NBIA04015U Plant Molecular Biology (PlantMolBiol)

Volume 2015/2016
Education
Bacheloruddannelsen i biologi
Content

Lectures and seminars cover:

  • reproductive and vegetative development
  • genome analysis and gene regulation
  • light and hormone signaling
  • environmental stress & disease
  • applied plant biotechnology


Laboratory exercises cover:

  • plant development, anatomy and mutants
  • transgenics
  • gene cloning and mapping
  • DNA and protein bioinformatics and model organism genome databasing

 

Learning Outcome

By attending this course the student will achieve:

Knowledge:
By the end of the course, students are expected to have knowledge of the aspects of plant molecular biology that are included in the curriculum
covered by assigned reading, lectures, seminar presentations and laboratory exercises (see Absalon). Thus, students will be expected to know,
among other things, about:

  • reproductive and vegetative development
  • genome analysis and gene regulation
  • light and hormone signaling
  • environmental stress & disease
  • applied plant biotechnology
  • transgenics
  • gene cloning and mapping
  • DNA and protein bioinformatics

 

Skills:
Students are expected to develop the following skills to:

  • Explain the development and anatomy of the model plant Arabidopsis
  • Explain the uses of other model plants and crops
  • Explain how plants assimilate and transport nutrients
  • Explain the occurrence, effects and agricultural uses of the plant hormones (auxin, cytokinin, brassinosteroid, and jasmonic, salicylic, gibberellic and abscisic acids)
  • Explain the principles/steps required for cloning, PCR, sequencing, RT-PCR, mutagenesis, transposon and epitope tagging, reporter and marker genes, plant transformation, epistatic analysis
  • Explain the uses of mutants and how mutant alleles may be cloned
  • Explain forward and reverse genetic screens
  • Explain aspects of plant pathogen interactions including disease resistance and susceptibilities

 

Competencies:
Students are expected to develop competencies to:

  • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified plants
  • Discuss and criticize research articles orally and in writing
  • Propose experiments to test scientific models or questions
  • Interpret different types of experimental data introduced in the course
  • Use bioinformatics to search a genome database, annotate the structure of a gene, find mutations in it, identify encoded proteins, compare protein sequences, and propose gene/protein functions

 

See Absalon.

Open to students of Biochemistry, Biology, Nanotechnology and Molecular Biomedicine who, by the start of the course, have passed all first year courses and half of the second year courses (corresponding to a total of 90 ECTS-points) of their curriculum. Foreign students with similar records
may apply. Exceptions will be made if the course is undersubscribed.
Lectures, laboratory and computer practicals, group discussions and student seminars of newer articles in high impact journals. More information is
available on the course home page.
Students must wear lab coats for the exercises.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Colloquia
  • 8
  • E-Learning
  • 16
  • Exam
  • 10
  • Lectures
  • 16
  • Practical exercises
  • 64
  • Preparation
  • 66
  • Project work
  • 20
  • Theory exercises
  • 6
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Continuous assessment
Three written, open book exams must be taken as scheduled during the course. In addition, a bioinformatics question set must be submitted prior to the last written exam.

The final grade is determined by the grades of the three open book exams (90%) and the bioinformatics question set (10%).
Students can pass the exam without passing all the part-examinations, if the total grade is passed. The passed part-examinations may be reused in a reexamination.
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
One internal examiner
Re-exam
4 hour written open book exam
Criteria for exam assesment

The maximum grade of 12 may be given to students who master all course objectives (knoweldge, skills and competencies) and whose
average exam score is between the 90th and 99th percentiles.