ANNOUNCEMENTS SECTION:

 4/29/08 These are the links to the keys for the multiple choice questions in the Fall 2004 exams III and IV.

4/28/08 Two articles provided by Dr. Sung were linked in below.

4/24/08  The revised powerpoint file for Dr. Sung's presentation is here.

4/21/08 - The powerpoint file of the slides for our guest lecture on Thursday can be found here.

Those answers posted early this morning were for some other version of the test, from whence it was used, I have no idea. This link contains the test at left with the MC questions relevant to tomorrow's test answered.

4/7/08 - The answers to the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions on Exam III, Fall 2004 can be found here.

4/1/08 - Lectures 11-14 were updated to the ones shown in class, although the changes were minor. The answers to the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions on Exam II, Fall 2004 can be found here.

2/27/08 - Lectures 7-9 were updated to include the slides that were on the handouts.

Spring 2008                                                                         PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY                                                                   Bio 350M/388M

Instructor                                                                                                       

Dr. David L. Herrin      Office: Painter 2.24       Office Hours: Mon 1-2, after each class, by appointment

Tel: 471-3843              Email: herrin@mail.utexas.edu

Course Description

Name: Plant Molecular Biology, Bio350M and Bio388M (meet together)

Unique numbers: 52255 (Bio 350M) and 53120 (Bio 388M)

Website: http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio350m/

Time: Tue-Thurs 2-3:15                    Meeting place: Bio 301

Prerequisites:    for Bio 350M- Bio 325 (Genetics) with a grade of C

for Bio 388M- Graduate standing

  Plants have essential roles in most ecosystems, including those inhabited by humans that use them for food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and various aesthetics. The main objective of this course is to provide advanced undergraduates (Bio350M) and graduate students (Bio 388M) with a fundamental working knowledge of the molecular biology of plants (i.e., photosynthetic organisms), and especially flowering plants. The material will include examples from a variety of plant organisms, including simple model systems, which are often used to help illuminate processes that they share with more complex plants and to enable a broader discussion of evolutionary mechanisms. Emphasis will be on processes that are either unique or particularly important to plants, but we will also touch on plant versions of certain universal processes, such as transcription and translation. As for expected prior knowledge, besides the basic aspects of cellular and molecular biology that are covered in introductory Biology courses, you are expected to know the basic features of transcription and translation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. There will not be much in-class review of such basic material. By course’s end, it is hoped that you will have a new appreciation of plants from the perspective of a molecular biologist as important research organisms.

Course Materials

The textbook is optional (for your own purchase), but it will be used. At least two copies will be on reserve in the Life Science Library. The text is Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants, edited by B. Buchanan, W. Gruissem, and R. Jones, American Society of Plant Physiologists, Rockville, MD., 1376 pp. (2000). There will also be other reading materials (articles or book chapters) placed on reserve and/or assigned for some lecture topics.

Powerpoint slides: Lecture slides are posted on the web site (see above). You will want to print these out (at 2 per page), and bring them to class. I will try to make any revisions to the slides 2 days before they are discussed in lecture.

Grading

The course grades for Bio 350M and Bio 388M will be determined separately, and any comparing of student scores will be with only those enrolled in the same course. For students in Bio 350M, your grade will be based on 4 lecture-period exams; each exam is worth 100 points, but the highest score will be doubled, giving a possible total of 500 points. For students in Bio 388M, your grade is based on the first 3 lecture-period exams (each worth 100 pts) and a comprehensive final (worth 200 pts). Students in Bio 350M have the option to use this format if you desire, but you must let me know before the 4^th exam. Also, attendance will be taken and used to add bonus points (up to 5%) to each exam. Obviously, if you are close to a cut-off point for a certain letter grade, your attendance could get you the higher grade.

Exams: The exams will be based on what we cover in lecture, and will be mostly multiple-choice and short-answer, but with at least one essay question. There are old exams posted on the web site. If you miss an exam, you must have a good reason (illness, a death in the family, Med\Vet\Dental School interview), and have appropriate documentation. The schedule for the exams is indicated on the next page.

Class Conduct

The main rule for any class is to “Be considerate of others, including the instructor”, which means being on time and not leaving in the middle of class unless absolutely necessary; avoiding unnecessary chatting or other distractive behavior (e.g., eating, reading the Texan); and not sleeping in class. I will try to do the same.

Academic Integrity

Ethical conduct vis-à-vis this course is expected at all times, and anything less will be penalized.

Schedule of Lecture Topics and Exams:   Schedule Spring 2008 (pdf file)

Class notes\lecture slides (powerpoint files):  Introduction

lecture 21  Biotic Stress 1 (Plant-Pathogen interactions 1)

lecture 22  Biotic Stress 2 (Plant-Pathogen interactions 2)

lecture 23  Natural Products

Audiofiles

Plugin for listening to the audio files with Windows Media Player

Photographs:

1. A Giant Cactus:

2. Chlamydomonas: A single cell, green alga.

3. A Chloroplast: The original color is green, although it appears dark here.

4. Arabidopsis: See how tiny it is...

5. Some Maize Mutants: