Plant Physiology

-Water and plant cells: structure and properties of water; water transport processes: general issues; osmotic behaviour of the plant cell; water potential and its components. Ways to measure water potential.
-Long-distance water transport: capillarity, root pressure, tension-cohesion measurements. Xylem structure and function. Xylem cavitation. Transpiration. Water absorption by roots: water transport in the soil and the root. Hydraulic architecture and soil-plant-atmosphere continuum.
-Mineral nutrition: essential elements, nutrients function and deficiency symptoms.
-Root, soil and nutrient absorption: soil ion exchange capacity; ion absorption by roots: transport mechanisms, radial movement of ions. Ion movement in soil. Plant adaptation to toxic elements. Phytoremediation.
-Bioenergetics and ATP synthesis.
-Elements of photobiology: chlorophyll excitation and excited state decay; measurement of photosynthetic active radiation; the leaf as photosynthetic organ; stomata and gas exchanges; the chloroplast and the thylakoidal reactions; antenna, photosystems and reaction center; the "Z" scheme and photosynthetic electron transport; ATP synthase.
-Calvin cycle, photorespiration, C4 and CAM metabolism. Metabolism of starch and sucrose.
- Physiological and environmental aspects of photosynthesis: light, temperature and CO2 (light and CO2 compensation points); mechanisms of excess excitation energy dissipation and photoinhibition; responses to temperature). Comparison between C3 and C4 plants. CAM plants.
-Translocation of photoassimilates in phloem; allocation and partitioning of photosynthates.
-Stomatal movements and their regulation by environmental and hormonal (ABA) factors.
-Hormonal control of physiological processes: auxin (growth by cell expansion, phototropism, gravitropism); gibberellins (stem elongation and seed germination), abscisic acid (seed maturation), ethylene.