Horticultural Sciences Department
Course Number
Title & Description
FOR6394 Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology.
This is an excellent course for entry-level graduate students and senior undergraduates that desire a fast-paced, up-to-date overview of plant molecular and cellular biology. The lectures transition from textbook knowledge to the current primary literature. Students learn how to critically evaluate papers and how to apply molecular and cellular concepts by designing experiments and interpreting results from the literature.
The course includes four major sections:
1. Recombinant DNA Technology/DNA replication
2. the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
3. Plant Cell Signal Transduction
4. Plant Cell Biology
I teach the Plant Cell Biology section of the course, and specific topics for this section include: protein targeting, organelle biogenesis and function, mechanisms of cellular differentiation, and plant development. Prokaryotic and other non-plant examples are used when they better illustrate a particular concept or molecular model.
PCB6528 Plant Molecular Biology
This course discusses current topics in plant molecular biology with three major objectives for the students:
To obtain a basic knowledge of the structure and function of plant genomes, genes, and gene products.
To learn experimental approaches and methodology commonly used in plant molecular biology research.
To critically evaluate papers dealing with plant molecular biology research.
I lecture on forward and reverse genetics methods using RNA mediated gene silencing. Rational experiment design is discussed in relation to our current state of knowledge for the molecular mechanisms of silencing.
PCB7922 Journal Colloquium in Plant Molecular Biology
I typically offer a Journal Colloquium section in the Spring semester, in which we read and critically evaluate current primary literature. In the past, I have offered sections focused on: basic advances in genetics and biochemistry, invited seminar speakers, or plant cell biology. I plan to offer a section on plant development in the Spring of 2006.