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I’ve always been surprised by the huge amounts plants can grow with so little nitrogen. I never underdtood how their cells could get enough amino acids.
by mrfusion 7y ago
I’ve always been surprised by the huge amounts plants can grow with so little nitrogen. I never underdtood how their cells could get enough amino acids.
- thaumasiotes 7y agoMost plants don't contain much protein. The exceptions are legumes (which I believe are also the nitrogen fixers) and nuts -- but even then, the high-protein content is the seeds, not the plant. Where animals are made of protein, plants are made of carbohydrates. They're a different form of life. Don't be fooled by the Whole Foods post claiming "yes, plants have protein". ( https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/yes-plants-have-protein https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/yes-plants... ) They proudly tell you that broccoli has more protein per calorie than steak. That's true. Broccoli also has about 10% the protein content of steak by mass. Steak is an efficient food with a lot of calories. Broccoli is a plant.
- mrfusion 7y agoRight on all that. But plants are made of cells too and cells need amino acids for all the machinery of life. So how do they get away with so much less than animal cells?
- thaumasiotes 7y agoIn addition to using proteins for "all the machinery of life", animal cells use them extensively for purely structural reasons. Plants don't do this, so they need much less protein than animals do. This is basically just a repeat of my earlier comment, because I don't really understand what you're asking about. I don't see why it's a mystery that an organism which uses a lot of protein needs to produce much more protein than another organism which uses very little protein.
- Turing_Machine 7y agoMaybe it would help the earlier poster to lay it out more explicitly. The bulk of an animal's structure is made of things like hair, and skin, and muscle, and cartilage, which are made largely of proteins, which in turn contain a lot of nitrogen. The bulk of a plant's structure is made of things like cellulose and lignin, which contain no nitrogen.
- jacoblambda 7y agoNot OP but as you seem to be better informed with regard to cellular biology than me I am curious about something and figured this is a good time and place to ask. - Isn't part of the reason that plant cells contain so much less protein by mass because plant cells are larger and a large portion of their mass is a vacuole for storing carbohydrates and water? - How much lower is the protein content per cell in plant cells vs animal cells? - What organelles or increased concentration of organelles cause animal cells to contain more protein than plant cells if it isn't just that vacuoles skew the results? - If it isn't a difference in the cells, is it just a difference in organ structure between plants and animals? Note: Not trying to be snarky, legitimately interested in this as I have always has a passing fascination in cellular biology.
- maxerickson 7y agoPlants use the carbohydrates for structure (cellulose). I'm not trying to be snarky either, if you are more than passingly interested, go get a textbook and read through it. It'll answer questions you have yet to think to ask.
- ssijak 7y agoHow many plants were put into producing that efficient stake?
- thaumasiotes 7y agoA lot, that's what makes it so efficient. Just like it's more efficient to get money by robbing a bank than by sneaking into houses to steal tooth fairy payouts.