Photosynthate partitioning is the deferential distribution of photosynthates to plant tissues. A photosynthate is the resulting product of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

, these products are generally sugars. These sugars that are created from photosynthesis are broken down to create energy for use by the plant. Sugar and other compounds move via the phloem to tissues that have an energy demand. These areas of demand are called sinks. While areas with an excess of sugars and a low energy demand are called sources. Many times sinks are the actively growing tissues of the plant while the sources are where sugars are produced by photosynthesis—the leaves of plants. Sugars are actively loaded into the phloem and moved by a positive pressure flow created by solute concentrations and

turgor pressure Turgor pressure is the force within the cell that pushes the plasma membrane against the cell wall. It is also called ''hydrostatic pressure'', and is defined as the pressure in a fluid measured at a certain point within itself when at equilibri ...

between

xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue (biology), tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem; both of these are part of the vascular bundle. The basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts o ...

and

phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is ...

vessel elements (specialized plant cells). This movement of sugars is referred to as translocation. When sugars arrive at the sink they are unloaded for storage or broken down/metabolized. The partitioning of these sugars depends on multiple factors such as the vascular connections that exist, the location of the sink to source, the developmental stage, and the strength of that sink. Vascular connections exist between sources and sinks and those that are the most direct have been shown to receive more photosynthates than those that must travel through extensive connections. This also goes for proximity: those closer to the source are easier to translocate sugars to. Developmental stage plays a large role in partitioning, organs that are young such as

meristem In cell biology, the meristem is a structure composed of specialized tissue found in plants, consisting of stem cells, known as meristematic cells, which are undifferentiated cells capable of continuous cellular division. These meristematic c ...

s and new leaves have a higher demand, as well as those that are entering reproductive maturity—creating fruits, flowers, and seeds. Many of these developing organs have a higher sink strength. Those with higher sink strengths receive more photosynthates than lower strength sinks. Sinks compete to receive these compounds and combination of factors playing in determining how much and how fast sinks receives photosynthates to grow and complete Plant physiology, physiological activities.

References

Photosynthesis {{photosynthesis-stub