The course aims at getting students acquainted with plant organisms, their structural organization (at the cellular, tissue and organ level), their diversity and evolution. Reproductive mechanisms will also be dealt with, in particular the reproduction and the life cycle of Angiosperms. In addition, students will learn the basis for botanical description and the criteria for the identification and classification of the main taxa.

The various branches of Plant biology and historical notes. Principal characteristics of plants and their uses for man. The plant cell (shape, size, and organization). Structure and function of organelles. Plastids (structure, function, ontogenesis and interconversion). Chloroplasts (shape, ultrastructure, pigments, genome). Algal plastids. Vacuol. Dyctiosomes. Microbodyes. Cytoskeleton. Plant cell wall. Cell growth and differentiation. Programmed cell death.

Thallophytes, cormophytes and evolution of land plants.

Hystology and anatomy of vascular plants. Classification and function of tissues. Intercellular connections. Anatomy of leaf and primary and secondary structures of stem and roots.

Sexual plant reproduction (Angiosperms). Seed germination. Vegetative propagation. In vitro cultures.

Origin and evolutionary hystory of life on earth. Cyanobacteria and Proclorophytes. Life cycles of representative organisms from land plants.

Botanical description and keys to the identification of some families belonging to Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons.

Plant distribution in the different bioms.

D1-Knowledge and understanding. Students will acquire knowledge in the field of plant biology, focusing in particular on the cellular, histological, morphological/functional, evolutionary and ecological-environmental aspects. They will also learn about the mechanisms of reproduction and development in plants. They will become familiar with the biological characteristics of Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms for their botanical description and be able to recognize and classify species belonging to the main families of Angiosperms using analytical keys. They will also be introduced to the understanding and use of advanced level texts and acquire the capacity to assimilate cutting-edge topics covered in scientific journals of international level related to their field of interest.

 D2-Applying knowledge and understanding. The knowledge and understanding gained during the course will enable students to develop and constructively support issues which can be used to solve situations related to their analytical and procedural framework. Students will gain knowledge on the main methodological and instrumental procedures for biological analyses (in vitro culture/micropropagation techniques, morphological and biodiversity analysis)  and their fields of application.

 D3-Making judgments. Students will be trained to collect and critically interpret the scientific data of the botanical-biological field, to describe and compare them, to suggest generalizations and apply the acquired theoretical knowledge to the proposed problem.

D4-Communication skills. Students will be trained to use a specific technical language to communicate information and ideas related to the knowledge learned during the course. Acquisition of appropriate communication skills and tools with reference to data processing and presentation.

D5-Learning skills. Thanks to the theoretical skills acquired, students will be able to understand and critically discuss the salient aspects of plant biology. In addition, with the aid of the available databases they will be able to expand and update their knowledge. The capacity to apply the knowledge gained will be checked by: a) a plenary debate and problem-solving and b) good exam results.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Visit to the Botanical Garden. Educational excursions.

Teaching

Lectures and seminars on topics agreed with the students. Exercises of microscopy and classification of plant species through the use of analytical keys.

 

Course books

Pasqua e altri- Botanica generale e diversità vegetale. (Piccin)

Mauseth, Botanica. Fondamenti di biologia delle piante, III ed. it. (Idelson Gnocchi)

Speranza e Calzoni - Struttura delle piante in immagini.

Assessment

At the end of the course, there will be an oral exam. Students are expected to answer a few questions (three or four), and be able to connect different topics together.The exams will assess the knowledge and reasoning skills, the ability to solve problems and interpret data in accordance with what is stated by the Dublin descriptors.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The student can request to sit the final exam in English.