Unit BIOTECHNOLOGIES FOR PLANT HEALTH
- Course
- Agricultural and environmental biotechnology
- Study-unit Code
- A002234
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Eric Conti
- CFU
- 12
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2020
- Offered
- 2021/22
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa integrata
INSECT BIOTECNOLOGY
| Code | A002235 |
|---|---|
| CFU | 6 |
| Teacher | Eric Conti |
| Teachers |
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| Hours |
|
| Learning activities | Caratterizzante |
| Area | Discipline biotecnologiche agrarie |
| Academic discipline | AGR/11 |
| Type of study-unit | Obbligatorio (Required) |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Contents | Insect Biotechnology. 6 credits. Introduction. Outlines of applied entomology, phylogeny, morphology, classification. Arthropod pests and beneficial species. Systematics and molecular diagnostics, insect biodiversity. Chemical and behavioral ecology. Insect-plant interactions, plant resistance to insects. Novel biotechnological approaches for pest control and other applications: hormones, entomophages, entomopathogens, SIT, transgenesis, gene drive. Biotechnology and IPM. Insect resources. Laboratory practice. Seminars. |
| Reference texts | - Handouts from the lecturer. - Gullan, Cranston, 2006. Insects: An outline of Entomology, Wiley. - Pennacchio F, 2014. Gli Insetti e il loro controllo. Liguori editore. - Vilcinskas A., 2011. Insect Biotechnology. Springer. - Hoy, M.A. 2019. Insect Molecular Genetics. An Introduction to Principles and Applications. Second Edition. Academic Press. |
| Educational objectives | Main knowledge and skills that the students will acquire are: most important economically relevant insects and other arthropods; molecular and conventional systematics and diagnostics in entomology; ecological and physiological interactions of arthropods with other organisms; exploitation of entomological resources; pest management. Ability to apply the acquired knowledge in entomology. |
| Prerequisites | In order to understand the course and know how to tackle it, it would be useful for the student to have basic knowledge of Molecular Biology and Entomology. |
| Teaching methods | Face-face lectures using video-projection. Laboratory experience. Discussion of scientific articles. Seminars; educational visit. |
| Other information | NA |
| Learning verification modality | The exam consists of a final oral test of about 30 minutes. It involves an interview on the topics discussed during the course and in-depth discussion on a subject of the student’s choice, in agreement with the lecturer. The test aims at ascertaining: the student’s learning ability; the knowledge and understanding of the topics discussed during the lessons; the ability to apply the acquired skills; the ability to display, learn and develop solutions for independent judgement; the student’s exposure ability. For information on support services for students with learning and/or other disabilities visit: http://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa |
| Extended program | LECTURES Introduction to the course. Insects and man. Outlines of general and applied Entomology; arthropod phylogenesis and systematics; internal and external anatomy; reproduction and development; main arthropods of applied relevance: phytophages, oematophages, vectors of pathogens, predators and parasitoids; outlines of integrated pest management (IPM). Molecular markers and diagnostics in applied entomology. PCR of mtDNA and rDNA, DNA barcoding, sequencing. Implementation for: molecular systematics; diagnostics of parasitoids within their hosts; gut content analysis of phytophages and predators; diagnostics of plant pathogens within their insect vector; insect biodiversity. Ethology and chemical ecology of insects and other arthropods. Pheromones and other semiochemicals; physical cues; cue perception and behavioral response mechanisms; manipulation of insect behavior in the field for pest control purposes and in the laboratory for natural enemy rearing. Insect-plant interactions; plant resistance to insects and mites. Mechanisms of plant resistance to arthropods; constitutive vs. induced resistance; direct (antixenosis and antibiosis) vs. indirect resistance. Implementation: GM plants expressing different types of anti-insect molecules; potential for manipulation of indirect resistance; plant application of resistance elicitors against arthropods. Novel vs. conventional biotech approaches for pest management and other applications. Novel insecticides; entomophages; entomopathogens; BT transgenic plants. Other novel approaches. Sterile insect technique (SIT); pest eradication; improving SIT through insect transgenesis; gene drive . RNA interference possible applications in entomology. Exploitation of entomological resources: some examples in medicine and industry. CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system. Insect biotechnology and IPM: state of the art and future prospects. Conclusion of the course. LABORATORY Rearing herbivorous (phytophagous) and carnivorous (entomophagous) insects. Insect collections; species of applied importance; tropical collection. External and internal anatomy: observations and dissections. Molecular techniques for insect species identification; molecular identification of prey species in the gut content of predators; molecular identification of parasitoids within their hosts; molecular diagnostics of plant pathogens within their insect vectors. Extraction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from insects and from healthy vs. insect-damaged plants; electrophysiological assays (EAG, GC- EAD, SCR, SSR) of semiochemicals using parasitoids and/or predators; behavioral assays of semiochemicals in olfactometers, wind-tunnel, open arenas, using dedicated software for behavioral recordings and analysis. Seminars on beneficial insects production in bio-factories and gene-drive system for pest management; educational visit. |
MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY
| Code | A002236 |
|---|---|
| CFU | 6 |
| Teacher | Eric Conti |
| Teachers |
|
| Hours |
|
| Learning activities | Caratterizzante |
| Area | Discipline biotecnologiche agrarie |
| Academic discipline | AGR/12 |
| Type of study-unit | Obbligatorio (Required) |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Contents | Molecular aspects of pathogenicity and virulence of phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria, the race-specific resistance and induced plant defense responses. Biological control agents (BCA). Molecular phytopathological diagnosis. |
| Reference texts | Materiale didattico distribuito dal docente durante il corso. Matta A., Buonaurio R., Favaron F., Scala A., Scala F. 2017. Fondamenti di Patologia Vegetale. Agrios G. 2005. Plant Pathology Fifth Edition. |
| Educational objectives | Students at the end of the course should: knowing the molecular aspects of the infectious process of pathogenic fungi and bacteria, of the race-specific resistance and of induced plant defense responses. They will also learn principles of molecular diagnosis of plant disease. Students should be able to: plan experiments, extract DNA from phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi, apply basic analytical methods for the study of plant-pathogen interactions, using molecular techniques for the diagnosis of plant disease. |
| Teaching methods | Lectures and practical training. The lessons will be conducted in the classroom and the dialogue with the students will be encouraged. For a better understanding, the teacher will present the lessons using PowerPoint. About ten minutes before the end of each lesson the teacher will make a summary of what has treated, ask if there are further questions and will ask some questions to test students learning. Students are invited to do a seminar to explain the results of a recent scientific paper in the topic of molecular plant-pathogen interaction. Pratical lessons will be done in the Biotecnologie patologiche e fisiopatologia vegetale and the dates will be delivered by the teacher during the first few lessons. |
| Learning verification modality | The exam consists of a final oral test of about 30 minutes. It involves an interview on the topics discussed during the course with the aims at ascertaining: the student’s learning ability; the knowledge and understanding of the topics discussed during the lessons; the ability to apply the acquired skills; the ability to display, learn and develop solutions for independent judgement; the student’s exposure ability. |
| Extended program | Molecular aspects of pathogenicity and virulence of phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. Fungi: the role of melanin, hydrophobin, cutinases, signal transduction pathways, saponins, phytotoxins, carriers. Bacteria: HRP pilus and pathogenicity; effector proteins, phytotoxins, pectic enzymes, extracellular polysaccharides, quorum-sensing and quorum quencing, hormones and virulence. Molecular aspects of race-specific resistance (resistance and virulence genes), induced resistance and defense responses in plants. Biocontrol. Mechanism of action of biological control agents (BCA). Principles of plant disease diagnosis. Diagnosis of plant diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi, with particular reference to the use of molecular techniques. Molecular characterization of populations of pathogens. know-how: plan simple experiments to answer scientific questions. Extract DNA from phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi and from infected plants. Analytical methods for the study of basic plant-pathogen interactions. Detection of pathogens in diseased plants using molecular techniques. |