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Molecular Plant Science

Module description

Plants form the basis for all terrestrial landscapes and ecosystems. Plants impact climate, global food security and provide renewable energy resources; consequently plant biology is at the forefront of 21^st century efforts to understand and engineer a more stable and equitable society. In this module you will learn current methods in plant science and the skills needed to plan your own investigations into molecular mechanisms. You will understand how plants interact with other organisms and mount elaborate defences to protect themselves from a constantly evolving array of pathogens. Finally, you will explore how plant science underpins world agriculture, the biological basis of beneficial agricultural traits and how we can breed future-proof crop varieties including modern fast track methods and genetic modification (GM). Advanced understanding in these areas will be promoted by integrated practical sessions.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module introduces you to advanced concepts in plant biology with dual emphasis on understanding (i) at the molecular, physiological, and subcellular levels, how plants develop and respond to their environment and (ii) how human activity has affected plant and crop diversity, as well as the outcomes for society and global ecosystems. Moreover, this module teaches you how to plan and undertake research to discover the molecular mechanisms driving the powerful impacts of plants upon our planet.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Plan investigations to analyse the function of genes and proteins in laboratory model species (such as Arabidopsis thaliana) and crops (such as wheat).
• 2. Explain the motivation and methods for understanding plant development and environmental responses at the organ, tissue and sub-cellular scales.
• 3. Explain using examples how plants acquire resources and defend themselves against insects and microbes.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Describe and critically evaluate approaches to investigate plant biology with reference to primary literature, reviews and research articles.
• 5. Formulate research questions and research objectives to address knowledge-gaps identified from ‘frontier’ scientific papers.
• 6. Gain technical skills and practical experience in modern industry/research-standard molecular and cellular techniques to phenotype, genetically modify and genotype plants/crops.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Confidently communicate ideas, principles and theories fluently by written, visual and oral means in a manner appropriate to the intended audience.
• 8. Proactively collaborate in a small team and deal proficiently with the issues that teamwork requires (i.e. communication, motivation, decision-making, awareness, responsibility, and management skills, including setting and working to deadlines).

Syllabus plan

Theme 1: The role of plants in the earth’s climate, photosynthesis and resource acquisition.

Theme 2: The application of model plants to understanding fundamental plant processes; plant signalling mechanisms and the use of genomics and imaging to understand plant responses.

Theme 3: Plants interacting with other organisms, including bacteria, fungi and insects.

Theme 4: Plants as food producing systems; major crops;  concepts in plant breeding; genetic modification of plants; food production.

Accessibility Statement:

As part of this module you will undertake laboratory sessions (either in GP101 or GP108) with approximately 50 other students that are of 3 hrs in duration. These sessions will be undertaken in pairs, and some sessions involve fine laboratory work and Bunsen burner flames. Breaks are possible and students are able to leave the laboratory for short periods. Also, you will undertake group work to produce and present a poster as a summative assessment. The presentation will involve the whole group (typically 4 students) explaining their poster and chatting in a relaxed atmosphere with up to three academics (simulating a ‘real’ conference). This will last about 45 minutes in total (15 minutes per academic) for each group.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons that are approved by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. If deferred, the format and timing of the re-assessment for each of the summative assessments is detailed in the table above ('Details of re-assessment'). The mark given for a deferred assessment will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral - if you have failed the module (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) and the module cannot be condoned, you will be required to complete a re-assessment for each of the failed components on the module. The format and timing of the re-assessment for each of the summative assessments is detailed in the table above ('Details of re-assessment'). If you pass the module following re-assessment, your module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• No textbook covers the diverse and contemporary nature of the lecture material but “Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants” by Buchanan et al. is a good companion text and available as an ebook from the library.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• •Module-specific ELE page - https://ele.exeter.ac.uk/

Key words search

Molecular biology, genomics, hypothesis testing, gene editing, live-cell imaging, multicellular development, agriculture, photosynthesis, crops, resource acquisition, food security, genetic modification, plant breeding, plant-microbe interactions, plant physiology, plant pathogens