Courses

Plant Development

General

Course Contents

Basic concepts of Plant Development

  • Plant growth, Gametophyte development, Sporophyte development (embryogenesis), Coordination of growth in plants, Shoot and Root Meristems, Signalling molecules, Programmed cell death.

Genomics of higher plants

  • Genomics, Size of plant genomes, Variability of plant genomes, The genomics toolkit, Molecular maps, Molecular markers.

Methodology in the study of Plant Development

  • Model plants, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Reporter genes, Approaches to molecular genetics, Genetic and phenotypic analysis of mutant lines, Mutation isolation, Gene and protein expression studies.

Mechanisms of determining cell fate

  • Information, Relationship between “Lineage” and “Position”, “Lineage” and “Fate” of cells in various tissues, Examples of “Lineage” and “Location”, Age vs Location.

Embryogenesis

  • Introduction to plant embryogenesis, Establishment of axes, Maternal effects, Analysis of embryonic mutations, Determination of the Apical-Basal polarity, Development in the Apical domain, Development in the Central domain, Development of the Radial domain, Embryogenesis: A dynamic system of hormone transport and gene expression.

Shoot development

  • Plant growth is based on the action of meristems, Shoot Apical Meristem (SAM), SAM function and boundary genes, Topological interaction of WUS/CLV in SAM.

Leaf development

  • Variety of leaf forms in plants, Morphology and axial patterning along a simple leaf, Regulation of leaf primordium development in SAM, Determination of the adaxial and abaxial identities, Development of leaf margins, Genetic regulation of leaf blade development, Genetic regulation of compound leaf development.

Flower development

  • Morphology of the Arabidopsis flower, Genes involved in flower development, Flowering time genetic pathways, Meristem identity genes, Genetic basis of the ABC model, Homeotic transformation of flower organs, Evolution of the ABC model, Class E genes: SEPPALATA.

Root development

  • Root meristem cell types, Primary root anatomy, Importance of cell location in root development, The role of auxin, Pattern of root epidermal cell differentiation, Formation of root hairs.

Environmental impact on plant development

  • Geotropism, Thigmomorphogenesis, Effects of nutritional abnormalities on root development, Vernalisation, Thermogenesis, Thermoregulation, Light perception, Dark-/photo-morphogenesis, Photoperiodic regulation of flowering.

miRNA regulation of plant development

  • RNA silencing, Biological role of RNA silencing, Action of miRNAs in plant growth 4, Use of miRNAs for gene silencing.

Epigenetic regulation of plant development

  • Epigenetic regulation of plant growth, Chromatin structure, Methylation and epigenetic developmental regulation, Lamarck vs Darwin, Epigenetics and heredity, Adaptability and evolution.

Laboratory exercises

  • Introduction to optical microscopy.
  • The TAIR database.
  • Gene expression analysis systems.
  • Genetic transformation in plants.
  • Paper discussion
  • Microscopic observation of Arabidopsis embryos.
  • Construction of leaf series.
  • Microscopic observation of flowers.
  • Microscopic observation of roots.
  • Paper discussion.
  • Genetic analysis of mutant lines.
  • Application of RNA silencing in plants.
  • Methylome sequencing.

Educational Goals

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will become familiar with: a) the basic concepts of plant developmental biology, b) the use of genomics in plant developmental biology, c) the methodologies used in the study of plant development, d) the determination of cellular identity in plants, e) embryogenesis, g) the mechanisms of stem development, leaf, flower, and root, h) environmental factors affecting plant growth, i) miRNA regulation of development, and j) the epigenetic basis of plant developmental mechanisms. Furthermore, the students will become familiar with basic laboratory techniques of optical microscopy.

General Skills

  • Generation of new research ideas.
  • Promotion of criticism and self-criticism.
  • Promotion of free, creative and inductive thinking.
  • Search, analysis and synthesis of data and information, using the necessary technologies.

Teaching Methods

  • In the classroom, face to face.

Use of ICT means

  • Basic software (windows, word, power point, the web, etc.).
  • Support of learning process through the electronic platform / e-class.

Teaching Organization

ActivitySemester workload
Lectures26
Laboratory exercises26
Individual study68
Total120

Students Evaluation

Written exam with:

  • Short-answer questions.
  • Multiple-choice questions.

Recommended Bibliography

  1. Βιβλίο [86200597]: ΜΟΡΙΑΚΗ ΒΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ ΦΥΤΩΝ, Κρίτων Καλαντίδης, Δήμητρα Μηλιώνη, Καλλιόπη Παπαδοπούλου, Σταμάτης Ρήγας, Ανδρέας Ρούσσης, Κοσμάς Χαραλαμπίδης, Πολυδεύκης Χατζόπουλος.
  2. Βιβλίο [59396732]: Φυσιολογία και Ανάπτυξη των Φυτών, Lincoln Taiz, Eduardo Zeiger, Ian Max Møller, Angus Murphy.
  3. Βιβλίο [86055675]: ΘΕΜΕΛΙΩΔΕΙΣ ΑΡΧΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ, Wolpert Lewis, Tickle Cheryll, Arias Martinez Alfonso.
  4. Βιβλίο [329]: “Φυσιολογία φυτών: Από το μόριο στο περιβάλλον” Ρουμπελάκη-Αγγελάκη Καλλιόπη. ISBN: 978-960-524-168-1.
  5. Βιβλίο [14787]: “Φυσιολογία φυτών” Ridge Irene,Μανέττας Γιάννης,Μανέττας Γιάννης,Ψαράς Γιώργος Κ.,Λεβίζου Έφη,κ.ά. ISBN: 978-960-411-522-8.

Related Research Journals

  1. Plant Physiology,
  2. Plant Cell,
  3. Plant Journal,
  4. Trends in Plant Science,
  5. New Phytologist,
  6. Molecular Plant,
  7. Journal of Plant Physiology,
  8. Plant Physiology & Biochemistry,
  9. Journal of Experimental Botany,
  10. Annals of Botany.