Course Description
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.
Athena Title
Organismal Plant Biology
Non-Traditional Format
The lab is not required. This class complements Principles of Plant Biology, but these two classes do not form a sequence. They can be taken independently or in any order, including concurrently.
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
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.
Topical Outline
- 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
General Education Core
CORE II: Life Sciences