Ateneo - UPO

1.    GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS AND PECULIARITY OF PLANT CELLS2.    TRANSPORTATION OF WATER, SOLUTES AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PRODUCTS3.    METABOLISM4.    GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND DEFENSE5.    PLANT AND ENVIRONMENT6.    ROLE OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT BIOTECNOLOGY

Taiz – Zeiger - Fisiologia Vegetale Piccin Padova 2012Taiz L. - Fisiologia e sviluppo vegetale - Piccin Padova 2024Rascio N. - Elementi di Fisiologia vegetale - Edises 2021

Develop the ability to interpret in a mechanistic manner the basic phenomena related to plant life.Understand the relationships between plant physiology and cultivation practice, both in optimal conditions and in limiting environmental conditions.

To understand the plant physiological mechanisms, the discussion of the topics in the programme will rely on previous knowledge of cell and plant biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics and mathematics.

The course consists of lectures presenting the programme with the aid of slides. The slides, together with material for further reading, will be available on the teaching website.

Control of the learning capacity by discussing the topics during the lessons. In any case, the teacher will be available on appointment for clarifications on the topics of the lessons or on the material provided.Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse eagli Studenti,         consulting         the                            University                webpage:https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities.Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam is a written test based on multiple choice questions and descriptive response questions with the aim of verifying the knowledge and understanding of the points of the entire program treated. Students will have 2 hours to complete the assignment, divided into 30 minutes to answer to 10 multiple choice questions (maximum score 4/30) and 90 minutes to answer to 13 questions on specific topics with descriptive answer (maximum score 26/30). The final mark will be the sum of the two partial marks.

1.  GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS AND PECULIARITY OF PLANT CELLSCell wall, chloroplasts, vacuole, plasmodesmata. 2.    TRANSPORTATION OF WATER, SOLUTES AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PRODUCTSMovement of water from the ground to the atmosphere. Electrochemical potential of water and water potential. Movement of water in the plant. Mineral nutrition and absorption of solutes. Transport, allocation and distribution of photosynthesis products. 3. METABOLISMPhotosynthesis: light reactions. Photosynthetic apparatus, linear and cyclic photosynthetic electron flow. Photoinhibition. Site of action of photosynthetic herbicides. Photosynthesis: dark reactions. The Rubisco enzyme and the CO2 fixation. Calvin Benson cycle (C3). Photorespiration. C4 and CAM plants. Starch and sucrose biosynthesis.Nitrogen and sulfur assimilation. 4. GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND DEFENSEImportance of light as an environmental signal. Photoreceptors: phytochromes, cryptochromes and phototropins.Plant hormones: Auxin, Gibberellin, Cytokinins, Abscisic acid, Ethylene. 5. PLANT AND ENVIRONMENTIntroduction to plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. 6. ROLE OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT BIOTECNOLOGYHistorical outline of plant biotechnology.Importance of plant physiology and biotechnology for the improvement of crop plants.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ABILITYTo be able to integrate the knowledge acquired through the theoretical lessons with the ability developed individually to understand and analyse biochemical, physiological and morphogenetic processes of plant organisms and their regulation. ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDINGTo be able to associate the fundamentals of plant physiology to the growth and production models of crop plants, and the relationships cause-effect that determine what happens in practice. COMMUNICATION SKILLSTo be able to elaborate clearly and rigorously and to summarize the contents of the discipline in a concise manner, using appropriate terms during the examination. AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENTTo be able of critical analysis of the elements related to what acquired during the lessons. LEARNING ABILITYTo be able to describe in an exhaustive manner scientific issues related to plant physiology. This ability will be developed by autonomously deepening the topics covered in class, by reading additional texts and scientific articles.