12942 - Molecular Physiology of Plants

Learning outcomes

The course consists of an overview of modern plant physiology with molecular in-depth analysis of selected topics and practical laboratory work

 

Course contents

Introduction: Plants and cells, an overview

Membrane transport: Proton ATPase of the plasma membrane and other pumps. Bionergetics of proton ATPases. Membrane potential. Electrochemical potential. Nernst potential. Carriers. Channels. Aquaporines.

Water balance: Water potential and cell turgor. Acid growth theory. Water balance in the whole plant: continuum soil-plant-atmosphere. Water uptake by roots. Xylem. Transpiration. Cavitation. Mechanism and regulation of stomata movements.

Mineral nutrition: Mineral nutrients. Mineral uptake by roots. Iron uptake. Mycorrhizae. Root pressure. Uptake and reduction of nitrate. Organication of ammonium. Shikimate pathway and glyphosate.

Photosynthesis: Light. Photosynthetic pigments. Electron transitions. Light harvesting complexes. Photosystem II. Q-cycle. Photosystem I. ATP-synthase. Non-cyclic, cyclic and pseudocyclic electron transport. Thioredoxins. Photorespiration. Net and gross photosynthesis. Mechanisms of CO2 concentration in C4 and CAM plants. Starch and sucrose: structure, biosynthesis, degradation, regulatory and physiological aspects. Sink-source relationships. Phloem.. 

Respiration: General overview on catabolism. Plant glycolysis and alternative reactions in the cytosol. Pentose phosphate pathway and relationships with the Calvin cycle. Krebs cycle. Respiratory chain:alternative NAD(P)H-dehydrogenases and alternative oxidase.

Photomorphogenensis and scotomorphogenesis. Red and blue light effects. Phytochromes. Absorption and action spectra. Photoreversibility. Fluence, irradiation and different phytochrome responses. Photoperiodism. Cryptochromes. Growth control and phototropism.

Ormones: Role of hormones in selected stages of growth and development (seed maturation, germination, mobilization of storage compounds, cell growth, apical dominance, gravitropism, control of transpiration, senescence).

Laboratory work. Purification of chloroplasts from spinach leaves. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of chlorophylls and proteins. Measurement of enzymatic activity of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Electrophoresis of proteins. Calculations.

Readings/Bibliography

Pupillo, Cervone, Cresti, Rascio. Fisiologia vegetale. Zanichelli, 2003

 

Teaching methods

Besides theoretical lectures, students will be involved in a practical laboratory work where each student will peform a set of experiments and will make calculations on his own experimantal data. Results will be compared and critically discussed.

Assessment methods

oral exam at the end of the course

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Bernardo Trost