Plant biology course focused on organisms, including evolution 
and diversity of plants, fungi, algae, and bacteria; the 
relation of these organisms to human affairs; plant 
classification; plant structure and function; plant breeding 
and genetic engineering; ecology and biomes. Throughout this 
course students will demonstrate their understanding through a 
critical examination of the facts and principles of organismal 
biology, relate their insights to their everyday life, and 
practice their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 
The student will learn the theory, models, and computational 
approaches to understanding the origins and maintenance of new 
characters, speciation, and extinction.  
 
Students will be expected to:
1) recognize major evolutionary lineages of prokaryotes, algae, 
fungi, and plants;
2) recognize examples of each;
3) identify human uses and interactions with these organisms;  
4) understand how plant genetic engineering works and the 
benefits and concerns of GMO;
5) understand the basic structures of cells, tissues, and 
organs of plants and their functions;
6) understand the concept and significance of Darwinian  
evolution;
7) understand major types of interactions among organisms and 
their environment;
8) understand the principles of plant population, community, 
and ecosystems.

- Human dependence on plants: plants are the sources of food, 
fibers, shelter, and medicine we need for our survival; plant 
biomass and biofuel production
- Plant names and classification: the binomial system of 
nomenclature; species concepts; six kingdoms
- Bacteria:  Kingdoms Bacteria and Archea
- Bacteria and recombinant DNA technology
- Agrobacterium and plant genetic engineering
- Applications of plant genetic engineering in agriculture: 
insect-resistant crops; herbicide-resistant crops; “Golden 
Rice”
- Bacteria, nitrogen fixation, and nitrogen cycle
- Virus: structure, reproduction, and human relevance
- Fungi: structure, reproduction, classification, and 
economical and ecological importance
- Algae: morphology, distribution, and economical importance
- Mosses: seedless, nonvascular plants; pioneering land 
plants; life cycle
- Evolution of vascular plants: structural innovations to cope 
with the dry land
- Ferns: seedless vascular plants; coal age plants; life cycle
- Evolution of seed plants: formation and selective advantages 
of seeds
- Gymnosperms: plants with naked seeds; Ginkgo, pines, cycads; 
morphology and diversity; life cycle
- Evolution of the flower: floral parts and functions; double 
fertilization
- Pollination ecology: mutualism between flowering plants and 
pollinators
- Evolution of fruits: formation, diversity, and function of 
fruits
- Crop plant evolution and plant breeding
- Classification of flowering plants
- Flowering plants and human civilization
- Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution: evidence and 
mechanisms; speciation 
- Ecology: population, community and ecosystem; energy flows; 
nutrient cycle; acid rain; global warming
- Biomes: tundra, taiga, deserts, temperate deciduous forests, 
grasslands, and tropical rain forests

All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty."
Each student is responsible to inform themselves about those standards before
performing any academic work.