Nutrients Cycle in Soil-Plant Systems

To provide a multidisciplinary teaching approach to the topics, the program will involve alternating lectures delivered by the professors participating in the course.
THE RHIZOSPHERE: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PLANT-SOIL-MICROORGANISMS (CFU = 1)
₋ Plant growth. Root development: characteristics, genetic and hormonal control. Root growth responses to environmental factors.
₋ The rhizosphere: definition and characteristics. Biochemical activities of the root that influence the rhizosphere.
₋ Rhizosphere habitat: microbial niches in the soil-plant system. Conditions influencing microbial growth and distribution.
₋ Ecological relationships between microorganisms and micro- and macro-organisms. Competition and cooperation.
PLANT MINERAL NUTRITION: GENERAL ASPECTS, SOIL FERTILITY, BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES OF NUTRIENTS, PLANT ACQUISITION OF NUTRIENTS (CFU=3.5)
₋ Plant mineral nutrition: essential elements and beneficial elements. Nutrient availability in soil.
₋ Critical concentration: deficiency, availability, and toxicity of mineral nutrients. Visual symptom analysis and laboratory methods. Nutrient use efficiency in plants.
₋ Metabolic diversity of microorganisms in the carbon cycle in oxic and anoxic environments. Microbial activities contributing to soil fertility.
₋ Degradation of the different parts of organic matter: microbial metabolisms in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Humus formation.
₋ Microbial nitrogen metabolism in oxic and anoxic environments. Diazotrophy. Denitrification. Ammonification. Nitrification. Interventions in the nitrification process by the formulation of ammoniacal fertilizers.
₋ Nitrogen acquisition in plants. Root nitrate uptake: transport and regulation. Nitrogen reduction and assimilation: enzymes and metabolic regulation. Ammonium management in plants. Contribution of organic nitrogen to plant nutrition.
₋ Microbial phosphorus metabolism. Biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus and potassium. Microbial sulfur metabolism. Assimilatory and dissimilatory sulfate reduction. Sulfur oxidation.
₋ Microbial iron metabolism. Iron oxidation. Dissimilatory iron reduction.
₋ Phosphorus acquisition in plants. Phosphate absorption and transport in plants. Plant responses to phosphorus deficiency: root architecture and biochemical responses.
₋ Acquisition and roles of cationic macronutrients: magnesium, calcium, potassium.
₋ Micronutrients: roles, plant acquisition, and responses to deficiency. Focus on iron: species with Strategy I and II and nutritional interactions.
₋ Beneficial nutritional elements: definition and insights on the effects of sodium, silicon, and selenium.
SOILS WITH REDUCED FERTILITY: ENVIRONMENTAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL ASPECTS, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL RESPONSES OF PLANTS (CFU=1.25)
₋ Effect of water stress, salinity, and soil acidity on rhizospheric microbial communities.
₋ Waterlogging and flooding stresses. Plant metabolic responses and their regulation. Morphological and developmental changes. Roles of ethylene. The case study of rice.
₋ Water deficit stress: causes and effects on soil characteristics, root development, and plant physiology.
₋ Halophytes and glycophytes plant species. Salinity stress: the osmotic and ionic phases. Physiological and metabolic effects on plants. Plant strategies for stress response and adaptation.
₋ Acid soil-induced stress. Aluminum toxicity: effects on plant growth and nutritional status. Adaptation mechanisms: detoxification and accumulation.
PLANT GROWTH PROMOTION: PLANT-MICROORGANISM RELATIONSHIPS, INOCULANTS, BIO-FERTILIZERS, AND BIOSTIMULANTS (CFU=2)
₋ Microbial populations in rhizospheric microhabitats. The rhizosphere effect on microbial communities.
₋ Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (increased nutrient availability, production of plant hormone-like molecules, fungal resistance, induction of systemic resistance).
₋ Microbe-plant communication. Plant-microbe symbiosis: symbiotic nitrogen fixation, rhizobia, mycorrhizae.
₋ Practices of microbial bioinoculation: bioinoculants, soil transplanting.
₋ Secondary metabolism in root interactions: defining secondary metabolites and examples of their roles in defense and communication in the soil.
₋ Plant physiology aspects related to establishing associations and symbiosis with soil microorganisms.
₋ Climate change: effects on plant mineral nutrition and rhizospheric interactions.
₋ Biostimulants: definition, uses, and potential effects on root activities influencing plant mineral nutrition and rhizospheric interactions.
IMPACT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES: INORGANIC AND ORGANIC POLLUTANTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PLANT GROWTH, CONTAINMENT TECHNIQUES, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF MICROORGANISMS FOR AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY (CFU=2.25)
₋ Use of manure and sewage sludge in agriculture: spread of pathogens, role of microorganisms in pollution leading to nitrogen losses in water and air.
₋ Microbial reactions influencing heavy metal bioavailability. Arsenic in rice paddies.
₋ In-depth analysis of heavy metals. Factors involved in heavy metal distribution in plants. Toxicity, detoxification, and tolerance mechanisms. Case studies: cadmium and arsenic.
₋ The role of sulfur in detoxifying toxic substances in plants.
₋ Heavy metals and phytoremediation: basic concepts and application.
₋ Heavy metals and food safety.
₋ Rhizodegradation: microbial biodegradation of organic contaminants in association with plants.
₋ Organic contaminants: implications for agricultural productivity and food safety.