Learning objectives
Students will obtain the basis to understand the main features of plant cell, tissue
and organs and how they evolute and differentiate during time.
Course unit content
Plant citology, histology and anatomy. Outline on plant diversity and phylogeny
Full programme
Autotrophy
VASCULAR PLANTS: general features
PLANT CELLS:
Features of the principal organic molecules of the plant cell. General and distinctive characteristics of the plant cell. Cell wall: composition, structure, functions and secondary modifications. Plasma membrane, tonoplast and other endomembranes. Cytoskeleton. Cytoplasm. Vacuolus. Mytochondria. Plastids: etioplasts, amyloplasts, chloroplasts, chromoplasts. General and peculiar functions of Golgi apparatus in the plant cell. Plasmodesmata and desmotubuli.
PLANT TISSUES:
Meristems, primary and secondary adult tissues:
Meristems, parenchimas, tegumental tissues, mechanical tissues, xylem, phloem, secretory tissues.
PLANT ANATOMY:
Anatomy of the plant organs: roots, stems and leaves
Plant Evolution: appearance of the first autotrophic life forms, appearance of the first eukaryots, emersion from water and colonization of dry land with consequent modifications in vegetative and reproductive structures
REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS: meiosis, alternation of generations, life cycles
PROKARYOTES: Archea, Bacteria, Cyanobacteria,
PROTISTA: Mixomycota, Dictiostelyomycota, Oomycota. Algae: general features, red algae, yellow-green algae, golden-brown algae, diatoms, brown algae, green algae.
BRYOPHITA: hepaticophyta, anthocerophyta, bryophita
VASCULAR PLANT EVOLUTION, MORPHOLOGY AND REPRODUCTION: ferns general features, gymnosperms, angyosperms (flower, pollination, seed, fruit, monocotyledons, dicotyledons)
FUNGI: chytridiomycota, zygomycota, ascomycota, basidiomycota.
Bibliography
Pasqua et al. "Botanica generale e diversità vegetale" Ed.Piccin
Pupillo et al. "Biologia Vegetale" Ed. Zanichelli
Atlanti:
Gerlach e Lieder "Atlante di anatomia vegetale" Franco Muzio Editore
Speranza e Calzoni "Struttura delle piante in immagini" Ed. Zanichelli
Teaching methods
Lectures will be conducted through the aid of a POWER POINT support. It is planned to show presentations full of pictures, graphs and diagrams that enable maximum understanding and synthesis of the topics covered.
Assessment methods and criteria
The assessment of the success of the planned course includes an written examination based on multiple answer questions (20 questions) and open questions (3 questions). By means of specific questions, it will be determined whether the student has acquired general and particulars knowledge of the course contents, he gained the ability to understand the function of plants and has the basic skills to recognize and describe the plant species studied.
The final mark will be an average of the marks obtained in the two parts of the examination.
