Advanced Plant Cell Biotechnology

Lectures delivered by prof. Morandini (covering 3 ECTS) deal with two fundamental questions of metabolic engineering: 1) what controls metabolic fluxes and intermediate concentrations and 2) which strategies /targets work better to modify yields or quality of a certain product, particularly those of industrial relevance. In order to tackle both questions, we introduce and apply the tools of the Metabolic Control Theory (elasticity, flux and concentration control coefficients). We shall discuss the interplay of supply and demand of metabolic intermediates, as well as the evidence in favour of the so-called 'parallel activation' to increase fluxes and the implications for manipulation strategies employing transcription factors. Several case studies (and the relative successes and failures) of plant biotechnology interventions will be discussed, among which the manipulation of photosynthesis and biosynthetic pathways for the following products: vitamins (A, B9, E), amino acids, starch, lipids, and cofactors (ATP, NADPH).
The section taught by Dr. Tadini (3 ECTS) provides an overview of the principles and applications of modern plant biotechnology for the production of food, feed, biofuels, and other industrially relevant compounds. This part covers the molecular basis of plant transformation, genome manipulation, and the design of plant expression vectors, including promoters, reporter and selectable marker genes, and strategies for generating marker-free transgenic plants. It also examines the manipulation of transcription factors to engineer plant metabolism and physiological processes, with examples involving anthocyanin, carotenoid, and lignin biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and photoprotection. Different approaches for improving herbicide tolerance and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses are compared, including mutagenesis, transgenesis, and genome editing. Finally, the course discusses advanced methods for identifying and introducing beneficial alleles through genome editing, together with representative applications for enhancing biomass production, bioenergy potential, and other agronomically important traits.