De informatie op deze pagina is nog onder voorbehoud. De definitieve informatie volgt zo spoedig mogelijk.
The information on this page is still subject to change. The final information will follow as soon as possible.
Admission requirements
This course is only open for students enrolled in the Minor Molecular Biotechnology.
Description
Plants are photosynthetic eukaryotes belonging to the kingdom Plantae or green plants; which includes more than 300.000 species. Apart from being an important source of healthy food; fodder; building and other biomaterials; food additives or medicinal compounds; plants contribute significantly to our healthy environment as they purify the air and fix CO2; thus reducing global warming.
This course consists of two parts. The first part introduces students into the genetic; molecular and cell biology aspects of plant biotechnology. This includes an overview of important uses of plants and methods to improve plant/crop traits for more sustainable production or specific applications; either by genetic modification; directed genome editing or modern breeding. Methods in crop propagation will also be presented. Guest speakers from both academia and industry are included in this part.
The second part of the course will focus on plant metabolites and their biosynthesis; identification; purification; and applications. Like all organisms; plants synthesize small molecules (metabolites) that play important roles in functioning of the organism in its physiology and interacting with other organisms and environments. Their characteristic biological activities of have made plant metabolites the most important chemical platforms for foods; pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In the 2nd part of the course; phytochemistry; chromatography and spectroscopy as well as their applications to life sciences like pharmaceuticals will be covered.
Course objectives
After this course; students will be able to:
Describe and explain GM and non-GM methods for (genome editing in) crop breeding.
Describe and explain trait discovery and breeding for stress or disease resilience in crop plants; apply this knowledge in a research proposal (presentation)
Describe and explain breeding targets for propagation and more sustainable production of crop plants.
Describe and explain breeding targets for healthy food and plant-based medicines or products.
Describe the crop breeder business and the difference between a patent and breeder’s rights.6) Recognize the major groups of plant primart and secondary metabolites
Understand basic biosynthesis pathway of plant metabolites
Explain separation and purification methods for plant natural products.
Understand spectroscopical methods for plant natural product identification.
Explain how bioactivity of plant natural products can be tested.
Schedule
The timetables are available through My Timetable (see the button in the upper right corner). A detailed schedule will be provided on Brightspace before the start of the course.
Teaching method
Staff lectures; case study; practical workshop; self-study.
Assesment method
Evaluation of individual oral presentations and participation and two written exams.
The final grade will be calculated from the following partial grades:
Written exam for part 1 (breeding/trait discovery): 40%
Written exam for part 2 (natural products): 50%
Case study part 1: 10%
Practical workshop part 2: pass / fail
Attendance/impression: round off grade
The final mark for the course is established by (i) determination of the weighted average of the partial grades combined with (ii) a minimum assessment of 5.5 for each partial grade (the weighted average of both exams together count as one partial grade).
Resit, review & feedback
Reading list
Course material will be supplied by the lecturers.
Registration
As a student; you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video; you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Exchange and Study Abroad students; please see the Prospective students website for information on how to apply.
Contact
Coordinator:
Email:
For substantive questions, contact the course coordinators: Kiki Spaninks, Dr. Y.H. Cho
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc., contact the Education Office
Remarks
Announcements; course information and course material will be communicated via Brightspace.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year; the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform; you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software; your laptop must meet certain system requirements; which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.