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GENETIC-MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES FOR CROP BREEDING

Alfredo AMBROSONE GENETIC-MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES FOR CROP BREEDING

0722200003
DIPARTIMENTO DI FARMACIA
EQF7
SMART AGRICOLTURE FOR MEDITERRANEAN CROPS
2024/2025

OBBLIGATORIO
YEAR OF COURSE 1
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2019
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
642LESSONS
ALFREDO AMBROSONE T Curriculum
Objectives
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE ARE LISTED BELOW:
• ACQUISITION AND APPLICATION OF ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF GENETIC COMPONENTS AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS REGULATING PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, RESISTANCE TO ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC STRESSES AND THE QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF CROPS;
• ACQUISITION AND APPLICATION OF ADVANCED GENETIC-MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES AIMING AT INCREASING THE GENETIC VARIABILITY AND AT SELECTING GENOTYPES SUITABLE FOR CULTIVATION OF HORTICULTURAL AND FRUIT-GROWING CROPS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT

THE MAIN KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED BY THE STUDENTS WILL BE:
- GENETIC BASES AND GENETIC MECHANISMS CONTROLLING DIFFERENTIATION, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN PLANT ORGANS (VEGETATIVE PART, ROOT SYSTEM, FLOWER, FRUIT)
- STRUCTURE AND PLASTICITY OF PLANT GENOMES;
- METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF PRODUCTION AND QUALITY IN VEGETABLE AND FRUIT TREE SPECIES, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THOSE CULTIVATED IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS
- ADVANCED METHODS OF MOLECULAR BREEDING FOR THE SELECTION OF NEW VARIETIES/GENOTYPES OF VEGETABLE AND FRUIT TREES SPECIES CULTIVATED IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS
- MOLECULAR METHODS FOR TRACEABILITY OF VEGETABLE AND FRUIT TREE SPECIES CULTIVATED IN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTS

THE MAIN ABILITIES WILL BE:
- GENOME ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFICATION OF SETS OF GENES THAT REGULATE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE PRODUCTIVITY PARAMETERS OF CROPS, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO HORTICULTURAL SPECIES AND FRUIT TREES
- EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE TYPICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA (WATER DEFICIT, HIGH TEMPERATURES, SOIL SALINIZATION AND OTHERS) ON THE TRANSCRIPTOME OF THE MAIN MEDITERRANEAN HORTICULTURAL SPECIES AND FRUIT TREES;
- INCREASE, CHARACTERIZATION AND VALORISATION AND INCREASE OF GENETIC BIODIVERSITY OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF MOLECULAR TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES;
- DESIGN AND APPLICATION OF GENETIC IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS, BY USING TRADITIONAL AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES OF MARKER ASSISTED SELECTION, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW VARIETIES / GENOTYPES OF HORTICULTURAL SPECIES AND FRUIT TREES SUITABLE FOR CULTIVATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA.
Prerequisites
THERE ARE NO FORMAL PREREQUISITES IN TERMS OF PREVIOUSLY PASSED COURSES TO ATTEND THIS COURSE, BUT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND MOST OF THE TOPICS PRESENTED DURING THE COURSE, KNOWLEDGE OF GENETICS, PLANT GENETIC IMPROVEMENT, PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, AND BIOTECHNOLOGY IS REQUIRED.
Contents
INTRODUCTION (1.0 ECT, 7 HOURS) GENETIC MECHANISMS CONTROLLING PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. EPIGENETICS AND EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS OF THE GENE EXPRESSION AND THE DIFFERENTIATION IN PLANTS.
GENOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME OF PLANTS (1.0 ECT, 7 HOURS): STRUCTURE OF PLANT GENOMES. GENOME SEQUENCING TECHNIQUES. MOLECULAR MAPPING. BIOINFORMATICS METHODS AND RESOURCES FOR GENOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS

INDUCTION OF GENETIC VARIABILITY OF PLANTS (1.0 ECT, 7 HOURS). FORWARD AND REVERSE GENETICS: MUTAGENESIS (EMS AND T-DNA). METHODS OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT GENETIC TRANSFORMATION FOR RNAI, CRISPR-CAS9 GENOME EDITING

MOLECULAR MARKERS IN GENOME ANALYSIS AND FOR THE TRACEABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS (1.0 ECT, 7 HOURS) BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS. MOLECULAR MARKERS. MOLECULAR MARKERS BASED ON RESTRICTION AND HYBRIDIZATION TECHNIQUES. MOLECULAR MARKERS BASED ON AMPLIFICATION TECHNIQUES (PCR-DERIVED). SSR MARKERS. AFLP MARKERS. SNP MARKERS

METHODS TO IMPROVE AND SELECT NEW PLANT VARIETIES (1 ECTS, 7 HOURS) - FUNDAMENTALS OF SELECTION AND VARIETAL CONSTITUTION OF AUTOGAMOUS AND ALLOGAMOUS SPECIES. METHODS TO OBTAIN PURE, HYBRID AND SYNTHETIC LINES AND CLONES OF MAIN CROPS. MARKER ASSISTED SELECTION AND QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI. REGISTRATION OF PLANT VARIETIES
PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES (1.0 ECT, 7 HOURS)
- TWO PRACTICAL LABORATORY ACTIVITIES (TWO HOURS EACH, TOTAL 4 HOURS) ON TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOLECULAR MARKERS FOR ASSISTED SELECTION AND THE INCREASE OF GENETIC VARIABILITY (MUTAGENESIS AND GENETIC TRANSFORMATION)
- VISIT A SEED COMPANY OPERATING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PLANT VARIETIES AND MEETING WITH EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF GENETIC IMPROVEMENT (3 HOURS)
Teaching Methods
THE COURSE (6 ECTS, 42 HOURS) INCLUDES:
-LECTURES (5 CFU, 35 HOURS), WITH THE SUPPORT OF SLIDES, VIDEOS, ACCESS TO ONLINE RESOURCES, THEMATIC SEMINARS WITH EXPERTS IN ADVANCED GENETIC BREEDING OF PLANTS
-LABORATORY AND FIELD ACTIVITIES (1.0 ECT, 7 HOURS): LABORATORY ACTIVITIES (2 HOURS EACH) AND A VISIT TO A SEED COMPANY AND MEETING WITH EXPERT PLANT BREEDERS (3 HOURS).
ATTENDANCE OF THE LECTURES AND THE PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED ABOVE (FRONTAL LESSONS AND LABORATORY ACTIVITIES) IS NOT MANDATORY, BUT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
Verification of learning
ACHIEVEMENT BY THE STUDENTS OF THE COURSE OBJECTIVES WILL BE VERIFIED BY:
- A FIRST WRITTEN TEST (DURING THE COURSE), CONSISTING OF OPEN AND/OR MULTIPLE ANSWER QUESTIONS, ON THE PART OF THE PROGRAM CONCERNING THE GENETIC-MOLECULAR BASIS AND THE GENETIC CONTROL OF THE PLANTS' UNDER DIFFERENT GROWTH CONDITIONS, INCLUDING ALSO THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF PRODUCTION AND QUALITY OF PLANTS OF AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. GENERALLY, THE FIRST TEST IS SCHEDULED BETWEEN THE SIXTH AND EIGHTH WEEK OF THE COURSE.

- A SECOND WRITTEN TEST (DURING THE COURSE), CONSISTING OF OPEN AND/OR MULTIPLE ANSWER QUESTIONS, ON THE PART OF THE PROGRAM CONCERNING GENETIC-MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES FOR THE DESIGN OF GENETIC IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS AND THE SELECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF HORTICULTURAL CROPS AND FRUIT TREES THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA; THE SECOND WRITTEN TEST IS SCHEDULED ON THE DAY OF EXAMINATION CALL.


- A FINAL ORAL TEST AIMED AT THE DISCUSSION OF APPLICATIONS AND/OR CASE STUDIES INHERENT TO GENOME-TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS AND MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES FOR THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF A VEGETABLE OR FRUIT-TREE SPECIES, ACCORDING TO THE INDICATIONS PROVIDED BY THE INSTRUCTOR.

DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE CONTENT OF TESTS, THE SCORES ATTRIBUTED TO THE SINGLE QUESTIONS PRESENT IN THE WRITTEN AND ORAL TESTS AND THE DATES OF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED INTER-COURSE TESTS ARE ESTABLISHED ANNUALLY, DISSEMINATED ON THE STUDY PROGRAM WEBSITE AND COMMUNICATED TO STUDENTS IN ADVANCE.

FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE PASSED THE INTER-COURSE TESTS, FOR WHO HAVE RENOUNCED OR WHO HAVE NOT PASSED, EVEN PARTIALLY, THE INTER-COURSE TESTS, THE LEARNING VERIFICATION WILL BE CARRIED OUT ON THE DATES OF THE OFFICIAL EXAM SESSIONS AND INCLUDES:
- A WRITTEN TEST, WITH OPEN- / OR MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS, ON THE TOPICS OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM, (MINIMUM GRADE 18/30 FOR THE NEXT STEPS OF THE EVALUATION);
- AN ORAL EXAM ON THE TOPICS OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM, ONLY FOR THE STUDENT WHO HAS PASSED PRELIMINARILY THE WRITTEN TEST;
- A REPORT ON A CASE STUDY ON THE APPLICATION OF GENOME-TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS AND MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES FOR THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF A VEGETABLE OR FRUIT TREE SPECIES, ACCORDING TO THE INDICATIONS PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER
THE FINAL SCORE IS DETERMINED BY THE SUM OF THE SCORES OBTAINED IN THE INDIVIDUAL TESTS LISTED ABOVE, FOR A MAXIMUM SCORE OF 30/30. A FINAL GRADE OF NOT LESS THAN 18/30 IS NECESSARY TO PASS THE EXAM. AN ADDITIONAL “CUM LAUDE” WILL BE GIVEN TO THE STUDENT WHO HAS SHOWN CRITICAL AND INDEPENDENT ABILITY TO LEARN AND DEVELOP SOLUTIONS IN THE MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES APPLIED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF PLANT GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA.
Texts
TEXTBOOKS
RAO R, LEONE A (2014) BIOTECNOLOGIE E GENOMICA DELLE PIANTE, EDITORE IDELSON-GNOCCHI, ISBN: 9788879475853
ROSELLINI D, ALBERTINI E, VERONESI F, LORENZETTI F, FRUSCIANTE L, RUSSI L, TUBEROSA R, 2018 . MIGLIORAMENTO GENETICO DELLE PIANTE AGRARIE, EDITORE EDAGRICOLE-NEW BUSINESS MEDIA, ISBN:8850655096

ADDITIONAL READING MATERIAL AND SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES ON SPECIFIC TOPICS NOT INCLUDED IN THE SUGGESTED BOOKS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE TEACHER AND SHARED ON LINE
More Information
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE INSTRUCTORS

AAMBROSONE@UNISA.IT
Lessons Timetable

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