Course Description
Basic principles of plant physiology, including water relations, solute transport and phloem transport, photosynthesis and respiration, phytohormone biology, plant genomes, regulation of plant gene expression, and plant growth and development.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to read classic and/or
recent papers in plant physiology assigned to them by the
instructor and turn in weekly assignments based on the papers.
Assignments will be designed to encourage critical thinking. To
enhance presentation and teaching skills, graduate students
will be required to make a presentation to the class on a
recent paper in plant physiology chosen by the instructor.
Graduate students will also be required to write a term paper
on a current topic in plant physiology. The topic for the term
paper will be chosen by the student in consultation with the
instructor. They will need to demonstrate the ability to
critically read scientific papers and to integrate scientific
information from multiple sources.
Athena Title
Plant Physiology
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HORT 4430E, CRSS 4430E or HORT 6430E, CRSS 6430E
Prerequisite
(CHEM 1211 and CHEM 1211L) and [(BIOL 1103 and BIOL 1103L) or (BIOL 1104 and BIOL 1104L) or BIOL 1107-1107L or BIOL 1108-1108L or (PBIO(BIOL) 1210 and PBIO(BIOL) 1210L) or (PBIO(BIOL) 1220 and PBIO(BIOL) 1220L)]
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Through this course, students are expected to develop a thorough understanding of the basic concepts in current plant biology. The specific objectives of this course are: 1. To introduce students to the fundamental concepts in plant physiology 2. To encourage students to develop perspectives on plant physiology at the molecular, cellular, and whole-plant levels 3. To introduce students to the effects of the environment (including abiotic stress) on plant physiology 4. To introduce graduate students to the latest developments in fundamental plant physiology and to encourage critical thinking in these areas
Topical Outline
Week 1 Course introduction; Overview; The Plant Cell a. Structure and function of organelles b. Cell wall Week 2 Water Relations in Plants a. Terminology b. Water movement in plants c. Transpiration Week 3 Mineral Nutrition a. Essential nutrients; Generation of electro-chemical gradients b. Solute transport mechanisms c. Overview of nutrient functions in plants Week 4 Photosynthesis a. LABOR DAY – NO CLASS b. Light reactions; Carbon reactions c. Phloem transport/translocation; Source-sink physiology Week 5 Respiration a. EXAM I b. Overview of respiration c. Electron transport cycle and ATP synthesis Week 6 Plant Genomes a. Model plants b. Genome size and sequencing c. Forward and reverse genetics tools for discovery of gene function Week 7 Regulation of Gene Expression in Plants a. Regulation of gene expression; Overview of methods to analyze gene expression b. Enzymes and enzyme kinetics c. Fundamentals of plant transformation Week 8 Phytohormones a. Overview of plant hormones; Hormone biosynthesis b. Hormone perception c. Exam II Week 9 Phytohormones a. Functions of phytohormones: Auxin and GA b. Functions of phytohormones: ABA and Ethylene c. Functions of phytohormones: Cytokinins and other phytohormones Week 10 Plant Growth and Development I a. Embryo development b. Leaf and shoot development c. Root development Week 11 Plant Growth and Development II a. Flowering b. Fruit development and ripening Week 12 Plant Growth and Development III and Fundamentals of Plant Signal Transduction a. Senescence b. Overview of signal transduction through a case study: Stomatal opening/closing c. EXAM III Week 13 Plant Growth and the Environment a. Light and plant growth b. Temperature and plant growth c. CO2 and plant growth Week 14 Abiotic and Biotic Stress a. Drought stress; b. Heat and cold stress c. Plant defense mechanisms for biotic stress Week 15 a. Graduate Student Presentations b. Graduate Student Presentations c. Graduate Student Presentations FINAL EXAM
Syllabus