THE AIM OF THE COURSE:
The aim of the course Plant Physiology is to acquire fundamental knowledge about plant physiological processes and the natural and environmental conditions that influence them, as well as to develop skills in applying research methods in plant physiology.
COURSE CONTENT:
The course will take the form of lectures and exercises that will accompany the lectures and help in synthesizing knowledge from the course.
LECTURES
The lectures will be based on the flipped classroom principle, with clarification of less understandable postulates in the discussion:
1) Introduction: Characteristics of plants, structure and role of the plant cell in physiological processes.
2) Water regime of plants I: water properties; transport of dissolved substances: passive and active transport;water absorption: basic processes, water potential, water balance regulation; water conduction: conduction paths to the xylem, driving forces for water conduction (root pressure and cohesion-tension theory).
3) Water regime of plants II: water loss: transpiration and guttation; mechanisms and regulation of stomata opening.
4) Mineral nutrition and assimilation of mineral nutrients: absorption and function of essential nutrients; mycorrhizae; halophytes; nitrate and ammonium assimilation, biological nitrogen fixation; sulphur, phosphate, cation and oxygen assimilation.
5) Photosynthesis: chemoautotrophy and photoautotrophy; photosynthesis in plants; structure of photosynthetic apparatus; light reactions; Calvin cycle; photorespiration - C3, C4 and CAM plants.
6) Photosynthesis: effects of environmental factors (light, CO2, temperature) on photosynthesis rate;translocation of photosynthesis products: source-to-sink pathway; heterotrophy: parasitic and carnivorous plants.
7) Respiration and lipid metabolism: aerobic respiration: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, electron transport and ATP synthesis; anaerobic respiration: alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation; effects of environmental factors on respiration rate; whole-plant respiration; lipid metabolism; mobilization of storage lipids and proteins.
8) Plant defense: surface protection and secondary metabolites: cutin, suberin and waxes; terpenes and phenolic compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds; biosynthetic pathways; distribution and role in plants.
9) Growth, differentiation, development and senescence: intracellular and intercellular regulations: signal transduction; growth: meristems; differentiation: polarity of plant cell; senescence and programmed cell death. mechanism and consequence; abscission of organs.
10) Plant growth regulators (plant hormones): auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins: discovery, structure and biosynthesis, metabolism, transport, effects, mechanism of action.
11) Plant growth regulators (plant hormones): ethylene, abscisic acid; new group of plant hormones: discovery, structure and biosynthesis, metabolism, transport, effects, mechanism of action.
12) Influence of temperature on plant growth and development: bud and seed dormancy: coat-imposed dormancy and embryo dormancy; role of plant hormones in dormancy.
13) Influence of light on plant growth and development: photomorphogenesis; phytochromes; circadian rhythms; control of flowering; short-day, long-day and day-neutral plants; vernalization; signals involved in flowering; inhibition of flowering; role of plant hormones in flowering.
14) Stress physiology: water deficit and drought resistance; low temperatures: chilling and freezing; high temperatures: heat stress and heat shock; salinity stress.
15) Stress physiology: oxygen deficiency: anaerobic stress; light and UV stress; air and soil pollution; biotic stress; oxidative stress.
EXERCISES
The exercises within the course will be based on the theory presented in the lectures and will help to connect the material.
1-2) Physiology and specifics of plant cells: Observation of cell wall, vacuoles and plastids; Detection of suberin; The effect of physical and chemical factors on cell membrane permeability; Detection of oxalic acid; Detection and role of carbohydrates in plants; Detection of inulin.
3-4) Water uptake, transport and loss: Observation of processes and types of plasmolysis and deplasmolysis; Determination of the osmotic potential of cell sap using the plasmolytic method; Macroscopic demonstration of the connection between stomata (or lenticels) and intercellular spaces in a plant; Loss and gain of water during plasmolysis and deplasmolysis; Determination of transpiration intensity by weighing; Detection of cuticular and stomatal transpiration using cobalt paper; Measurement of stomata aperture using the method of nitrocellulose prints; Guttation
5) Mineral nutrition in plants: Detection of ferric ions in plants; Detection of ammonium ions in plants; Detection of nitrates in plants; Excretion of hydrogen ions from roots.
6-7) Photosynthesis: Lyophilisation of plant material and extraction of plant pigments; Detection of starch in leaves; Chlorophyll fluorescence in vitro; Thin-layer chromatography and spectrophotometric determination of the photosynthetic pigments contents and their absorption spectra; Observation of chlorophylls under UV light; Paper chromatography.
8) Respiration: Model of the respiratory chain; Reactions for protein detection; Decomposition of starch by amylase enzyme
9-10) Plant hormones and transformation of plant cells: Role of ethylene in leaf senescence; Transformation of plant cells using Agrobacterium tumefaciens; Effect of auxins on rhizogenesis; Effect of gibberellic acid on stem elongation; Effect of kinetin in delaying leaf senescence.
11-12) Detection of secondary metabolites: The enzymatic degradation of the glycoside amygdalin and prulaurazine; Measurement of polyphenoloxidase activity; Determination of tannins; Detection of esculin, fraxin and berberine by fluorescence; Absorption spectrum of anthocyanins; Color changes of anthocyanins at various pH levels; Simple tests for distinguishing between anthocyanins and betacyanins; Determination of antioxidant capacity.
13-14) Plant movements: Thermonastic and photonastic movements; Seismonastic movements; Phototaxis of chloroplasts.
15) Short practice exams
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