TEACHING

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

The main objective of this course is to provide a basic understanding of our current knowledge regarding how plants function. The main topics include the capture of light energy and its transformation into chemical energy (photosynthesis/respiration) for growth and metabolism, water relations, plant nutrition, transport processes, and stress responses.  We will also study the roles that different phytohormones play in plant growth and development.  As the information regarding the above topics is in constant evolution, we will include information from current scientific literature.

The aim of the course is to train students to understand the material not to memorize it. Therefore, emphasis in exams is on testing whether you understand the concepts and can use your knowledge.  "Regurgitation" of memorized material is not expected; one forgets the memorized material within weeks after having finished the course, while concepts and working knowledge stick around much longer, and are far more useful in the long run. The lectures of this course are organized into four modules.  A final take-home exam is given as well, at the time shown in the Schedule of Classes.

The objectives of the Plant Physiology laboratory are to experience what it means to do science, to perform research at a high level, ask pertinent questions and formulate appropriate hypotheses, and to practice and hone laboratory skills.  Doing science involves developing or recognizing the hypothesis designed to explain an observed phenomenon, setting up an experiment that tests the hypothesis, and quantitatively documenting the results.  Students will be asked to present the results in appropriate graphic form and to quantitatively compare the effects of treatments relative to the control. The results are then interpreted and understood based on information gained from lecture and other sources. 

MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY

At the dawn of the Holocene period around 12,000 years ago, evidence suggests that humans changed from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a more sedentary agrarian one, and concomitant with this change was the domestication of various plants and animals – a phenomenon termed the Neolithic Revolution [1]. Over thousands of years, farmers selected for desirable traits in crops, but it also seems plausible that prehistoric farmers also encountered plant diseases. Historical records show that the ancient Romans worshipped Robigus, the God of wheat, and appeased him with animal sacrifices to save the grain from disease [2]. Early biblical writings also refer to mildews, blasts, and blights, but the most devastating plant disease etched in the collective memory of the western civilization is the infamous Irish Potato Famine. In 1845, a potato murrain, today known as late blight, destroyed the Irish potato crop, and the ensuing famine caused enormous casualties and migration. Heinrich Anton DeBary experimentally proved that an oomycete called Phytophthora infestans was the causative agent [3], and, in a sense, founded the discipline of Plant Pathology. Also often referred to as phytopathology, Plant Pathology is an immense area of research, and as the name of the subject implies, it encompasses the study of interaction between plants and the vast array of pathogens in the environment.

In this course, instead of delving into the macroscopic aspects of plant diseases, epidemiology, and management at the agricultural level, we will exclusively focus on the molecular aspects of plant pathogenesis. As sessile organisms, plant have developed an intricate immune system to recognize and defend themselves against the invading pathogens. Through the course of the semester, we will gradually dissect the basis of biochemical processes as well as signaling pathways and networks involved in plant defense against pathogens. The molecular biology of plant diseases involving a broad range of biotic and abiotic plant pathogens will be discussed, and in doing so, we will survey the current concepts and theories on the nature and mechanisms of the plant – pathogen interactions.

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References:

[1] Childe, V. G. (1935). Changing methods and aims in prehistory: Presidential address for 1935. In Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (Vol. 1, pp. 1-15). Cambridge University Press.

[2] Beard, M., North, J., & Price, S. (1998). Religions of Rome: Volume 1, a history (Vol. 1). Cambridge University Press.

[3] Bary, A. (1861). Die Gegenwärtig Herrschende Kartoffelkrankheit: Ihre Ursache und Ihre Verhütung. Eine Pflanzenphysiologische Untersuchung in Allgemein Verstándlicher Form Dargestellt. Förstner'sche Buchhandlung.