Can someone help answer this discussion forum. Cite primary sources in proper AP
ID: 277810 • Letter: C
Question
Can someone help answer this discussion forum. Cite primary sources in proper APA format and please have it so I can read and understand the answer
Explanation / Answer
Plants definitely are an important source of organic carbon, fixed nitrogen and oxygen but they are dependent on the other kingdoms for some of their needs.
Relationships with other kingdoms:
Plants and bacteria (Kingdom Monera/Prokaryotae): Monerans include all bacteria. They can be autotrophic, saprotrophic, heterotrophic in nutrition mode. Some of the bacteria are associated with plants as symbionts for eg. Rhizobium species which helps in nitrogen fixation of nodules of leguminous plants without which the legumes can not have nitrgen source. Also other bacteria like Nitrosomonas, Nitrococcus, Nitrobacter etc are chemolithotrophic and convert ammonia to nitrites and nitrates which act as sources for absorption by roots of plants and hence these get assimilated in plants as nitrogenous compounds.
Bacteria like Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Enterobacter etc are pathogenic to plants.
Apart from these photo-autotrophic bacteria like cyanobacteria (blue green algae) can synthesize their own food from atmosphere elements and hence are independent of plants. Some chemo-autotrophic bacteria like sulfur bacteria get energy through chemical reactions. These are anearobes and are not dependent on plants.
Plants and Protista: Kingdom protista includes algae and protozoons etc. Algae are plant like in terms of nutrition as they are autotrophic. Protozoons are heterotrophic but are known to infect plant and cause them diseases for eg. Labyrinthula species which is known to infect plants.
Plants and Fungi: Plants are highly associated with fungi in both beneficial as well as harmful terms. Fungi are heterotrophs and many of them are dependent on plants for food. some of them like mushrooms are saprophytic in nature and derive energy from decayed matter. Fungi can have symbiotic relationships with plants for eg. Mycorrhiza which assists in the uptake of phosphates and nitrates (even when present in low concentrations) from the soil by the plants. These act as endosymbionts. In some cases even plants like orchids parasitize mycorrhiza and gives up photoautotrophism and recieves all its nutrition from fungi.
Fungi are also pathogenic to plants and form the largest group of pathogens in agriculture. Some examples include Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Alternaria, Puccinia etc species which are responsible for huge agricultural losses by infecting the plants.
Plants and animals: The members of kingdom animalia are directly or indirectly dependent on plants for their nutrition as well as their need of oxygen. These are all heterotrophic in nature. They may be herbivores (directly take plants), carnivores (feed on herbivores) or parasites (may parasitize plants or animals). The only way they provide assistance to plants is by providing them carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
This implies there are links between plants and other kingdoms.
These links do not totally underscore the importance of plants to us but do bring out the contribution of members of other kingdoms in our existance. For eg. the bacteria are symbiotic to humans in number of ways (Escherichia coli in human gut, oral bacteria, vaginal bacteria). Also it indicates that the plants are not the only source of fixing essential nutrients as other organisms (of other kingdoms) can also do that, but to humans (or to most members of kingdom animalia) plants are still very important for their survival.