Nicole Saylor
Meiko M. Thompson
BIO 115
11/25/12
In this essay I will be answering questions about fruit and as to the reason why things are the way they are...
First up is some fruits are sweet and some are not is because, “Actually, the taste of a fruit depends on the compounds present in it. Normally a fruit contains the materials like cellulose, proteins, starch, vitamins, certain acids, fructose or sugar. All these materials are found in mixed form inside the fruit and they have different proportions in different fruits. Fruits of sweet taste have more fructose in them whereas the fruits of sour taste have more acids in them.” (Gemini Geek) so this means that the more or less acid a fruit has then more sweeter or more sour it will taste, and that all means something with no taste really to is to say to have no acid , or sugars that would give it a particular taste.
The next in line is that the ripening of a fruit and the seed dispersal go hand in hand in such a way that when a fruit ripens it is a signal from production mode of a seed to the dispersal of a mature seed that is ready to become another plant to create the dame cycle over again. To help explain this for example, “n dry fruits (cereals, nuts, dandelions) ripening consists of desiccation and is considered maturation. Ripening in fleshy fruits is designed to make the fruit appealing to animals that eat the fruit as a means for seed dispersal. Ripening involves the softening, increased juiciness and sweetness, and color changes of the fruit. Fleshy fruits are either climacteric or non-climacteric. Climacteric fruits produce a reparative burst with a concomitant burst in ethylene synthesis, as the fruits ripen. These include fruits with high degrees of flesh softening, like tomato, banana, avocado, peach etc.” (Lecture 17)So we see that in this process of ripening and seed dispersal are that it is the plants way of making sure that the seeds that it produced to carry
References: The Gemini Geek (2012). Why Are Some Fruits Sweet While Others Are Sour? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.thegeminigeek.com/why-are-some-fruits-sweet-while-others-are-sour/ Iowa State University (2012). Lecture 17 [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.public.iastate.edu/~bot.512/lectures/seed&fruit.htm Chamberlin, K. (2012). Disturbance Ecology - The Human Habitat Project [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/humanhabitatproject/home/disturbance-ecology