| Department of Plant Biology | |||||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | |||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1 semester | ||||||||||||||||
| Credits | 6 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||||
| Course Level | Joint BSc and MSc also suitable for Ph.D. students | ||||||||||||||||
| Examination | oral examination Aid allowed Description of Examination: pass/fail, internal examiner Description of Examination: | ||||||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | 3-week course (January) | ||||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | 3-week course January | ||||||||||||||||
| Teaching Language | English may be conducted in Danish | ||||||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | 055849 Disease Resistance in Plants A basic understanding of plant pathology and molecular biology/genetics is necessary | ||||||||||||||||
| Restrictions | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| Course Objectives | |||||||||||||||||
| To provide practical instruction in techniques used in the study of the biology of plant-pathogen interactions in the laboratory. We emphasise basic techniques for the study of gene expression at the RNA, protein and gene product levels, and the use of microscopy to link the visible outcome of the interaction. This provides an understanding of the way in which molecular data contributes to the knowledge of the biology of plant-pathogen interactions. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Contents | |||||||||||||||||
| Like other organisms, plants are subject to attack by a wide variety of microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Plants differ from animals in two ways that have profound effects on the strategies they use to defend themselves from pathogen attack. First, plants do not have an immune system, so, since there are no cells specialised for defence of the organism, each cell must have the capacity to respond to a pathogen attack. Second, plants can suffer loss of significant fractions of the plant body without dire consequences for the survival of the organism. This allows "scorched earth" strategies, in which infected cells are killed along with the pathogen, to be effective as plant defence responses. The defence responses include the hypersensitive response (HR), synthesis of phytoalexins (small antimicrobial compounds), lignification of plant cell walls, synthesis of lytic enzymes such as chitinases and glucanases, an oxidative burst (release of active oxygen species), and expression of a plethora of pathogenesis related proteins and transcripts of unknown function. Elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms controlling expression of these defence responses, and the extent to which particular responses are effective in limiting growth of various pathogens is important for the design of strategies to improve disease resistance in crops. Development of disease-resistant lines allows efficient crop production with reduced reliance on environmentally undesirable toxic agrochemicals. The aim of the practical part of this course in molecular and physiological plant pathology is to present and demonstrate some common techniques used in studies of plant responses during plant-pathogen interactions, and show how results obtained with standard molecular biology tools can be related to the biology of the plant-pathogen interactions. We use at least one of two different plant/pathogen systems: I. The interaction between arabidopsis and the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC 3000 and II. the interaction between barley and the barley powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei. We will study the development of the pathogen and the observable responses in the plant, and relate these observations to the results obtained from studies on changes in gene expression (mRNA levels) in both systems. In the arabidopsis/Pseudomonas system we will also look at the induction of a phytoalexin (Camalexin) and its antimicrobial effect, while in the barley/Blumeria system protein levels will be followed during the defence response. By the end of this course, we hope that you will have gained insight into different aspects of molecular plant pathology as well as have become familiar with the use of a number of standard molecular techniques. | |||||||||||||||||
| Teaching And Learning Methods | |||||||||||||||||
| The subjects for laboratory and project work, along with the theoretical background will be presented in seminar form. Individual students hold seminars on special topics, based on original literature. The lectures cover the practical application of selected physiological, biochemical, molecular, immunological and microscopic techniques to the study of plant-microbe interactions. Defence responses of host plants provide the experimental models. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Litterature | |||||||||||||||||
| We recommend that you read: Lucas, J. A. . Plant Pathology and Plant Pathogens, Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK, 1998. Chapters 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12. http://www.blacksci.co.uk/~cgilib/bookpage.bin?File=1234 Old, R.W. and Primrose S.B. (1994). Principles of Gene Manipulation, 5th edn Blackwell Scientific, Oxford. ISBN 0-632-03712-1. (Read chapters 1 to 10, 12, 14 ( and 17)). Much of the theoretical material is based on the interpretation of primary literature. See website http://kursus.kvl.dk/molpat/ for details of the literature used currently. | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||||
| Mari-Anne Newman, mari@life.ku.dk, Department of Plant Biology/Plant Pathology Section, Phone: 35333303 David B. Collinge, dbc@life.ku.dk, Department of Plant Biology/Plant Pathology Section, Phone: 35333356 | |||||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||||
| Course Scope | |||||||||||||||||
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