Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

Plants serve as the conduit of energy into the biosphere, provide food and materials used by humans, and they shape our environment. This module aims to show how plant science research underpins and is helping to tackle current global challenges of food security, renewable energy, conservation of resources and climate change. The module considers;
i) fundamental aspects of plant science which encompasses aspects like photosynthetic physiology and
biochemistry, cell wall biochemistry and plant-pathogen interactions and
ii) explores how new technologies can exploit and manipulate these fundamental aspects of plant science in order to improve the productivity, health and quality of plants and plant-derived products in a changing climate.
The module’s teaching is research-led, using up-to-date scientific literature and interactive teaching sessions. Students will read research papers and learn how to critically analyse them to facilitate learning.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module content will include:
• The importance of photosynthesis and implications for food and energy security
• RuBisCO structure and function
• Evolution of carbon concentrating mechanisms and alternative modes of photosynthesis
• Engineering photosynthesis to enhance plant productivity in a changing climate
• Nature of plant diseases, pathogen discovery and emerging diseases
• Plant disease resistance: mechanisms and applications
• Integrated pest management and biocontrol
• International biosecurity and plant health
• Global plant disease case studies
• Plant cell wall diversity: applications for bioengineering and bioprospecting
• Below ground plant/microbe interactions
• Group poster presentations/mini conference to consider how new technologies and developments in a particular aspect of plant science research can tackle ‘real-world’ challenges

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

On completion of the module students should have gained an in-depth understanding of fundamental aspects of plant science including photosynthesis and how pathogens affect plants. Students should be able to place molecular events surrounding Rubisco activation and CO2 or O2 fixation in an ecological context, and appreciate why it is that such a diverse array of CO2 concentrating mechanisms have evolved to overcome limitations to photosynthesis in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Students should understand how new molecular and genomic technologies can exploit fundamental understanding of photosynthetic carbon metabolism to design plants with enhanced growth and productivity. Students should enhance their awareness of how pathogens attack and damage plants and how plants resist them, factors influencing the severity of plant disease outbreaks, strategies that can be used to control diseases, how disease epidemiology and pathogen population biology influence control strategies, and how new technologies are being developed to improve disease control. Knowledge of cell wall biology and biodiversity will be complemented by understanding how advanced technologies can be applied to exploit this diversity for the mining of novel bioproducts.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Students should gain an enhanced ability to work individually and collaboratively to extract, interpret, critically evaluate and synthesize relevant information from recent primary literature, alongside oral and poster presentation skills.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures delivered face to face will explain key concepts and outline illustrative examples using short video and audio recordings plus powerpoint slides. Recorded lectures will be made available to students via ReCAP. Students will be able to gauge their understanding of the lecture materials by completing quizzes (formative assessment) on CANVAS. Private study will augment the framework given by lectures and engender depth of understanding through extensive reading of directed literature citations from journals and textbooks with a high scientific impact.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The at-home assessment will consist of 2 essays of 1000 words each, each worth 50 % of assessment mark and each section presenting 3 essay type questions that will cover all topics presented in the lectures. Students will tackle one question from each section and the essay-type format of answers will allow students to demonstrate their understanding and critical synthesis of the concepts outlined by the lectures, enhanced by the depth resulting from additional reading of the scientific literature that is recommended throughout the course.

The course will be complemented by a mini conference where students will present a Group poster. This will allow them to demonstrate awareness of how new technologies and developments in a particular aspect of plant science research can tackle ‘real-world’ challenges.

General Notes

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