Question

Water and dissolved minerals located in the cell walls and intercellular spaces of the root cortex are in the ___________ (symplastic / apoplastic) route of transport, and those in the cytoplasm of cortex cells are in the ___________ (symplastic / apoplastic) route. The ___________ (symplastic / apoplastic) route requires plasmodesmata. The ___________ (symplastic / apoplastic) route is obstructed by the Casparian strip, thereby forcing water and minerals to cross the plasma membranes of endodermal cells before gaining entrance into the vascular cylinder.

Answer 1

1. Apoplastic

2. Symplastic

3. Symplastic

4. Apoplastic

Step-by-step explanation:

The interconnected porous cell walls of plant cells make apoplast along which water is allowed to move freely. Symplast refers to the path made up of interconnected cytoplasm of many plant cells connected by plasmodesmata. Therefore, water and dissolved minerals enter the root cortex from the epidermis in the solution can move through symplast and apoplast till endodermis.

Water and dissolved minerals present in the cytoplasm of cortical cells move from one cell to next via plasmodesmata (the symplast) while the ones present in their cell walls and intercellular space move through apoplast. The presence of casparian strips in the endodermal cell wall does not allow the movement of water and minerals through the apoplast.