Sieve tube element

[1] Sieve elements' major function includes transporting sugars over long distance through plants by acting as a channel.

Pores on sieve areas allow for cytoplasmic connections to neighboring cells, which allows for the movement of photosynthetic material and other organic molecules necessary for tissue function.

Since this discovery, the structure and physiology of phloem tissue has been emphasized more as there has been greater focus on its specialized components such as the sieve cells.

Since then, multiple studies have been conducted on how sieve elements function in phloem in terms of working as a transport mechanism.

By studying the phloem of the leaves in vivo through laser microscopy and the usage of fluorescent markers (placed in both companion cells and sieve elements), the network of companion cells with the compact sieve tubes was highlighted.

[1] They have a very narrow diameter and tend to be longer in length than sieve tube elements as they are generally associated with albuminous cells.

Their narrow pores are necessary in their function in most seedless vascular plants and gymnosperms which lack sieve-tube members and only have sieve cells to transport molecules.

It has been discovered that the angiosperm phloem can use the sieve tubes as a way to transport various forms of RNA to sink tissues which can help alter transcriptional activity.

Over time, rapid growth has the potential of leading to greater agricultural output.