ADAPTATION OF PLANTS TO THE ENVIRONMENT
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- COSTANZA BALDISSEROTTO
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/01
Training objectives
- The main goal of the course consists in providing new knowledges related to the different morpho-physiological features acquired by plants during the evolution in order to adapt themselves to different environments.
Knowledge and understanding:
The student:
• Knows the different elements that have promoted the gradual colonization and adaptation of plants on land;
• Knows the reproductive adaptation of plants, from the basic production of meiospores until the evolution and appearance of seeds as a way of efficient lineage dispersion and related benefits;
• Knows the different morpho-physiological characteristics of hydrophytes, hygrophytes and xerophytes;
• Knows all the morpho-physiological features evolved in plants to efficiently react to light exposure: modulative mechanisms during the daily light fluctuations, adaptive characteristics in light and shadows plants;
• Knows all the morpho-physiological characteristics of plants adapted to different temperatures: seasonal fluctuations, high and low temperatures;
• Knows the edaphic factors and the nutritional request of land plants, with particular focus on plants living in extreme nutritional environments;
• Knows the interaction between plants and other organisms living in the same environment: with particular emphasis on symbiosis between plants and land microorganisms, interaction between plants and pollinated organisms, secondary metabolites production with defensive, deterrent or attractive functions.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
The student is able to:
• Identify and classify plant organisms according to a structural complexity acquired during the evolution
• Understand the different advantages linked to the reproductive adaptation of plants, from the simplest (first vascular plants) to the most complex ones (Angiosperms)
• Recognize and link the morpho-physiological characteristics of a plant organism to its environment. Prerequisites
- No formal propedeuticity is required, however, the following concepts and the knowledge provided by the courses of “Botany” and “Plant Physiology” are necessary:
• plant cell structure;
• structure of higher plants;
• characteristics and life cycles of the main divisions of plants: vegetative and sexual reproduction, ontogenetic cycles, flower and double fertilization in Angiosperms;
• Photosynthesis and respiration;
• Transport of water and mineral salts and translocation of organic acids in plants;
• Nutrient uptake and assimilation. Course programme
- The course forecasts 48 hours of teaching by frontal lessons. Topics are divided in three different main sections as described below:
Evolution of vegetable organisms and plant adaptation to land (14 hours)
Origin and evolution of Eukaryotes. First multicellular organisms, advantages, different factors that have contributed to colonization of land. Characteristics acquired by terrestrial plants for the adaptation to life on land: from Bryophytes to vascular plants. Reproductive adaptation and life cycle from Bryophytes to Spermatophytes. Structure and evolution in Angiosperms. Acquired advantages that have allowed Angiosperms to spread through all the ecological environments.
Adaptation of plants to different biotic factors (20 hours)
Water availability: response to flooding by mesophytes. Morpho-physiological adaptation of aquatic plants. Hygrophytes and epiphytic plants. Plant adaptation to drought environments. Mesophytic plant response to temporary drought, succulent plants and other xerophytes.
Light availability: adaptation of plants to the light environment, light and shadow plants and relative morphological adaptation.
Temperature: high temperature and heat stress, morphological adaptation in plants living in drought environments to resist high temperatures. Low temperature and freezing temperature. Plant tolerance in plants living under low temperatures. Plant adaptation to seasonal variations.
Edaphic factors: soil composition and nutritional request by plants. pH variation in different soils, adaptive mechanisms in plants living in acid and basic grounds. Extreme nutritional conditions: halophytes, carnivorous plants and relative morphological adaptation.
Basic notions of plant organisms response to some selected environmental pollutants.
Interactions between plants and other organisms (14 hours)
Symbiosis as a nutritional mode of adaptation: endosymbiotic nitrogen fixation, mycorrhizae, lichens. Coevolution between flowering plants and insect pollinators. Secondary metabolites, terpenes, secreting cells, essential oils and glandular hairs, resin ducts. Phenolic compounds, alkaloids and other nitrogen-containing molecules. Role of secondary metabolites in plant defense or attraction mechanisms. Brief notions of negative plant-organism interactions.
During lessons for point 3, a guided tour of the Botanical Garden of the University of Ferrara is planned
(interactive lesson, review and direct observation of the morphological characteristics of plants adapted to different environments).
During the course (point 1, 2 and 3), some observation of the characteristics of organisms belonging to different groups (algae, bryophytes, etc.) are intended to reinforce some topics. Didactic methods
- The course is organized by means of frontal lessons on all the course’s topics. During some lessons, macroscopic observation of samples will be carried out to promote the comprehension of the different topics. At the end of the course, a guided tour of the Botanical Garden of the University will be scheduled to observe some of the morphological adaptation pursued during the frontal lessons; a lab experience could be associated to the visit to the Botanical Garden (light microscopy and stereomicroscopy observation of selected samples).
Learning assessment procedures
- The aim of the exam is to verify the level of knowledge and deepening of the topics of the course program previously described and the reasoning skills developed by the student.
The examination can consist of a written test (with multiple choice questions) or as an oral test according to a schedule proposed by the teacher. Questions (usually 3 for oral test or 31-32 for multiple choice test) will focus on each of the three main sections of the Course:
1) Evolution of vegetable organisms, colonization of land and adaptation to life on land;
2) Morpho-physiological adaptation of vegetable organisms to different environmental factors (one of the abiotic factors treated during the lessons will be taken into account);
3) Interaction between plants and other organisms and adaptive advantages.
For the oral test, the answers will be judged both for the content and for the appropriate language. For each question of written test with open question and of oral test, 1 to 11 points will be assigned. The final mark is the sum of the 3 marks and at least 18 points are necessary to pass the exam.
For the multiple chiose written test, 31-32 questions with 4 possible answeres (only 1 being correct) will be proposed. Correct answers will be assigned a score of 1, while incorrect answers will be assigned a score of 0 (there are, therefore, no penalties). The exam is considered passed by correctly answering at least 18 questions.
Under request, a mixed written test could be proposed: 6 multiple choice questions per topic (correct answers will be assigned score 1; 0 to incorrect answers; thus, maximum score is 18 for this part) + 1 open question per topic (score, from 0 - no answer - to 5; for this part, maximum score is 15). The exam is considered passed reaching at least score 18. Reference texts
- Ppt slides are provided by the teacher.
Additional material can be purchased from:
Pancaldi S., Baldisserotto C., Ferroni L., Pantaleoni L. "Fondamenti di Botanica Generale, Teoria e pratica", McGraw-Hill (1st or, better, 2nd edition);
Smith A.M., Coupland G.,Dolan L., Harberd N., Jones J., Martin C., Sablowski R., Amey A. "Plant Biology" Garland Science;
Mauseth J.D. "Botany, an introduction to Plant Biology", Jones & Bartlett Publishers;
Campbell N.A. e Reece J.B. "Biologia, Meccanismi dell'evoluzione e origini della biodiversità", Zanichelli;
Sanità di Toppi L. "Interazioni piante-ambiente". PICCIN;
Pasqua et al. “Botanica generale e diversità vegetale”, ed PICCIN.
