69576 - Primary Productivity and Sustainable Development

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has adequate knowledge of primary plant production, both natural and agricultural systems, of the possible connections with the atmospheric gases and greenhouse gas dynamics. In particular, a special attention will be dedicated to the current climate changes and regulations, practices and procedures intended to mitigate these effects. Finally, the student is aware of the global role of plants in relation to the ongoing processes of anthropic modification.

Course contents

The course includes a part of seminars conducted by national and international researchers/professors and a part of teaching lesson on issues of plant biology and biotechnology with particular attention to plant model organisms, the conversion of sunlight into biomass and the methodologies based on classical genetics, genome editing and synthetic biology. In addition, the course provides insights on specific issues based on recent research articles. At the end of each lesson or seminar, a time is dedicated to students' questions and general discussion of the topic.

Model organisms. Overview of the main plant model organisms with insights into their peculiarity and specificity for biotechnological research and the study of the evolution of photosynthesis.

Primary productivity. Limits on the conversion of light energy into plant biomass. Future scenarios: how will agriculture and the plant sciences respond to global climate change, to the need to reduce atmospheric CO2 content and to increase food demand?

Agriculture and Biotechnology for sustainable development. Birth of agriculture. Domestication. Main sources of food calories for humans. World agricultural production and future prospects. GMOs and new frontiers of plant biotechnologies.

Synthetic biology. A new area of research that combines biology and engineering to redesign original biological functions and synthesize new biological systems.

Biotechnologies for bioenergy production. Use of plant organisms for the production of biofuels and biomolecules with high added value. Current situation and future prospectives for biotechnological research.

Plants-light relationship. Sunlight and photosynthetic pigments. The photosynthetic process and the evolution of its regulatory mechanisms with a future perspective in the field of agriculture.

Readings/Bibliography

The textbooks and the bibliography will be recommended during the course

Teaching methods

Frontal teaching, seminars by national and international experts and in-depth studies based on recent research articles

Assessment methods

The exam includes an oral interview based on the preparation of a research article chosen by the student (after approval by the teacher) and questions related to the course content.

Teaching tools

The course will be held in Italian and English in classrooms with PC projection. All lessons and seminars will be carried out through power point presentations. The files of the power point presentations and the teaching materials supporting lectures and seminars (articles, reviews, bibliography and websites) will be made available to the students at the end of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Mirko Zaffagnini