Instructor(s): Heriberto Cerutti
Number of Credit Hours: 3
Cross-listings: BIOS 425
Prerequisites: BIOS 206
Description: Introduction to the use of plants for basic and applied purposes by deliberate manipulation of their genomes; techniques in plant genetic engineering; manipulations of plant development and metabolism; engineering pest, disease, and stress resistance; plants as bioreactors; and environmental and social impacts of plant biotechnology.
Learning Outcomes/Course Objectives
- Develop a working knowledge of ‘omics’ techniques, genetic engineering, and genome editing as used in plants.
- Explore the contributions of plant biotechnology to understanding and manipulating, among other conventional traits, plant development, plant metabolism, disease, and stress tolerance.
- Explore the use of plants as bioreactors for vaccine production, as feedstocks for biofuel production, as well as other novel applications.
- Understand the regulatory requirements for the commercialization of genetically modified crops and their societal implications.
- Stimulate critical thinking and acquisition of self-learning habits (through discussion of primary research papers and one group project, which examines how scientific advances in plant biotechnology contribute to solving societal problems).