Root Apex and Shoot Apex both are the edge part of a growing plant. Root apex is situated on the edge of the root while the shoot apex is located on the top part of steam of a plant. Both play a vital role in the growth of a plant. There are various differences between root apex and shoot apex on the basis of function, location, and cells they have. In this section, we will have close look at the differences between the two major apexes in plants.
Shoot Apex
The shoot apex is dome-shaped in outline and protected by a young leaf. It has two parts: the outer mantles like Tunca and the inner mass of cells called Corpus. Cells of tunica are smaller. They undergo anticlinal divisions and form the protoderm which later differentiates into the epidermis. Cells of the corpus are comparatively larger. They divide into all planes and dorm ground meristem and procambium. The differentiation is defined by Tunica-Corpus. Shoot Apex is part of the shoot of a growing plant that is rich with meristematic cells of the plant. Meristematic cells are those cells that have the power of continuous cell division. The shoot apex consists of multipotent stem cells and brings primordia to parts of the plant above ground.
Root Apex
Root apex is cup-shaped in outline and protected by a root cap. It is a sub-terminal in position. It has the following five meristematic regions.
- Protoderm: It forms epiblema and root cap in dicots but it can form the only epidemic in monocots.
- Calyptrogen: It is only found in monocots and helps in the formation of the root caps.
- Procambium: It later gices rise to vasular tissue.
- Ground Meristem: It helps in the formation of cortex, endodermis, pericycle, conjunctive tissue and pith.
- Quiescent centre: It is the cup-shaped central part of the root apex. Cells of the quiescent centre divide at a very slow rate because of the presence of a low amount of DNA, RNA and protein. This centre acts as a reserve meristem because if the apical parts of the meristem are injured, its cells became active and replaced this part. It is also the area of hormone synthesis.
Difference Between Root Apex and Shoot Apex
| Root Apex | Shoot Apex |
|---|---|
| 1. Root apex is sub-terminal in position. | 1. Shoot apex is terminal in position. |
| 2. It is cup-shaped in outline. | 2. It is dome shape in outline. |
| 3. It is protected by a root cap. | 3. It is protected by leaf primordia. |
| 4. It has a quiescent center. | 4. It has no quiescent centre. |
| 5. It cannot be changed into the reproductive apex at the time of reproduction. | 5. It can be changed into a reproductive shoot apex at the time of reproduction. |
| 6. Calyptrogen may be present or absent. | 6. Calyptrogen is absent. |
| 7. Root apex is negatively geotropic. | 8. Root apex is positively geotropic. |
| 8. More differentiated cells. | Less differentiated cells. |
| 9. It does not have leaf primordia. | 9. There is the presence of leaf primordia |
| 10. It is short in size in comparison to the shoot apex. | 10. It is long in size in comparison to the root apex. |
Reproductive Shoot Apex
At the time of reproduction, the shoot stops to produce new leaf primordia and auxiliary buds. Meristem broadens and increases in size. The summit cells begin to divide actively and form an inflorescence or single flower. Then meristematic tissues get consumed from the formation of different floral parts (calyx, corolla, androecium, and gynoecium) in different regions.
Difference Between Shoot Apex and Reproductive Shoot Apex
| Shoot Apex | Reproductive Shoot Apex |
|---|---|
| 1. The shoot apex is dome-shaped in outline. | 1. Reproductive shoot aped is flattened shaped in outline. |
| 2. It is protected by young leaves. | 2. It is protected by sepals. |
| 3. Its apex has unlimited growth. | 3. Its apex has limited growth. |
| 4. It gives rise to leaves, bud, and stem tissues. | 4. It gives rise to sepals, petals, stamens, and carpel tissues. |
| 5. Its summit cells do not divide actively. | 5. The summit cells divide actively. |
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- 👉 Collenchyma Tissue
- 👉 Difference Between Collenchyma and Parenchyma
I hope now you have a better understanding of the root and shoot apex of the plant. If you have any further questions then feel free to comment below.
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