Bsc minor Experimental Plant Sciences

Continue to an overview of the minor

Profile

These applied research approaches find their basis in fundamental knowledge on developmental biology of plants, interactions between plants and biotic agents, metabolism and adaptation, and genome plasticity. The courses that make up this BSc minor together comprise these aspects at the level of plant cells and individual plants. The interactions between plants and their abiotic and biotic environment are covered as well.

NOTE: This minor contains courses with a maximum number of students participants. If you want to follow this minor as a "Bijvak or "exchange" student make sure you also choose alternative courses, to have an alternative if you cannot participate in this course. The information on if a course has a maximum number of participants can be found via the overview of the courses in the minor.

Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this minor students are expected to be able to:

• apply relevant laboratory techniques for gene isolation, plant transformation and analysis of gene expression patterns in transgenic plants;
• explain concepts and principles in plant breeding, and understand the advantages and limitations of plant breeding selection programmes, including the production of hybrid cultivars;
• understand the tools used for the development of genetic, physical and sequence maps of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, the relations between these different maps and the specific application of the different maps in genome mapping;
• understand adaptation mechanisms of organisms in response to biotic and abiotic stress factors, and discuss the basis of genetic variation involved in adaptation to various types of stress;
• give examples of the evolution and diversity of the various reproduction strategies, focusing on strategies for seed dispersal and seed survival in relation to (global) climate and environment/stress;
• compare the various survival strategies of plants to flooding, drought, desiccation, salt and extreme temperatures and to recognize common elements of regulation and mechanism of stress responses;
• compare the various adaptations of plants to different conditions that affect photosynthesis (e.g. low/high light, availability of water and CO2 etc.) and photomorphogenesis (e.g. light quality differences caused by the presence of other plants).

Target group

This minor is interesting for WU-students of the BSc programmes:
BBI Biology (except BBI-B)
BBT Biotechnology
BPW Plant Sciences
BML Molecular Life Sciences
Also for university or HBO students of programmes in Biology and/or Life Sciences.

Overlapping courses or content with

BBI-B Biology - marjor Organismal and Developmental Biology

Language

English

Semester

Second semester (period 4, 5 and 6)

Programme or thematic

Programme minor