Study-unit PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

Course name	Biological sciences
Study-unit Code	55656908
Curriculum	Comune a tutti i curricula
Lecturer	Chandra Bellasio
Lecturers	Chandra Bellasio
Hours	56 ore - Chandra Bellasio
CFU	8
Course Regulation	Coorte 2022
Supplied	2024/25
Supplied other course regulation	Coorte 2021 - Will supplied in year 2023
Learning activities	Caratterizzante
Area	Discipline biomolecolari
Sector	BIO/04
Type of study-unit	Obbligatorio (Required)
Type of learning activities	Attività formativa monodisciplinare
Language of instruction	Italian and English
Contents	The course is divided into three parts. The first part (Transport) examines the physical and physicochemical processes that govern the transport of water and solutes through the cells and the plant. The second part (Nutrition) delves into the mechanisms through which the plant uses light energy to absorb and assimilate carbon dioxide and minerals present in the soil. The third part (Regulation) illustrates some of the mechanisms that allow the plant to grow harmoniously, responding to changing environmental stimuli.
Reference texts	L. Taiz, E. Zeiger, Plant Physiology (any Edition). Park S. Nobel, Physicochemical and Environmental Plant Physiology (any Edition).
Educational objectives	The aim of the course is to build an integrated view of the functioning of a healthy plant, explaining how it results from the combination of simple processes, and how these, in turn, are governed by the fundamental laws of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. The student will be able to understand and describe the processes that govern the fundamental functions of a healthy plant.
Prerequisites	Prerequisites: Mathematics, Physics, Botany, General and Inorganic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry.
Teaching methods	56 hours of lectures.
Learning verification modality	There will be two written tests, one in the middle of the course and one at the end. Passing both tests grants access to the oral exam, whose evaluation will be independent of the test results. Those who have not passed the tests can retake them one at a time before each oral session. For information on support services for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLD), visit the page [http://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa].
Extended program	Review: Plants as sessile organisms; Plant cell; Basic anatomy; Stem organography; Root. Thermodynamics basics: First law; Free energy; Second law; Chemical potential. Part One, Transport. Water: Chemical properties; Surface tension; Cavities and bubbles; Evaporation and boiling; Atmospheric evaporation; Hygrometry, drying, humidification. Solution dynamics: Chemical potential in a generic change; Diffusion; Electrolytes and membrane potential at equilibrium. Osmosis. Water potential. Capillary rise. Laminar flow. Water and the plant: Turgor; Pressure-volume curves; Transpiring structures; Transpiration vs. humidity and temperature; Water potential in saturated and unsaturated soil; Water potential in a capillary; Water potential in the plant in equilibrium with the soil; Tension-cohesion theory; Xylem hydraulic conductivity; Minimum depression for water ascent; Embolism and cavitation; Bubble stability; Bubble rupture and reabsorption; Hydraulic vulnerability; Embolus refilling; Absorbing structures; Casparian strip; Water potential in the transpiring plant. Solute transport: Semipermeable membranes and equilibrium concentration; Electrogenic pumps; Primary and secondary membrane transport; Symport and antiport. Part Two, Nutrition. CO2 assimilation, light phase: Light and pigments; Electron transporters; Excitation; Charge separation; Photosystem I; Photosystem II; Oxygen synthesis; Photophosphorylation; Cyclic and pseudocyclic transport. Carbon metabolism: Catalysis basics; C3 cycle; Rubisco mechanism; Oxygenation and carboxylation; PGA reduction; Regeneration; Starch and sucrose synthesis. Photorespiration. C2 cycle. C4 photosynthesis: anatomy; subtypes; ecology. CAM plants. Mineral nutrition: Growth curves; Macro and micronutrients. Nitrogen: Cycle, absorption, and transport; Assimilation; Fixation; Nodules and heterocysts. Potassium: Uptake; Transport. Phosphorus: Cycle; Uptake; Mycorrhizae. Sulfur: Cycle; Uptake; Assimilation. Iron. Copper. Basic agroecology. Phloem transport: Vascular anatomy basics; Transported compounds; Source and sink; Symplastic phloem loading; Apoplastic loading; Translocation; Unloading. Part Three, Regulation. Cellular pH regulation: Classical model and limitations; H+ ATPase and updated model. Excess light: Leaf and chloroplast movements; NPQ and xanthophyll cycle; State transitions; Photodamage. Rubisco regulation. RPP cycle regulation. Starch and sucrose synthesis regulation. Stomatal regulation: Anatomical basics; Guard cells; Turgor; Response to red and blue light; Response to CO2; Response to abscisic acid; Stomatal closure and relative humidity. Germination regulation: Seed reserves; Dormancy; Phytochrome; Reserve mobilization. Light seeking: Classic coleoptile curvature experiments; Auxin; Vectorial transport; PIN proteins; Acid growth; Concentration measurements. Morphogenesis: Morphogen; Root morphogenesis; Stem morphogenesis.