MOB-30806 Regulation of Plant Development

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

EZO-22306 Developmental Biology of Plants and Animals or GEN-20806 Plant Biotechnology or MOB-20306 Gene Technology or equivalent.

Continuation courses:

CLB-30306 Cell Biology & Advanced Imaging Technologies.

Contents:

Plants are unique because environment plays a crucial role in development. Molecular and cell biological aspects of developmental processes in plants will be discussed, covering several conceptual frameworks of development of plant cell types and organs. The focus will be on how plant endogenous signals are involved in directing plant organ development, how these signalling networks are modified by environmental factors and how these networks evolve to create new species. Different examples in the lectures and literature discussions will illustrate how plants can adapt at the cellular, tissue and whole plant level to their environment by integrating environmental cues into developmental processes.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- retrieve and explain the concepts underlying developmental processes (embryogenesis, flower development, root, shoot and leaf development) in plants;
- retrieve and explain how plant endogenous signals and environmental signals are perceived and integrated into the initiation, proceeding and control of developmental processes;
- distinguish and present the strong and weak points of research articles in this field.

Activities:

- lectures;
- reading;
- presentation of scientific papers;
- computer supported case studies.

Examination:

Written exam: open questions.

Literature:

Powerpoint files of the lectures are available on MyPortal.
Copies of recent articles to be discussed will be made available.