 Hi, my name is Demi. I'm a PhD candidate at the Australian National University, and I'm here at the CSIRO, or the Australian Cotton Research Institute, in Narrabri, New South Wales. Here at the Australian Cotton Research Institute, we specialise in developing and researching Australian cotton cultivars that are developed for Australian conditions. Some of our primary traits that we try to improve include photosynthesis and water use efficiency. Improving these traits requires an understanding of how the sugars from photosynthesis and the water from the soil moves around the cotton plant. Both of these processes rely on an understanding of vascular tissue, and that's what we're going to be discussing in today's video. There are three major tissue types in plants, all with their own functions important for the plant's growth, development and survival. Firstly, dermal tissue forms a barrier to the environment and includes the outer layers referred to as the epidermis, stomata which control the flux of gases and vapours into and out of the plant, and surface hairs called trichomes. Secondly, ground tissues include specialised cells such as photosynthetic parenchyma or structural sclarenchyma. Finally, vascular tissue similar in nature to the circulatory system in animals is required for transportation of water, nutrients and other important molecules throughout the plant. Vascular tissues form long, vein-like cells that form a transportation network throughout the plant, much like the veins and arteries in animals. They form a continuous connection from the root tip in the soil to the surface of the leaf, spanning the entire length of the plant. There are two primary types of vascular cells called xylem and phloem. These clump together to form vascular bundles which vary in their size and arrangement depending on the organ of the plant. For example, the arrangement of vascular bundles in a root look remarkably dissimilar to those of a stem or a leaf, because the transportation requirements of these organs is very different.