Basic concepts of Plant Biology. Importance of plants. Autotrophism and
other fundamental characters of green plants. Plant cytology, Histology,
Anatomy and Organography. Basic Plant Physiology. Diversity Evolution
and Classification of Plants. Nomenclature. Cyanobacteria, Algae,
Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Spermatophytes.The seed. Gymnosperms and Angiosperms: Structures, reproduction,
systematics. Main families of faunistic importance.
Knowledge of the external and internal organization and structure of the
seed plant (from cell to organ), and of the main functioning mechanisms. General knowledge
of the diversity of plants and capacity to identify the main groups and
families of gymnosperms and angiosperms. Competences:
the student will acquire the ability to recognize the major groups of photosyntetic organisms based on their morpho-functional characteristics, and to identify the major forms of interaction with the fauna.
The student will also be able to identifiy the most important plant species of forest habitats in Italy and also some of the most important herbaceous species for the nutrition of the fauna and farm animals.
Prerequisites
General bases of biology and organic chemistry.
Teaching Methods
Classroom lectures. Practical training of observation and identification of fresh plant samples of the main groups of tracheophytes (ferns and allies, gymnosperms, angiosperms). Study visits to the Botanical Garden and Parco delle Cascine.
Further information
The course includes two parts of similar "weight": general plant biology
(4,5 CFU) and plant systematics (4,5 CFU).
Type of Assessment
Oral exam, also including description of a histological or anatomical micrograph and
identification of a dry or fresh sample of a spermatophyte.
The summer session of the exams will be done by telematic tools (GMeet) due to the Covid-19 pandemy.
Course program
General Plant Biology. Importance of plants for humans and animals. Autotrophism and other fundamental characters of plants. General aspects of Photosyntehsis. Domains and kingdoms of living organisms. Main phylogenetic groups of plants.
Cytology. The cell theory. The plant cell: general structure. Biological
membranes. Water transport and solutes. Osmosis. The cell wall.
Mitochondria, Golgi Apparatus, Ribosomes, RE. The Vacuole. Secondary
metabolites. Plastid and chloroplast. Pigments. The Nucleus and cell
cycle. The tissue concept. The plant tissues: primary and secondary meristems. Adult tissues: epidermal, parenchymatous, mechanical, vascular, secretory. Organography and Anatomy. The root: functions; external and internal structure (apex, primary and secondary zones; lateral root formation). Water uptake from soil and transport to the central cylinder. Specializations and adaptations. The stem: external structure and functions; apex, primary and secondary structure.
Differences between dicots and monocots. The leaf: morphological
variability. Functions. Internal structure. Stomata and gas exchanges.
Fundamentals of physiology: photosynthesis (synthetic). Water and sap transport in xylem and phloem.
Plant systematics. Fundamentals of Plant diversity and Evolution. Sexual reproduction and life cycles
in plants. Plant classification and nomenclature. The main evolutionary
steps of plants. Procariotes: cyanobacteria. Nitrogen cycle and nitrogen fixation. The first Eukariotes: Algae. The first terrestrial plants (emersion from water): Bryophytes.
The first vascular plants (Tracheophytes): Equiseta, Licopodia and Ferns (Pteridophytes). Heterospory. The seed plants (Spermatophytes). The ovule and the seed. . Gymnosperms: fundamental characters, life cycle, reproduction, essential systematics. Angiosperms: origin and fundamental characters. Reproduction. The flower. The fruit. Important families of Italian forest trees ((Fagaceae, Betulaceae, Rosaceae) and herbaceous species for animal nutrition: Poaceae, Fabaceae.