Course program
Module I Plant physiology and biochemistry
Functional peculiarities of the plant cell. Endoplasmic reticulum and its differentiations. The vacuole: structure and functions. Peroxisomes. Glyoxisome, outline of lipid metabolism. β-oxidation, glyoxylate cycle. Protein bodies. Oleosomes. Plastids. Structure and functions. Biogenesis of plastids. The plant cell wall. Composition, structure and function and biogenesis. Biosynthesis of wall components. The plasmodesmata: structure and function. (8 hours)
Electrochemical potential and water potential. Components of water potential. Experimental methods for measuring water potential and its components. The movement of water in the plant. Long-distance transport. Root pressure, cohesion-tension model. Soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Water transport from soil to root. Xylem structure. Transport water to the leaves. Transpiration and its regulation. The stomata: structure and mechanisms of control of the opening and closing. (8 hours)
Specific transport systems: permeases, channels, proton pumps. Movement and transport of ions. Potential Nerst. Nature of the transmembrane electric potential. Passive transport, facilitated and active. Football partitioning, storage and mobilization systems. Mineral nutrition of plants. Plants and symbiotic fungi: mycorrhizae.Nitrogen metabolism. Nitrogen fixation. Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. Nitrogen assimilation. (8 hours)
Photosynthesis. The photosynthetic pigments. Spatial organization and function of photosystems. Transport of electron acceptors and electron donors. Transport of protons and fotofosforilazione. Complex spatial organization of photosynthetic membranes . Photoinhibition. Calvin cycle and its regulation. Photorespiration. Systems for concentrating CO2: C4 plants. Crassulaceae acid metabolism. Biosynthesis of sucrose and starch and regulatory mechanisms.Peculiar features of plant mitochondria. The translocation in the phloem. Anatomy of the phloem. Flow model with pressure. Characteristics of the phloem translocation: report source-shaft. Loading and unloading of the phloem. Distribution of assimilates. (8 hours)
The plant hormones. Concept and hormone sensitivity of the tissue. Auxins. Cytokinins. Gibberellins. Abscisic acid. Etilene. Physiological role of plant hormones and their mechanism of action. Photoreceptors. Photomorphogenesis, phototropism flowering and circadian entrainment. Introduction to secondary metabolism. (8 hours)
Laboratory (12 hours):
- DNA extraction from plants.
- Genotyping of insertional mutants
Module: Plant Biotechnology:
Crop production, population growth, environment issues and plant biotechnology. Food production in developed and developing countries. The origins of agriculture, centers of origin and domestication of plants. The genetic improvement of plants: artificial selection, classical breeding, improvement by mutagenesis. (6 h)
In vitro cultures of cells and plant tissues, protoplast cultures, somaclonal variability. Regeneration of the plant, embryogenesis and organogenesis, role of hormones. Micropropagation. Genetically modified plants. (4 h)
Gene expression in plants. Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system for genomics and post-genomics studies. Elements for the construction of an expression cassette: constitutive, inducible and tissue-specific promoters, terminators, selection markers, reporter genes. Transient expression. Chloroplast transformation. (6 h)
Use of genetic modification for basic research: study of gene function by direct and inverse genetic approaches. Gene silencing. Genome editing. (4 h)
Plants improved in agronomic and nutritional characteristics. Control of fruit ripening.
Production of products of therapeutic importance in plants. Production of antibodies and vaccines in plants. (6 h)
Chemical risk: pesticides, fertilizers. Biological and integrated control. Improvement of plants for resistance to pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses, insects). Herbicide tolerance. Resistance to environmental stress. (6 h)
Problems and possible solutions related to the production of transgenic plants: horizontal gene transfer and antibiotic resistance. Strategies for elimination of marker gene. (6 h)
Use of vegetable biomass for the production of biofuels. (2 h)
Laboratory (12 hours):
Transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens
GUS assay
Prerequisites
Basic elements of chemistry (notions on pH, chemical equilibrium of reactions, potentials) organic chemistry (sugar chemistry), physics (basic concepts on pressure, diffusion and on the principles of thermodynamics) and biochemistry. Basic knowledge of botany, genetics, molecular biology and microbiology.
Books
Module I: Fisiologia e sviluppo vegetale. Taiz - Møller - Murphy - Zeiger 2024.
Educational support material in https://elearning2.uniroma1.it/course/view.php?id=317
Frequency
Attendance is not mandatory
Exam mode
The exam is aimed at verifying the level of knowledge and in-depth examination of the topics of the teaching program and the reasoning skills developed by the student. The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths (minimum grade 18/30, maximum mark 30/30 with honors). The evaluation consists of an oral exam with intermediate tests. The overall exam allows to verify the achievement of the objectives in terms of knowledge and skills acquired as well as communication skills.
Lesson mode
Lessons in classroom and laboratories
