General and Systematic Botany

General Botany A).The fundamentals of Biology: Characteristics of Living Organisms: autotrophy and heterotrophy; the role of plants in the biosphere. The chemistry of living things. Key chemical bonds. Water and life. The main organic molecules in biology. Structure and function of carbohydrates, lipids and products of secondary metabolism, proteins, nucleotides and nucleic acids. B) Cytology (cell biology) - general characteristics of the cell. Procaryotes and Eucaryotes. The components of the eucaryotic cell. Typical structure of the plant cell (cell walls, plastids, vacuole). Genetic information and the cell cycle. C) Histology and Plant Anatomy. Structural organisation of the plant. Meristematic tissues. Adult tissues. Vegetative organs of higher plants: roots, stems and leaves. Reproductive organs of higher plants. Systematic Botany The Basics of Systematic Botany (general part). General classification of plants. Metagenetic cycles. Vegetative propagation and sexual reproduction. Principal groups of cryptogams: algae, fungi, lichens, bryophytes and pteridophytes. Characteristics of the spermatophytes: Gymnosperms and Angiosperms. Principal differences between Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons. V. Systematic Botany (special part). Monocots; Dicots some important agricultural families. Practical laboratory work involving observation using the optical microscope and the preparation of histological and anatomic samples. Techniques for the recognition of species by the observation of reproductive and vegetative characters. Plant observation in University Botanical Garden