PLBIO 3420 - Plant Physiology, Lectures

Spring. 3 credits.

Prerequisite: two majors-level biology courses. Corequisite: PLBIO 3421 or written permission of instructor. May not be taken for credit after PLBIO 2420 unless written permission obtained from instructor.

T. G. Owens.

Integrated and interdisciplinary study of the processes that contribute to the growth, competition, and reproduction of plants. Topics include, but are not limited to, plant-water relations, membrane properties and processes, photosynthesis, plant respiration, mineral and organic nutrition, stress physiology, control of growth and development, and responses to the environment. Emphasis is on the relationship between structure and function from the molecular to the whole-plant level.

Outcome 1: Each process in a plant integrates with other relevant processes to determine the overall response of the plant to a particular set of conditions.

Outcome 2: Energy affects processes at all levels of biological organization from the molecule and cell to organisms and ecosystems.

Outcome 3: The basic rules of chemistry and physics constrain the physiological behavior of plants.

Outcome 4: Cells/organisms perceive and respond to their environment, including signal transduction, intercellular communication and information processing.

Outcome 5: Structure dictates biological function at all levels of biological organization.

Outcome 6: Biological processes are regulated at all levels of biological organization.

Outcome 7: The flow of mass (atoms, compounds) and energy through a plant.

Outcome 8: Evolution underlies all aspects of biology and explains the unity and diversity of life.