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Uses of Glucose in Plants - Coggle Diagram
Uses of Glucose in Plants
Respiration
glucose
+ oxygen → carbon dioxide + water + energy
Respiration occurs in the mitochondria (in cells)
Releases energy which allows them to convert the rest of the glucose into other useful substances which they can use to build new cells and grow
Storage
Glucose which is soluble is converted into insoluble starch for storage
The starch can then be stored in roots, leaves and stems - ready for when photosynthesis isn't happening (at night, during winter etc.)
Potato and carrot plants store a lot of starch underground over the winter so a new plant can grow from it the following spring - we are eating the swollen storage organs
Seeds
Glucose is also turned into lipids (fats and oils) for storing in seeds
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food
Seeds also store starch
Fruit
Glucose and another sugar (fructose) are both turned into sucrose for storing in fruits
Fruits deliberately taste nice so that animals will eat them and spread the seeds in their faeces
Cellulose
This allows plants to grow tall without any other support
It also stops the cells over-expanding when water enters by osmosis
Glucose is converted into cellulose for making cell walls, especially in a rapid growing plant
Protein synthesis
Proteins are the building blocks of life
Glucose is combined with nitrates (collected from the soil) to make amino acids, which are then made into proteins
Enzymes are proteins, as too are many structural parts of plants
Even some organelles within cells are composed of protein (e.g. ribosomes)
Nuts and seeds always contain large amounts of protein as they need to sustain the plant in its first few day of life