Unit PLANT BIODIVERSITY
- Course
- Biological sciences
- Study-unit Code
- GP004019
- Curriculum
- Ambientale - naturalistico
- Teacher
- Paola Angelini
- Teachers
-
- Paola Angelini
- Hours
- 42 ore - Paola Angelini
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2020
- Offered
- 2021/22
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- BIO/03
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- The value of plant biodiversity: plants of economic interest. Speciation and selection. Systematics and Taxonomy. Botanical nomenclature. Regnum Plantae: Algae; the emergence from water and Bryophytes; vascular plants without seed: Pteridophytes; Gymnosperms: general features, reproduction, systematics; Angiosperms: diversity and hints on evolution. The main families of the Italian flora: eudicotyledons and monocotyledons. Mushrooms: general characteristics, method of reproduction and systematics.
- Reference texts
- 1) Pasqua G., Abbate G., Forni C., 2019. General botany and plant diversity. Piccin Nuova Libraria S.p.A. Padova
2) Judd W.S., Campbell C.S., Kellog E.A., Steven P.F., 2007. Systematic botany. A phylogenetic approach. PICCIN
3) Solomon E.P., Martin C.E., Martin D.W., Berg L.R., 2017. Evolution and biodiversity. EdiSES S.r.l.
4) Baroni E., 1969. Botanical guide to Italy. - Educational objectives
- The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools for the recognition of the main groups of plant organisms (algae, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms and fungi). This study is aimed at understanding plant biodiversity, systematics and phylogenesis.
The course also includes theoretical-practical lessons aimed at recognizing and identifying, through the use of analytical keys, the main taxa of systematic, environmental and economic importance. - Prerequisites
- General botanical knowledge
- Teaching methods
- The course consists of 32 hours of lectures conducted in the classroom on the topics listed in the program and 10 hours of theoretical-practical lessons, aimed at learning the use of analytical keys for the determination of plant species.
- Other information
- The schedule of the lectures and that of the exams are available on the website of the Department: http://www.dcbb.unipg.it
The teacher can be contacted by e-mail for any need (reception, exam dates, program).
Additional teaching materials, such as course slides or scientific publications concerning the topics covered, are made available to students with free access to uni-studium during the course. - Learning verification modality
- Oral examination or written tests both in itinere and in the final.
- Extended program
- Purposes of systematic botany. Taxonomic categories. Classification systems. Principles and rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Species Concept as Basic Rank: the Taxonomic Species and the Biological Species. Phenotypic variability and genotypic variability. Intraspecific taxonomic entities. Genesis of new species (Speciation or Microevolution). Mechanisms for the formation of new genotypes: mutations, gene recombinations, hybridization followed by polyploidy. Selection and isolation. Prokaryotes: Cyanophyta (cyanobacteria); Prochlorophyta; Eubacteria. Endocitobiosi. Eukaryotic thallophytes: Rhodophyta (red algae), Pyrrophyta, Bacillariophyta (diatomea), Phaeophyta (brown algae) and Chlorophyta (green algae). Emancipation from the aquatic environment and main adaptations of the sporophytic generation. Subaerial plants: characterization and evolutionary adaptations of Bryophyta, Pteridophyta (isosporee and heterosporee), Progymnospermophyta and Spermatophyta (Gymnospermae and Angiospermae) with particular attention to the destiny of the macrospore in heterosporee plants, and to the evolution of its gametophytic generation. Gymnospermae: common and distinctive features of Cycadopsida, Ginkgopsida, Coniferopsida, Taxopsida and Gnetophyta. Angiospermae: general characters. Types of flowers and inflorescences. Pollen, pollination and fertilization. Fruits and dissemination. Use of the Botanical Guide, methods for setting up a herbarium and determination of the following families: Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Corylaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Oleaceae, Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceaea, Salicaceae. Fungi: general structural features, reproduction, ecology. Fungi-algae interaction (lichens), fungal-plant interactions (mycorrhizae). Main Phyla: Ascomycota and Basidiomycota.