COURSE UNIT TITLE

Offered By

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

Level of Course Unit

Third Cycle Programmes (Doctorate Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR LEMAN TARHAN

Offered to

Ph.D. in Biotechnology
BIOTECHNOLOGY

Course Objective

A characteristic feature of plants is their capacity to synthesize and store a wide variety of low-molecular-weight compounds, the so-called secondary metabolites (SM) or natural products. The number of described structures exceeds 100 000; the real number in nature is certainly much higher because only 20 30% of plants have been investigated in hytochemistry so far. Whereas SM had been considered to be waste products or otherwise useless compounds for many years, it has become evident over the last three decades that SM have important roles for the plants producing them: they may function as signal compounds within the plant, or between the plant, producing them and other plants, microbes, herbivores, predators of herbivores, pollinating or seed-dispersing animals. More often SM serve as defence chemicals against herbivorous animals (insects, molluscs, mammals), microbes (bacteria, fungi), viruses or plants competing for light, water and nutrients. Therefore, SM are ultimately important for the fitness of the plant producing them. Students will have tried to provide an upto-date survey of the function of plant SM, their modes of action and their use in pharmacology as molecular probes, in medicine as therapeutic agents, and in agriculture as biorational pesticides.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Recomended or Required Reading

Textbook(s): Michael Wink, ANNUAL PLANT REVIEWS, Vol 39, Functions and Biotechnology of Plant Secondary Metabolites Second edition

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. Presentation
2. Question-answer technique
3. Homework

Assessment Methods

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

Meaningful learning of the basic concepts given in presentations, association of concepts with each other, establishing the cause-result relationships and making comments by using the information available for problems and evaluating idea generation are carried out with mid-term and final exams, homework and presentations.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

To be announced.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry
nilgun.candan@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

Wednesday 13.30 - 15.30

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes