The Plant Biotechnology Research Center provides courses for undergraduate students in the BSc programmes of Environmental Technology,
Food Technology and Molecular Biotechnology at Ghent University Global Campus.
- General Biology (Prepterm and BA1)
- this is a basic course in biology with emphasis on the universal features of life, i.e. the general concepts in biological sciences. The course gives an introduction on the general (cell) biological processes in life forms, next to dealing with major concepts in energy generation (heterotrophs and autotrophs) as well as genetics and genetic information. The course also creates an overview of the different life forms and places this in the context of evolution.
- Plant Biology (BA2)
- this is a basic course in plant biology with emphasis on biodiversity and evolution. The course gives an introduction on the anatomy, morphology and taxonomy of plants in the light of evolution and how adaptation strategies have been explored in relation to conquering land. Typical features of the major taxa are discussed, as well as underlying relationships in anatomy and morphology and potential applications for agriculture and biotechnology.
- Integrated Practicum I: Plant Genetics and Physiology (BA3)
- In this course, the different research questions are answered by forward and reverse genetics in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. The principles of gene mapping are illustrated in an experimental setting. The students make use of Agrobacterium strains for transformation of plants. Basic molecular techniques (PCR, restriction-analysis, SDS-PAGE, …) are applied. The students learn the importance of microscopy when phenotyping different mutants and learn to apply advanced molecular biological techniques (such as bimolecular fluorescence complementation) in interaction studies. Different mutants will be used and shown to illustrate the power of genetical analyses on physiologically relevant processes (such as gravitropism, phototropism, germination, senescene, hormone homeostasis, etc.). In addition to the practical aspects of the experiments, the student is stimulated to approach and interpret the results and data in a critical-scientific way. Attention is paid to the statistical analysis of the obtained data.
- Plant Physiology (BA3)
- this course unveils some of the most enthralling mysteries of plant life and shows the uniqueness of plants as a life form. The topics that are dealt with demonstrate how plants work and function, and highlight cellular and biochemical processes needed to complete a plant’s life cycle, in function of an ever changing environment. The course focuses mainly on higher plants and tackles physiological processes from a holistic perspective, i.e. focusing on the interrelationship between all organs of the plant. Next to that, the relationship between the plant (function) and the abiotic environment are deepened out.
- Molecular Biology: Advanced Topics in Eukaryotes (BA3)
- this course aims at confronting the student with the fundamental principles of molecular biology in prokaryotes and eukaryotes and zooms in on the structure-function relationship of DNA and chromosomes with regard to replication, transcription, translation and gene regulation. Relevant terminology is introduced and general concepts and principles are presented. An important aim is to bring insight into gene structure, recombination, gene expression and gene regulation, including the differences between pro- and eukaryotes.
- Plant Biotechnology Practicals (BA4)
- This course is an introduction to plant biotechnology. The student will become familiar with different techniques used for plant transformation. Several case studies will be discussed with the focus on regulation, usefulness, risk analysis, societal aspects, etc.