravity causes water to move downward unless the force of gravity is opposed by an equal and opposite
force.
➢ The gravitational potential (Ψg) depends on the height (h) of the water above the reference-state water,
the density of water (𝛒w), and the acceleration due to gravity (g). In symbols, we write the following:
Ψg = ρwgh
➢ Gravitational potential is always proportional to the height of tree.

➢ The gravitational component (Ψg) is generally omitted in considerations of water transport at the cell
level, because differences in this component among neighboring cells are negligible compared with
differences in the osmotic potential and the pressure potential.
➢ Thus the previous equation(Ψw = Ψs + Ψp + Ψg) can be simplified as-

Ψw = Ψs + Ψp
Water potential = solute potential + pressure potential
 Matric potential(Ψm)
In discussions of water in dry soils and plant tissues with very low water contents, such as seeds, one
often finds reference to the matric potential, Ψm. Under these conditions, water exists as a very thin
layer, perhaps one or two molecules deep, bound to solid surfaces by electrostatic interactions. These
interactions are not easily separated into their effects on Ψs and Ψp, and are thus sometimes combined
into a single term, Ψm.
 Water Potential can be measured
▪ Cell growth, photosynthesis, and crop productivity are all strongly influenced by water potential and its
components.
Case-1 Case-2

Pure water Solution containing 0.1 M sucrose

 Water Potential can be measured
A flaccid cell (in air) is dropped in a 0.1 M sucrose solution. Because the starting water potential of the cell is
less than the water potential of the solution, the cell takes up water. After equilibration, the water potential of
the cell equals the water potential of the solution, and the result is a cell with a positive turgor pressure.
What happens if this cell is placed in the beaker
containing 0.1 M sucrose?
Because the water potential of the sucrose solution
Case-3 (Ψ = -0.244 Mpa) is greater (less negative) than the
water potential of the cell (Ψ = –0.732 MPa), water
will move from the sucrose solution to the cell (from
high to low water potential).

New Ψs= -0.636

DPD: Diffusion pressure deficit
➢ The amount by which the
diffusion pressure of a solution is
less than its pure form is called
DPD. DPD is of solution.
➢ How much deficient a solution is
,so it is not moving its water
molecule
➢ Wall pressure= turgor pressure
OrkSheet
Cell A is having Ψ of -0.345 and Cell B is having Ψ of -0.234.The
water will travel from
1. A to B
2. B to A
3. Both way

Cell A Cell B
4. Non water movement.
OrkSheet
Cell A is having Ψ of -0.345 and Cell B is having Ψ of -0.234.The
water will travel from
1. A to B
2. B to A
3. Both way

Cell A Cell B
4. Non water movement.

The water will move from high water potential

area(Cell B) to low water potential area (Cell A)
ANSWER- 2
 OrkSheet
Cell A is having Solute potential of -16 and Pressure potential of 4. Cell B
is having Solute potential of -18 and Pressure potential of 3 .The water will
travel from
1. A to B
2. B to A
Cell A Cell B 3. Both way
4. Non water movement.
 OrkSheet
Cell A is having Solute potential of -16 and Pressure potential of 4. Cell B
is having Solute potential of -18 and Pressure potential of 3 .The water will
travel from
1. A to B
2. B to A
Cell A Cell B 3. Both way
4. Non water movement.

The water will move from high water potential area/Less negative area
(Cell A) to low water potential area/more negative area (Cell B)
ANSWER- 1
 OrkSheet
1. All solutions have lower water potential than pure water. TRUE FALSE

2. POSITIVE PRESSURE MEANS MORE WATER POTENTIAL TRUE FALSE

3. MORE SOLUTE MEANS LESS NEGATIVE WATER POTENTIAL. TRUE FALSE

4. TOP PART OF PLANT HAVE LESS NEGATIVE WATER POTENTIAL TRUE FALSE
 OrkSheet
1. All solutions have lower water potential than pure water. TRUE

2. POSITIVE PRESSURE MEANS MORE WATER POTENTIAL TRUE

3. MORE SOLUTE MEANS LESS NEGATIVE WATER POTENTIAL. FALSE

4. TOP PART OF PLANT HAVE LESS NEGATIVE WATER POTENTIAL FALSE

Educator Name: JYOTI KUMARI (CSIR UGC NET-Life science)

TIRED………….??
DON’T QUIT, TAKE REST AND START AGAIN!!
PYQs (Previous Year Questions)
CSIR NET-2015
CSIR NET-DEC-2019

Vascular wilts are wide spread and destructive plant diseases. The symptoms of this
disease are primarily caused by the clogging of
1. xylem vessels
2. phloem vessels
3. stomata
4. hydathodes
CSIR NET-DEC-2019

A plant cell with turgor pressure of 0.1 MPa and osmotic pressure of 0.7 MPa is placed in a salt solution of
0.6 MPa osmotic pressure. Considering that all other pressures and coefficients have no effect on water
potential, the following statements were recorded:
A. Water potential of the salt solution will be higher as compared to that of plant cell.
B. Higher osmotic pressure will lower water potential, but higher turgor pressure will raise water
potential. Therefore, both of these components are important to calculate water potential.
C. There will be no net movement of water in the cell.
D. Higher turgor pressure will force the water to move out of the cell.

Which one of the following options represents a combination of correct statements?

1. A and D
2. A and B
3. C and D
4. B and C
CSIR NET-JUNE-2017

1. A and B
2. B and C
3. A and C
4. C and D
CSIR NET-JUNE-2013
CSIR NET-DEC-2014
CSIR NET-DEC-2012
CSIR NET DEC 2023
Following are certain statements regarding the plant cell water potential (ψ):
A. The major factors influencing the water potential in plants are potentials of solutes (ψs), pressure (ψp)
and gravity (ψg).
B. The solute potential (ψs) increases the free energy of water by diluting the water.
C. Positive pressures raise the water potential while negative pressures reduce it.
D. The gravitational potential depends on the height of the water above the reference-state of water, the
density of water and the acceleration due to gravity.
Which one of the following options represents all correct statements?
1. A, B and C
2. A, B and D
3. B, C and D
4. A, C and D