Interaction of Agrochemicals with the Environment

Objective of module 1 is to provide students with knowledge of the main classes of pesticides with focus on correlation between chemical structure and mechanism of action, reactivity and environmental fate.
Objective of module 2 is to provide knowledge of the mechanisms regulating the distribution of the main classes of agrochemicals, as well as laboratory- and field-based approaches to investigate potential negative effects on non-target organisms.
Objective of module 3 is to provide an overview of various aspects of mutagenesis with focus on environmental genotoxic risk: basic knowledge of main mutagenic agents, their mechanisms of action and mechanisms of DNA repair. Laboratory mutagenesis tests will also be introduced.

Module 1. Knowledge of the main classes of organic and inorganic pesticides. Ability to correlate physico-chemical properties and reactivity of molecules to their chemical structure. Capacity to predict the main transformations and the fate of agrochemical products in different environmental compartments.
Module 2. Ability to understand mechanisms underlying the distribution of agrochemicals in agroecosystems, as well as investigate their potential risks. Ability to plan practical strategies to monitor contamination and/or evaluate toxicity of agrochemicals.
Module 3. Understanding of various types of mutagens and their mechanisms of action, and principles of laboratory tests to evaluate the genotoxicity of a chemical.