Course Description
Phytobacteriology is a principles-driven course on the conceptual framework of phytobacterial disease as well as the research techniques associated with the study of plant pathogenic bacteria.
Athena Title
Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
Prerequisite
PATH 3530-3530L or MIBO 3500
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course will have four major components; • Lectures • Laboratory exercises • An independent inquiry-based lab project • Exams Lectures: Will cover the conceptual framework of bacterial disease and bacterial plant pathogens as well as practical genetics. Laboratory exercises: Will complement the material from lectures and will give student experience with fundamental techniques in bacterial plant disease research. Students will maintain a lab notebook. Unit lab reports will serve as regular summative assessments and allow students to gain additional experience with scientific writing. Independent inquiry-based lab project: Students will pursue an independent team research project selected jointly by the students and instructor. From this the students will gain additional experimental experience based on their interests. This will strengthen transferrable skills such as project development, project budgeting, experimental design, team- based collaboration and trouble-shooting. Students will each keep a lab notebook documenting their project results and present a final poster of the work they have conducted over the semester. Independent project grades will not be based on the final level of project “completion” but on a combination of the student’s performance in project management, troubleshooting, participation in project meeting discussions and independent thinking as well as from documents created as part of the project, (project outline/budget, project goals and timeline, project notebook and final poster). Students will conduct anonymous peer review of their teammates as part of the project evaluation. Exams: Exams will consist of a midterm and a non- comprehensive final. Exams will cover material from the lectures and lab exercises. Exam format will be a combination of short answer and essay questions.
Topical Outline
I. Phytobacteriology basics A. Principles of bacterial biology B. Bacterial isolation and phenotyping C. DNA recombination principles and practice D. Taxonomy and phylogeny II. Invading the host A. Preformed host barriers B. Invasion points and active mechanisms of invasion C. Bacterial motility III. Confronting host immunity A. Regulation of virulence genes B. EPS, toxins, and phytohormones C. Bacterial secretion D. Plant immunity E. Bacterial evolution and practical genetics IV. Proliferation A. Nutrient acquisition B. Beneficial bacteria C. Inter-bacterial competition D. Exiting the host V. Bacterial dissemination and survival A. Short distance and long distance dispersal B. Seed-based, insect-based, atmospheric dispersal C. Life-cycle away from plant hosts
Syllabus