PBR-32302 Breeding for Abiotic Stress Tolerance (DL)

Course

Credits 2.00

Language of instruction:

English

Continuation courses:

The DL-MSc-specializations have a fixed schedule during the pilot-phase

Contents:

Note: This course has a maximum number of participants. The deadline for registration is one week earlier than usual. See Academic Year.(http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/Education-Programmes/Current-Students/Agenda-Calendar-Academic-Year.htm) -> Registration for Courses.
Note: The period mentioned below is the period in which this course starts. For the exact academic weeks see the courseplanning on www.wur.eu/schedule.

Abiotic stress is the stress imposed on plants by the non-living environment. Abiotic stress is responsible for huge yield losses in crops around the world. In this course we will assess the impact that abiotic stresses (drought, salinity, nutrient deficiency) have on agricultural production, and provide you with knowledge and tools for successful breeding for abiotic stress tolerance. The following questions will be addressed:
- what can agriculture do to minimize yield losses now and in a future where the climate changes, and input will be further restricted?
- what are the requirements for successful breeding for abiotic stress tolerance?
- how does a plant respond to abiotic stress, and which physiological and molecular mechanisms are important?
- which traits contribute to stress tolerance, how can these be measured and used for selection?
- how do modern genomics techniques contribute to abiotic stress tolerance breeding?

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to:
- have acquired knowledge on how agriculture, crops and individual plants are affected by abiotic stress;
- have learned about main mechanisms that help plants to cope with abiotic stress;
- know about tools that can be used to monitor and understand the response and tolerance of plants to different abiotic stresses;
- be able to integrate the above knowledge for the design of a sensible breeding strategy for the improvement of abiotic stress tolerance in target crops.

Activities:

Online lectures with video clips on specific subjects, short assignments.

Examination:

The exam is an online remotely proctored exam, where the student should provide a suitable computer and room.

Literature:

Available through the course website.