Regulation of Plant Development

A unique feature of plants is the fact that environmental factors play a crucial role in their development. In this course, molecular, cell biological, and physiological aspects of plant developmental processes will be discussed. We will cover several conceptual frameworks for the development of plant cell types and organs. The focus will be on how plant endogenous signals are directing plant organ development, how these signaling networks can be modified by environmental factors, and how such networks evolved. Different examples in the lectures, tutorials, and literature discussions will be used to illustrate how plants can adapt to their environment at the cellular, tissue, and whole plant levels by integrating environmental cues into developmental processes.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• Summarize and compare plant developmental processes, including embryogenesis, meristem initiation and maintenance, root, shoot and leaf development, and flower development
• Understand the regulation of plant development at the physiological, cellular, and molecular levels
• Explain how plant endogenous signals and abiotic and biotic environmental signals are perceived and integrated into the initiation, proceeding, and control of developmental processes, and argue how this regulation evolved
• Recognize basic commonalities in underlying plant developmental concepts and mechanisms, and use these to argue for their involvement in other biological processes
• Digest research articles in this research field and identify weak and strong points

Assumed Knowledge:
EZO22306 Key concepts in Developmental Biology, GEN20806 Plant Biotechnology, MOB20306 Gene Technology, or equivalent.