Plants and animals, both being living things, have an arrangement of physical structures that move various substances all across their body. Such arrangement mainly acts as a transport system facilitating the movement of water, minerals, nutrients, etc. that are crucial for the survival of that organism.
Plants have primarily two types of tissues that help transport water, minerals, and nutrients. Those tissues are – the xylem and phloem.
Xylem
It is responsible for the transportation of water and mineral salts from the roots to different parts of a plant.
These tissues are made up of elongated dead cells and arranged as continuous vessels. Xylems are impermeable to water.
Phloem
This moves amino acids and sucrose between leaves and different parts of a plant.
These tissues are comprised of living cells that are arranged from one end to another end. It transports amino acids and sucrose up and down the plant. Phloems are different from xylems in this aspect.
Did You Know?
It is the stems that are responsible for the transportation of water and nutrients in plants through xylem and phloem respectively. However, in one instance, there is a requirement of energy for movement and is redundant in another instance.
The movement of water is unidirectional and takes place by way of adhesion and cohesion. This transportation is passive, that is, not requiring any energy whatsoever. On the other hand, the movement of nutrients from leaves to different parts of the plant requires energy.
Transportation in Animals
Transportation in animals is the movement of food, water, and oxygen to different parts of the body. Such a system consists of a circulatory system and excretory system.
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Circulatory System
The main parts of the circulatory system are – blood, blood vessels, and heart. Blood is pumped through two types of blood vessels, namely arteries and veins.
Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to different parts of the body. Veins carry carbon dioxide-infused blood from different organs of the body to its heart.
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Excretory System
The Excretory system helps to eliminate the wastes generated in an animal body. The different parts of this system are – kidneys, urinary bladder, ureters, and urethra.
Difference Between Transportation in Plants and Animals
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Parameters |
Plants |
Animals |
|
Structure |
Xylem and phloem are specialized tubes. These do not form a circulatory system. |
Specialized tubes are arteries, veins, and capillaries. These tubes form a closed circulatory system. |
|
Composition |
Living cells make up all parts of the transport network. |
Living cells do not make up all parts of the transport network. |
|
Substance transported |
Substances transported are water, minerals, sugars, and amino acids. |
Substances transported are glucose, glycerol, minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, amino acids, and hormones. |
|
Transport mechanism |
Water enters the xylem to reach the leaves and is further diffused out through the process of transpiration. The movement of water is unidirectional. Nutrients travel through phloem in different parts of the plant, and it can move both up and down. |
The pumping of blood through a series of tubes makes up for the circulatory system. It is energy-intensive. |
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Control of transportation |
Stomatal closure and opening control the rate of transpiration. |
Flow of blood to vessels is controlled by constriction and vasodilation. |
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Energy consumption |
Adenosine triphosphate energy is only needed for the transportation of substances in the phloem. |
Adenosine triphosphate energy is required for all components of transportation including operations of the heart and contraction of arteries among others. |