| Responsible Department | Department of Agriculture and Ecology | ||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year | ||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||
| Credits | 15 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||
| Level of Course | MSc | ||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination oral examination All aids allowed Description of Examination: Oral examination based on case reports and course curriculum Weight: Oral examination: 100% 7-point scale, internal examiner | ||||||||||||
| Organisation of Teaching | 25 % lectures and discussion classes, 75 % for practical activities and cases. Students work in groups of 2-4 persons | ||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 3 Week Structure: A Block 3 Week Structure: C | ||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | 240039 Plant Genomics 240007 Bioinformatics 1 250028 Plant Breeding 240066 Genetics or similar courses | ||||||||||||
| Restrictions | None | ||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||
| This course comprises the use of technologies and strategies for future modification of important cultured plants to meet the demands for environmentally sustainable production of food, feed, industrial raw material and ornamentals of high quality. Some of the most important methods are presented by which plants can be modified and how the best lines can be selected. The students will see that molecular plant breeding is demand-driven, and that often great creativity is required in order to fulfill these demands, while in other cases well-described procedures can be followed to reach the goals. The course predicts future needs for modification of important cultivated plants to meet the demands for high, efficient and environmentally sustainable production of food, feed, industrial raw material and ornamentals of top quality. Molecular breeding employs molecular genetic markers and genomics for allele-selection (SSR, SNP, MAS, proteomics) to explore natural variation, and mutant and transgene technologies (TILLING, Eco-tilling, GMO) to expand the natural variation and for targeted solutions. Bioinformatics is important in general when designing strategies for plant improvement. Teaching will be research based with case projects in small student groups in major areas of research: . Plant genetic resources (mutants, landraces, wild relative, synteny etc) . Molecular breeding for disease resistance (natural, mutant and trans-genes) . Yield improvement through tolerance to abiotic stress (drought, salt, cold etc) . Quality improvement of food and feed (P, Fe, Zn, fibre and cell walls, allergy) . Modification for industrial purposes (starch, fibre, reduce growth promoter in greenhouses) | |||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||
| A mixture of lectures for overviews and four two-week practical laboratory cases for small student groups in ongoing research areas. This is described in a written report. These activities are complemented by journal clubs and discussions on specifically relevant themes | |||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||
| The general aim of the course is to give an awareness of the principles of molecular plant breeding. After completing the course the students should be able to: Knowledge: - Describe the theoretical basis for molecular plant breeding, such as genetic markers, linkage analysis, marker-assisted selection, allele variation, mutant studies, TILLING and GM-technologies - Describe mechanisms behind the crop-related characters, e.g. disease resistance, drought tolerance and quality traits - Describe molecular breeding for disease resistance, stress tolerance and selected quality characters - Characterize a number of key genes with major historic relevance in plant breeding (e.g. mlo and dwarf-8) - mention major databases and literature within the area Skills - demonstrate laboratory experience in plant phenotyping, molecular marker technologies and linkage detection - demonstrate laboratory experience in assessment of quality traits and in bioinformatics Competencies: - construct programs for crop improvement using naturally existing and induced genetic variation and transgene technology. - apply knowledge on molecular mechanisms behind selected plant characters to design demanded crop phenotypes | |||||||||||||
| Course Literature | |||||||||||||
| Reviews and primary papers | |||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||
| Hans Thordal-Christensen, htc@life.ku.dk, Department of Agriculture and Ecology/Plant and Soil Science, Phone: 353-33443 | |||||||||||||
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