SCV0307 - PLANT BIOLOGY APPLIED

courses

ID:

SCV0307

Duration (hours):

52

CFU:

SSD:

FISIOLOGIA VEGETALE

Year:

2025

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (02/03/2026 - 26/06/2026)

Course Objectives

The course provides students with knowledge and skills on the relationships between basic knowledge and technologies for the improvement of crops.

Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student will be able to:
1. explain the significance of the domestication of plant species and unicellular algae
2. understand the improvement of agricultural crucial aspects such as, for example, the modality of interactions between plants and external factors and the mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis and regulation of the products of plant secondary metabolism
3. discuss the physiological and morphogenetic aspects underlying the transformation and regeneration process of the plant cell
4. explain the basic protocols for plant physiology and biochemistry
5. apply laboratory safety regulations
6. use correctly specific terminology
7. critically evaluate the scientific literature relating to the topics covered.

Course Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite constraints for understanding the topics covered in the course, but basic knowledge of plant biology is required.

Teaching Methods

The lectures include the use of slides, the reading and analysis of scientific articles, the discussion of case studies. During the lessons the active participation of the students in the discussion is requested, in particular in the moments of reading and analysis of scientific articles and study cases related to the topics covered.
To allow the student to verify his / her level of preparation during the course, at least one formative assessment test is carried out, which is analyzed and discussed collectively in the classroom. The formative tests do not affect in any way the final summative evaluation.
The laboratory activities will allow students to create experimental protocols related to some of the topics covered during the course.

Assessment Methods

The exam consists of an oral test. The student is asked some questions, both broad and more specific, one of which is chosen.
The objective of the exam is to verify the level of the previously indicated learning outcomes, evaluating in particular, in addition to the knowledge and in-depth study of the topics addressed, the ability to:
2. Establish relevant links between the different aspects dealt with
3. organize the speech with coherence and clarity
4. express oneself with mastery of the scientific language proper to the field of reference
5. discuss the laboratory activities carried out, also in relation to what was discussed during the lectures

The course focuses on the following topics:
1. spontaneous s and cultivated plant species. Domestication of plant species and unicellular algae.
2. the improvement of plant species: molecular mechanisms of plant response to endogenous and exogenous signals, biosynthesis and accumulation of the products of the secondary metabolism of plants, improvement of the nutritional value of food. The value in this field of genetic variability
3. genetic and molecular technologies to support the improvement of plant species: transformation techniques, their advantages and limits
4. laboratory activity of plant physiology applied on some of the topics and aspects dealt with