PLANT PHYSIOLOGY
Stampa
Enrollment year
2016/2017
Academic year
2018/2019
Regulations
DM270
Academic discipline
BIO/04 (PLANT PHYSIOLOGY)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY "LAZZARO SPALLANZANI"
Course
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Curriculum
PERCORSO COMUNE
Year of study
Period
1st semester (01/10/2018 - 14/01/2019)
ECTS
9
Lesson hours
72 lesson hours
Language
Italian
Activity type
ORAL TEST
Teacher
BALESTRAZZI ALMA (titolare) - 9 ECTS
Prerequisites
It is required the knowledge of the contents of the courses of Botany and especially of Biochemistry in particular of protein, carbohydrates and lipid chemistry, enzymology, respiratory metabolism, redox reactions
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should have learned and fully understood the specific biological structures of plants and the biochemical peculiarities which confer them the capacity of sustaining life on this planet
Course contents
Autotrophic way of life and its consequences on structure and physiology of plants. Peculiarities of plant cell: cell wall, vacuoles, plastids and their roles. Milestones in the research on photosynthesis. Primary steps of photosynthesis: organization of the photosynthetic membrane, light harvesting, photochemical reactions, electron flow, ATP synthesis and NADP+ reduction. CO2 organication: Calvin cycle, RuBisCO. Regulation of Calvin cycle. Photorespiration, C4 plants and CAM plants. Primary products of photosynthesis and phloematic transport. Ecophysiological aspects of photosynthesis.
Peculiarities of the respiratory metabolism and of mitochondria of plants.
Homeostasis maintenance in plant cell; ATPase, membrane transporters and channels.
Seed maturation and germination. The reserve compounds and their degradation. Seeds and man and animal nutrition.
Plant, soil and water. Micro and macro nutrients. Flux of nutrients in the xylematic vessels. Assimilative reduction and organication of nitrogen and sulfur.
The environmental signals and their transduction in plants. Phytochrome and photomorphogenesis. Other receptors. The phytohormones: perception, signal transduction and physiological effects. Secondary metabolites of plants and their environmental roles.
Agriculture, environment and biotechnologies. The genetic improvement of plants: from crossing to transgenic plants.
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons.
There will be two written exercises during the course where students can evaluate their own level of preparation and understanding of the subjects of the course by answering a series of multi-answer questions
Reccomended or required readings
Taiz e Zeiger
Elementi di Fisiologia vegetale
Riduzione della quinta edizione di lingua inglese. PICCIN editore, 28 euro
More detailed :
Buchanan, Gruissem, Jones
Biochimica e Biologia molecolare delle Piante, Zanichelli editore, 2003, 129 euro
Assessment methods
The course exam is written and is made up by both general questions and "open" more specific questions as well as a few questions multiple-answer. In answering such questions, the student must demonstrate to have developed a precise idea, a mental schema of how it works a plant organism, but also to know in detail some notions about processes and molecules, reactions and basic structures which are fundamental in plant physiology
Further information
The course exam is written and is made up by both general questions and "open" more specific questions as well as a few questions multiple-answer. In answering such questions, the student must demonstrate to have developed a precise idea, a mental schema of how it works a plant organism, but also to know in detail some notions about processes and molecules, reactions and basic structures which are fundamental in plant physiology
Sustainable development goals - Agenda 2030