Course Description
Molecular biology and genetics of plant-microbe interactions, including infection processes by plant pathogens, initial signaling, signal transduction, and plant responses, and molecular analysis of disease resistance.
Athena Title
Plant Microbe Interactions
Pre or Corequisite
MIBO 3500 or MIBO 3500E
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course objective is for students to learn the nature of plant-microbe interactions and their applications in agriculture and biotechnology. The structure and chemical components of plant cells and bacterial cells, the role of enzymes in the penetration of plant cell walls by microorganisms, disease symptoms in plants infected by bacteria, and the influence of environmental factors on plant-microbe interactions will be understood by students who have successfully completed this course. In addition, students will be familiar with the role of signal molecules in plant-pathogen interactions and signal transduction mechanisms, Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, plant diseases caused by Agrobacterium sp., Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation, and molecular genetics of transgenic plants. Information will be assimilated by students through a combination of approaches that include class lecture, textbook readings, assigned journal article readings, and individual interactions with the instructor. Students will be evaluated on the basis of several in-class tests and a final exam.
Topical Outline
I. Plant Cell Architecture and Biochemistry II. Bacterial Cell Architecture and Biochemistry III. Penetration of Plant Cell Wall by Microorganisms IV. Plant Diseases Caused by Bacteria V. Environmental Factors Affecting Plant-Microbe Interactions VI. Types of Signal Molecules and Plant-Pathogen Specificity VII. Signal Transduction in Plant-Microbe Interactions VIII. Molecular Analysis of Phytotoxins and Model Systems IX. Rhizobium, Nodulation, and Nitrogen Fixation X. Agrobacterium Rhizogenes and Hairy Roots XI. Agrobacterium Tumefaciens and Crown Gall Formation XII. Agrobacterium-Mediated Plant Transformation XIII. Vector Construction and Generation of Disease-Resistant Transgenic Plants XIV. Molecular Analysis of Transgenic Plants XV. Biotechnological Applications of Plant-Microbe Interactions