PHLOEM LOADING IN PLANTS ANIMATION VIDEO

Phloem loading is the process in plants where sugars like sucrose are transferred from mesophyll cells to sieve tube elements in the leaf. This can occur through the symplast (cell to cell through plasmodesmata) or the apoplast (cell walls outside the protoplasts). In apoplastic loading, sugars are actively loaded from the apoplast to sieve tubes by an energy-driven transport. Phloem unloading refers to the transfer of sugars from sieve tube elements to sink organs such as roots, tubers, etc.