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PlPa 5999 – Plant Nematology – Summer
Course Description:
Nematodes are microscopic animal pathogens of plants that are often overlooked or not given enough importance as organisms that need studying. It is also labour intensive to study nematodes that many overlook how interesting they are. However, the cropping patterns in the world, especially in the United States is changing from wheat, to more of corn and soybeans. With the changing cropping systems, the pathogens are also changing and nematode pathogens are gaining economic importance. This course is designed to equip budding plant pathologists, especially graduate students, with a more thorough understanding of nematode classification, analysis and understanding of common nematode diseases. The course also intends to help students identify interesting research questions in nematology, especially in molecular nematology.
Prerequisites:
Students who intend to take this class must have completed PlPa 2001 – “Introductory Plant Pathology”. Prior knowledge of basic molecular biology is also expected. Students in the molecular track of Plant Pathology programme should complete basic molecular biology by default. Students from the standard track willing to take this course must contact the instructor before registering for the course as the track has no molecular biology requirement.
Instructor: Deepak Haarith (deepak@umn.edu)
412 Stakman Hall, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Office hours: 9:00 am to 11:00 am on Thursdays and Fridays
Class hours: 10:00 am to 11:30 am and 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays
Class duration: 5 weeks; No. of Credits: 2; Location: 291 Borlaug Hall – Teaching laboratory
Course Objectives:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to
1) Understand basic morphology and taxonomy of common plant parasitic nematodes
2) Classify different plant parasitic nematodes based on their feeding habits, morphology, ecological niche, and host specificity
3) Critically evaluate different nematode extraction procedures and community analysis methods
4) Develop multilateral approach and research questions to important nematode diseases and their control methods.
Class Schedule:
Field visit: The venue would be University of Minnesota Southern Research & Outreach Centre, Waseca, MN 56093. Students are requested to make their own arrangements to reach the research station which is located 80 miles south of the twin-cities campus. If needed, the class can hire a vehicle from the university fleet and share the expenses. Field visit includes observation of symptoms as well as demonstration of key techniques in nematode extraction principles, with special focus towards Soybean Cyst Nematodes.
Grading:
Attendance and Participation - 50% - 150 points
Three summary assignments – 30% - 90 points
Final case study report – 20% - 60 points
Total - 100% - 300 points
A – 285 – 300 points
B – 255 – 284 points
C – 225 – 254 points
D – 195 – 224 points
E – 180 – 194 points
F – 0 – 179 points
Course Policies
Attendance and Participation:
This is a summer course with equal weightage to theory and laboratory. Fresh nematode materials and samples can only be sourced during summer. Attendance and participation in class activities have the highest weightage in the total grade. Three quizzes as well as surprise spotter identification and class discussions would gauge student participation in the class. All classes are compulsory as laboratory and theory are learnt together. Any student with prior scholarly commitments such as conferences must inform the instructor and obtain leave of absence. Arrangements for an alternate laboratory session will be made.
Late submission policy:
Students are required to turn in assignments before class on specified dates. Should the students need more time to work on an assignment, they must seek permission with valid reasons 48h prior to the submission deadline via email. Assignments turned in late would have a penalty of 25% of points earned by the student if prior permission is not sought.
Description of assignments:
Scheduled quizzes – These will be a series of three 15-minute, multiple choice type quizzes conducted at the beginning of the class. These quizzes will be based on cumulative learning – all topics covered until that point will be the basis of testing. There will be one laboratory spotters quiz which would test the students, at the end of all the three sessions, on cumulative nematode identification knowledge obtained by the students.
Surprise spotters – On any given day, microscopic spotters will be given to students for identification. These spotters will be based on materials observed by the students in the previous laboratory sessions. This might also involve testing of certain techniques that were demonstrated and practiced in the previous sessions.
Section based summaries – The entire course is divided into three parts. At the end of each part, the students are required to submit a section summary. This will be either a write up or any other creative demonstration (animation video or slides etc., created by the student) of topics learnt by the student in that section. These are non-cumulative unlike the quizzes.
References and Class discussions - There is no single prescribed textbook for the course. Class discussions will be based on readings that will be assigned every Friday. Contribution to class discussions carry 50% of the total 150 points towards attendance and participation. Each discussion will be co-facilitated by a different student, chosen in a random manner. Essential notes and handouts will be circulated at the beginning of each class session.
Debate on current topics in nematology – A series of questions based on the readings and discussions held in the class throughout the semester will be on the floor for open debates. Student participation in this debate is geared to assess the understanding of critical concepts and lacunae in the field, by the student. Debate questions will be sent to students one day before the debate. All students are required to take a stand on all the questions and express the same in the class with valid supporting documents or research.
Case study reports – This is the final report due on the last day of classes. At the end of the second session, students will be given a list of top economically important nematode diseases in the world. The students are required to deliberate and choose two topics that interest them the most and send an email to the instructor within 48 hours. The instructor will then pair up students based on their interests. Each pair of students are expected to write a mini-review on the chosen topic. Criteria for choosing research articles, length and other specifications of the mini-review will be circulated to the students during the immediate following class session.
Assignment grading policy:
All assignments, including the final case study mini-review will be returned within a week of submission. Grades will be based on content, logical flow, quality of references and grammar quality. Any grading issues must be brought to the instructor during the office hours only or by appointment.
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