competitive exams botany notes_ concepts in botany- examrace

AIPMTBotanyNotes:ConceptsinBotanyIntroductionBotanyisthescientificstudyofplantlife.Asabranchofbiology,itisalsocalledplantscience(s),phytology,orplantbiology.Botanycoversawiderangeofscientificdisciplinesthatstudyplants,algae,andfungiincluding:Structure,growth,reproduction,metabolism,development,diseases,andchemicalpropertiesandevolutionaryrelationshipsbetweenthedifferentgroups.Thestudyofplantsandbotanybeganwithtriballore,usedtoidentifyedible,medicinalandpoisonousplants,makingbotanyoneoftheoldestsciences.Fromthisancientinterestinplants,thescopeofbotanyhasincreasedtoincludethestudyofover550,000kindsorspeciesoflivingorganisms.

ScopeandimportanceofbotanyAswithotherlifeformsinbiology,plantlifecanbestudiedfromdifferentperspectives,fromthemolecular,geneticandbiochemicallevelthroughorganelles,cells,tissues,organs,individuals,plantpopulations,andcommunitiesofplants.Ateachoftheselevelsabotanistmightbeconcernedwiththeclassification(taxonomy),structure(anatomyandmorphology),orfunction(physiology)ofplantlife.Historically,botanycoversallorganismsthatwerenotconsideredtobeanimals.Someoftheseplantlikeorganismsincludefungi(studiedinmycology),bacteriaandviruses(studiedinmicrobiology),andalgae(studiedinphycology).Mostalgae,fungi,andmicrobesarenolongerconsideredtobeintheplantkingdom.However,attentionisstillgiventothembybotanists,andbacteria,fungi,andalgaeareusuallycoveredinintroductorybotanycourses.Thestudyofplantshasimportanceforanumberofreasons.PlantsareafundamentalpartoflifeonEarth.Theygeneratetheoxygen,food,fibres,fuelandmedicinethatallowhigherlifeformstoexist.Plantsalsoabsorbcarbondioxidethroughphotosynthesis,aminorgreenhousegasthatinlargeamountscanaffectglobalclimate.Itisbelievedthattheevolutionofplantshaschangedtheglobalatmosphereoftheearthearlyintheearth'shistoryandpaleobotanistsstudyancientplantsinthefossilrecord.Agoodunderstandingofplantsiscrucialtothefutureofhumansocietiesasitallowsusto:

Producefoodtofeedanexpandingpopulation

Understandfundamentallifeprocesses

Producemedicineandmaterialstotreatdiseasesandotherailments

Understandenvironmentalchangesmoreclearly

HumannutritionAllfoodseatencomefromplants,eitherdirectlyfromstaplefoodsandotherfruitandvegetables,orindirectlythroughlivestockorotheranimals,whichrelyonplantsfortheirnutrition.Plantsarethefundamentalbaseofnearlyallfoodchainsbecausetheyusetheenergyfromthesunandnutrientsfromthesoilandatmosphereandconvertthemintoaformthatcanbeconsumedandutilizedbyanimalsthisiswhatecologistscallthefirsttrophiclevel.Botanistsalsostudyhowplantsproducefoodwecaneatandhowtoincreaseyieldsand

thereforetheirworkisimportantinmankind'sabilitytofeedtheworldandprovidefoodsecurityforfuturegenerations,forexamplethroughplantbreeding.Botanistsalsostudyweeds,plantswhichareconsideredtobeanuisanceinaparticularlocation.Weedsareaconsiderableprobleminagriculture,andbotanyprovidessomeofthebasicscienceusedtounderstandhowtominimizeweedimpactinagricultureandnativeecosystems.Ethnobotanyisthestudyoftherelationshipsbetweenplantsandpeople.

FundamentallifeprocessesPlantsareconvenientorganismsinwhichfundamentallifeprocesses(likecelldivisionandproteinsynthesisforexample)canbestudied,withouttheethicaldilemmasofstudyinganimalsorhumans.ThegeneticlawsofinheritancewerediscoveredinthiswaybyGregorMendel,whowasstudyingthewaypeashapeisinherited.WhatMendellearnedfromstudyingplantshashadfarreachingbenefitsoutsideofbotany.Additionally,BarbaraMcClintockdiscoveredjumpinggenesbystudyingmaize.Theseareafewexamplesthatdemonstratehowbotanicalresearchhasanongoingrelevancetotheunderstandingoffundamentalbiologicalprocesses.

MedicineandmaterialsManymedicinalandrecreationaldrugs,liketetrahydrocannabinol,caffeine,andnicotinecomedirectlyfromtheplantkingdom.Othersaresimplederivativesofbotanicalnaturalproductsforexampleaspirinisbasedonthepainkillersalicylicacidwhichoriginallycamefromthebarkofwillowtrees.Theremaybemanynovelcuresfordiseasesprovidedbyplants,waitingtobediscovered.Popularstimulantslikecoffee,chocolate,tobacco,andteaalsocomefromplants.Mostalcoholicbeveragescomefromfermentingplantssuchasbarleymaltandgrapes.Plantsalsoprovideuswithmanynaturalmaterials,suchascotton,wood,paper,linen,vegetableoils,sometypesofrope,andrubber.Theproductionofsilkwouldnotbepossiblewithoutthecultivationofthemulberryplant.Sugarcane,rapeseed,soyandotherplantswithahighlyfermentablesugaroroilcontenthaverecentlybeenputtouseassourcesofbiofuels,whichareimportantalternativestofossilfuels,seebiodiesel.

EnvironmentalchangesPlantscanalsohelpusunderstandchangesinonourenvironmentinmanyways.

Understandinghabitatdestructionandspeciesextinctionisdependentonanaccurateandcompletecatalogofplantsystematicsandtaxonomy.

Plantresponsestoultravioletradiationcanhelpusmonitorproblemsliketheozonedepletion.

Analyzingpollendepositedbyplantsthousandsormillionsofyearsagocanhelpscientiststoreconstructpastclimatesandpredictfutureones,anessentialpartofclimatechangeresearch.

Recordingandanalyzingthetimingofplantlifecyclesareimportantpartsofphenologyusedinclimatechangeresearch.

Lichens,whicharesensitivetoatmosphericconditions,havebeenextensivelyusedaspollutionindicators.

Inmanydifferentways,plantscanactalittleliketheminerscanaryanearlywarning

systemalertingustoimportantchangesinourenvironment.Inadditiontothesepracticalandscientificreasons,plantsareextremelyvaluableasrecreationformillionsofpeoplewhoenjoygardening,horticulturalandculinaryusesofplantseveryday.

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