AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides basic knowledge of plant biology, including the importance of plants in ecosystems and for different fields of application .

The above notions are complementary to the course of Fisiologia Vegetale, besides other alternative courses based on botanical topics.

At the end of the course students will be able to:

- describe the features of plant cells;

- make a description and comparison of morphological and anatomical of different plant taxa;

- illustrating the main reproduction processes of Spermatophyta;

- understanding the life processes of Spermatophyta.

TEACHING METHODS

Class lessons

Class and field exercises

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

· Importance of plants for humans and living beings. Affinities and differences between plants and animals.
· The plant cell. Cell size, shape and organization. Basic notions on chemical compounds and cell organelles.
· Cell wall: cytodieresis and origin of the cell wall. Cell wall growth, composition and function. Middle lamella, primary wall, and secondary wall. Apoplast and symplast (basic notions). Cell wall modifications and their functions (cutinization, lignification, suberification, mineralization, gelification, wax and gum deposition).
· Plastids: proplastids, chloroplasts and primary starch, etioplasts, leucoplasts and secondary starch (amylose and amylopectin), chromoplasts.
· Vacuole: origin, development, functions. Vacuolar content, features and functions of major vacuolar inclusions; importance of vacuolar inclusions in plant-animal relationships.
· Organization plans of botanical entities, thallus and cormus: the conquer of land environments and adaptations.
· Cell growth by division and distension. Plant cell differentiation. Basic features of Arabidopsis thaliana as an experimental model for plant biology.
· Plant tissues: features, functions, and position. Primary and secondary meristemes; Continuative embriogeny and totipotency. Parenchimatic tissues, Tegument tissues, secretoy tissues, mechanical tissues, conducting tissues (xylem and phloem, cribro-vascular bundles, different types of stele).
· Vegetative organs of the cormus. The root and its functions; primary and secondary structure; branching. The stem and its functions; stem anatomy in Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons (primary and secondary structures; growth rings; sapwood and heartwood; homoxylous and heteroxylous wood); stem anatomy in Monocotyledons. The leaf and its functions; examples of Gymnosperm leaves; leaf anatomy in Angiosperms: dorsoventral and isolateral leaves. Leaf differentiation and adaptations.
· Elements of eukaryotic plant reproduction. Vegetative reproduction. Reproduction by sporogonia. Sexual reproduction and metagenetic cycles. Angiosperm flowers: morphology, function; evolution of floral parts. Impollination and fertilization. The seed and its reserves. The first steps of germination and the seedling.

Laboratory:

Techniques for the examination and analysis of plant material. Sample sectioning and staining for microscopy.
· Elements of plant cytology: cell wall, vcuoles, amyloplasts, chloroplasts.
· Morphological and anatomical observations of the cormus. The different types of roots; primary and secondary structure. The different types of stems; anatomy of the Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons (primary and secondary structure) and Monocotyledons. The different types of leaves; anatomu of Gymnosperm and Angiosperm leaves (dorsoventral and isolateral leaves).

Final trip for the observation of plants in their natural environment, either in the wilderness or in botanical gardens.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Main books
Speranza A. e Calzoni G. L. Struttura delle piante per immagini. Ed.Zanichelli, Bologna, 1996.
Pasqua G., Abbate G., Forni C. Botanica generale e diversità vegetale. Ed. Piccin, Padova, 2008.

Supplementary books
Pancaldi S. et al., Fondamenti di Botanica generale- Teoria e pratica. McGraw-Hill, 2011
Tripodi G. Introduzione alla Botanica sistematica EdiSES, 2006
Rost et al. Biologia delle piante, Zanichelli, 2008.

Atlas of plant anatomy
http://www.dipbot.unict.it/frame/botgenit.htm
http://www.atlantebotanica.unito.it/page.asp?xsl=tavoleAll

Supplementary materials
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/bot115.htm