Learning objectives
To provide the student with elementary knowledge relating to the nature of the living matter and plant organisms; the fundamental physiology, anatomy and morphology of the organisms, and their genetics, with special reference to those organisms that represent a source of food for man. The student will also be able to autonomously evaluate the reliability of related information coming from various sources, and to communicate his judgement of products in an effective and scientifically correct manner.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
Foundations of life. Characteristics of living beings. Procariotic and Eucariotic cells. Cell cycle.
General characteristics of plants and their importance for man. Tissues and organs of higher plants. Anatomy of root, stem and leaf. Photosynthesis process. The seed: structure and chemical composition. The flower and sexual reproduction.
Full programme
Foundations of life. Characteristics of living beings. Unicellular and multicellular organisms. Growth and development. Metabolism. Movement and response to stimuli. Reproduction and evolution.
Water. The essential molecules for life: lipids, sugars, aminoacids, proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids. Organic acids. ATP and NAD(P).
The main features of procariotic cells. Eucariots: nucleus and cytosol. The plasmalemma. Endomembrane systems. Tonoplast and vacuole. Plastids. Mitochondria and other organules. Cytoskeleton. Cell wall.
Cell cycle. Mitosis and meiosis. Structure and replication of DNA. Transcription and translation. Eucariot genome and its expression. Phenotype and genotype. Mendelian genetics. Plant breeding. Recombinant DNA and biotechnologies. GMOs. Origins of agriculture and biodiversity.
General characteristics of plants and their importance for man. Tissues and organs of higher plants. Anatomy of root, stem and leaf. Stomata. Primary and secondary meristems.
Structure and functions of the cloroplast. Radiant energy and photosynthetic pigments. The 2 phases of photosynthesis. The Calvin-Benson cycle. Photorespiration. C4 and CAM plants.
The seed: structure and chemical composition. The flower and sexual reproduction. Macro- and microsporogenesis, fecundation.
Bibliography
1) Campbell - Reece (2009). Biologia. Ed. Pearson.
or
1) Pancaldi et al. 2019. Fondamenti di Botanica Generale: teoria e pratica in laboratorio. Ed. Mc Graw Hill, Seconda edizione
2) Speranza A., Calzoni G.L. (2005). Struttura delle piante in immagini. Ed. Zanichelli.
Teaching methods
Lecture, to comply with the program.
The teaching (lectures) will be carried out in the classroom using slides as didactic material (supplement to the recommended text). The slides will be available online on the website https://elly.saf.unipr.it/2019/ in pdf format for students only and after each lesson. During the lessons, the appropriate use of technical language will be reiterated, and the links between the various parts of the course will be highlighted. For this reason, the presence of the students in classroom and their active participation is strongly encouraged.
Assessment methods and criteria
ORAL EXAM, which will assess the student's ability to apply the concepts learned during the course. The oral exam includes 5 questions on the following topics: fruit and seed, cytology, histology, anatomy and description of an anatomical image. The registration for the test takes place online through the ESSE3 SYSTEM.
Other information
No
