Unit EVOLUTION OF PLANT BIODIVERSITY
- Course
- Agricultural and environmental biotechnology
- Study-unit Code
- A003613
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Lorenzo Raggi
- Teachers
-
- Lorenzo Raggi
- Hours
- 54 ore - Lorenzo Raggi
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2026
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Discipline biotecnologiche generali
- Sector
- AGRI-06/A
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- The processes of biological evolution, biodiversity, and adaptation; the origin of genetic diversity in plants and the role of mutations in the evolution of living organisms. Polyploidy and its importance for the evolution of plant species and of crops, in particular. Intergenic interactions in species evolution. Assortment of genetic variability and the Hardy–Weinberg law, with its implications for the evolution of plant species; selection and evolution. Reproductive barriers. Different models of species evolution (allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric) with examples from both plant and animal kingdoms. Different species concepts, with a focus on the plant world; gene pools. The origin of agriculture, the domestication process and the traits of the domestication syndrome. Genes involved in the control of domestication traits and mutations affecting their function/expression. Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture: use and principles of conservation. Use of databases for efficient access to ex situ conserved germplasm. Insights into the domestication and evolution of key crop species relevant to human nutrition.
- Reference texts
- Hancock, James. (2012). Plant evolution and the origin of crop species: Third edition. CABI, Nosworthy Way, Wallingford (UK). 10.1079/9781845938017.0000.
Papers and other materials provided by the teacher. - Educational objectives
- Provide knowledge and concepts to understand the mechanisms underlying the diversity of living organisms and the consequences of chromosomal and genomic modifications. Emphasize the importance of evolutionary processes, particularly those that have shaped cultivated species. Convey the concept of species in plants and the mechanisms of their origin. Understand the process leading to the development of cultivated forms (domestication), consequences on genetic diversity of crops and their evolution, along with principles related to the evaluation, sustainable use, and conservation of plant genetic resources for agriculture. Apply the concept of gene pools and make rational use of genetic resources in breeding programs and scientific research.
- Prerequisites
- A solid knowledge of Botany (both general and systematic), and especially of plant genetics, is a fundamental prerequisite for attending the course and studying it successfully.
- Teaching methods
- Lectures supported by PowerPoint presentations.
- Other information
- Proficiency in English is recommended.
- Learning verification modality
- The exam consists of a written and/or oral test which normally lats about 30/40 minutes in which the student's level of knowledge and his ability to connect the different topics covered in the course will be assessed. Course attendance is kindly recommended.
Information on support services for students with disabilities and/or LDs are available at http://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa - Extended program
- Biodiversity as an expression of evolutionary processes and adaptation. The foundations of evolution: chromosomal and genomic mutations.
The repetitive component of the genome; transcribed and non-transcribed repetitive sequences, their molecular organization and chromosomal localization. Chromosome number variations and their role on species evolution. Origin and evolution of polyploids.
The phenomenon of speciation: sympatric, allopatric, and intermediate forms. The different concepts of species. Hybridization and extinction; the role of interspecific hybridization in speciation. The origin of agriculture and plant domestication. Centers of origin of cultivated plants: primary and secondary centers. The domestication syndrome; types of genes involved in the control of domestication traits and the mutations affecting them. Examples of genes involved in the domestication of barley, maize, rice, and sorghum. Agrobiodiversity and the concept of gene pools. Plant genetic resources for agriculture principles of evaluation, use, and different forms of conservation. Origin, domestication, and evolution of major cultivated species of cereals and grain legumes with a special focus on different wild and cultivated species of the Triticum genus and their evolution through hybridization and allopolyploidization; additional species may also be considered. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- 2; 3