Agricultural Biochemistry and Physiology of Medicinal Plants

WATER AND SOLUTE TRANSPORT IN PLANT - Introduction: autotrophy in higher plants. The structure and properties of water. The concept of water potential and cell-water relations in plant. The water balance of plants. Water absorption by roots. Water transport through the xylem. Leaf transpiration. Mineral nutrition. Macro- and micro- nutrients. The concept of rhizosphere and soil-plant-microbe interactions. Solute transport. Chemical potential. Membrane transport processes, passive and active transports. Kinetic properties of transport proteins.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN HIGHER PLANTS - Chemical-physical properties of light. Photosynthetic pigments. Organization of the photosynthetic apparatus. The photosynthetic light reactions. Roles of photosystems I and I, cytochrome membrane complexes, electron and proton transfer systems. The photophosphorylation mechanism. Repair and regulation of the photosynthetic machinery. The Calvin cycle. Photorespiration. C4 carbon cycle. Crassulacean acid metabolism. Physiological and ecological considerations about photosynthesis.
PLANT NUTRITIONAL STATUS: PHOTOSYNTHATE DISTRIBUTION AND MINERAL NUTRITION - Synthesis of starch and sucrose. Translocation in the phloem. Photosynthate allocation and partitioning. Nitrate and ammonium assimilation. Biological nitrogen fixation. Sulfur assimilation. Summary of amino acid metabolism. The shikimate pathway. Biochemical roles of phosphate, cation macronutrients and micronutrients. Plant acquisition of iron.
INSIGHTS ON PLANT PRIMARY METABOLISM AND PLANT RESPONSES TO LIGHT - Respiration and lipid metabolism in plants. The glyoxylate cycle. Gluconeogenesis in plant. Seed germination. Plant responses to blue-light. Stomatal movements. Plant responses to red-light. The phytochrome, circadian rhythms, and flowering.
PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS AND STRESS PHYSIOLOGY - Physiological aspects and actions of plant growth regulators. Auxins. Cytokinins. Gibberellins. Ethylene. Abscisic acid. Stress physiology: water deficit and salt stress, heat stress and chilling injury, oxygen deficiency.
PLANT SECONDARY METABOLISM - Eco-physiological aspects of secondary metabolism: defence and communication. Biosynthetic pathways and physiological functions of terpenes. Biosynthesis and physiological roles of phenolic compounds (lignin, coumarins, flavonoids, phytoalexins and tannins). Biosynthesis and physiological roles of nitrogen-containing compounds (alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides, and nonprotein amino acids). Experimental strategies to improve secondary metabolite production.