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-bijanto-

How do certain plants uptake certain nutrients?

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A friend was asking me this question: How do certain plants uptake certain nutrients? Some plants have certain nutrients higher than the others?

For example garlic and onions are good source of sulfur. Soy beans are better source of vitamin E, etc.

Another example, a study done by the Harvard University found that the coca leaf has a large amount of nutrients, more than other foods well known as strong ones. Each 100 grams of leaf coca contain: Calcium 1749 (mg), Phosphor 637 (mg), Vitamin A 10000 (iu).

I haven't found a good explanation, anyone has any theory?

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A random hypothesis.. The 'nutrient' chemicals may be released as by-products of chemical reactions undertaken by the plants; and so some plants which follow a metabolic pathway to produce substances that the particular plant needs release 'nutrients' along the way; and as each plant would require different substances, they'd undertake different metabolic processes which release different by-products (the nutrients).

Not sure if that made sense - and it's just a hypothesis so don't take it as truth.

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A friend was asking me this question: How do certain plants uptake certain nutrients? Some plants have certain nutrients higher than the others?

For example garlic and onions are good source of sulfur. Soy beans are better source of vitamin E, etc.

Another example, a study done by the Harvard University found that the coca leaf has a large amount of nutrients, more than other foods well known as strong ones. Each 100 grams of leaf coca contain: Calcium 1749 (mg), Phosphor 637 (mg), Vitamin A 10000 (iu).

I haven't found a good explanation, anyone has any theory?

You're asking two different questions

Firstly "How do certain plants uptake certain nutrients?"

Secondly: Why do "Some plants have certain nutrients higher than the others?"

The answer to the first is specific to the plant and the nutrient - but always comes down to an interaction between the plant and it's primary source of nutrition, the soil. In many cases this interaction is mediated by mycorrhizal fungi which play a role in nutrient uptake. Nutrients come in different forms. Eg nitrogen can be nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, urea, part of an organic compound like an amino acid (or an alkaloid), or bound to a complex organic molecule such as tannins and humates. Most plants prefer nitrate but others prefer ammonia. This variability is pretty standard across nutrients and across plant species.

The answer to no. 2 is that plants are different to each other. What makes different plants different to each other? The genes and the environment. In this discussion the genetics is probably more important. What makes garlic different to onions and both different to soybean and coca? The genetics :). The main thing that genes do is express proteins. And the proteins then go on to form structural elements of the plant tissues, perform metabolic functions, or catalyse the many necessary reactions of the plant's physiology. The reason why garlic looks different to soybeans is the same reason why it is different nutritionally. Morphological characteristics are a product of chemical and molecular characteristics.

In the case of garlic and onion being good sources of sulfur, that's because they're high in proteins containing the amino acids cysteine and methionine.

Edited by creach

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You're asking two different questions. Firstly "How do certain plants uptake certain nutrients?"

Secondly: Why do "Some plants have certain nutrients higher than the others?"

Thanks for clearing that up for me :)
The answer to the first is specific to the plant and the nutrient - but always comes down to an interaction between the plant and it's primary source of nutrition, the soil.

Agree (especially for terrestrial plants. Also an interaction between the plant and the air).

In many cases this interaction is mediated by mycorrhizal fungi which play a role in nutrient uptake.
Yes, these fungi increase the surface area of absorbing part of the root and provide chemicals that dissolve hard to absorb nutrients like P , Fe and other "tightly bound" nutrients. I've found this 'interaction' or the gluttation of nutrients issue interesting, I mean how we can improve plants' nutrient uptake is somewhat 'unsolved'.

Take for example a natural enzyme called "ferric-chelate reductase". In 1970 this enzyme was believed to be responsible for plants' ability to transform iron (in oxidized or ferric form) into a form plant roots could absorb (ferrous). Normally, a plant will absorb only as much iron as it needs for its own well-being.

But in 1988 a plant physiologist named Ross Welch and his team found a mutant pea plant that was a glutton to iron and would continue to absorb iron until it reached toxic levels and died. If they understood how the mutant plant absorbed so much iron, they would be able to find a way to increase iron in plants' edible parts and make the plants more nutritious to humans.

Soon they noticed another distinctive behaviour of the mutant pea plant. Not only was it a glutton for iron; it also accumulated unusually high (but not deadly) levels of copper, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and even potassium from soil containing typical levels of these elements.

He said that the only difference between the mutant pea plant and normal pea plants was that in the mutant, the ferric-chelate reductase was always turned on,". That's when they began to think this reductase wasn't just for iron-- that somehow plants used it to control the uptake of all nutrient metals."

Full Article Here

Nutrients come in different forms. This variability is pretty standard across nutrients and across plant species.

Clear.

]The answer to no. 2 is that plants are different to each other. What makes different plants different to each other? The genes and the environment.

I have no doubt about it.

In this discussion the genetics is probably more important.
OK We'll focus on genes.
What makes garlic different to onions and both different to soybean and coca? The genetics. The main thing that genes do is express proteins. And the proteins then go on to form structural elements of the plant tissues, perform metabolic functions, or catalyse the many necessary reactions of the plant's physiology. The reason why garlic looks different to soybeans is the same reason why it is different nutritionally. Morphological characteristics are a product of chemical and molecular characteristics.

Conclusively, plants' specific genetic codes influence their morphological and physiological characteristics, which in turn affect their capacity (and/or efficiency) to acquire nutrients, and/or the mechanisms by which they absorb nutrients.

Well spoken, thanks for the comment guys!

Edited by -bijanto-

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