551-0359-00L  Plant Biochemistry

SemesterAutumn Semester 2017
LecturersS. C. Zeeman, B. Pfister
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish
CommentNumber of participants limited to 15.

The enrolment is done by the D-BIOL study administration.


AbstractIn this block course, students actively participate in ongoing research projects on plant metabolism and are tutored individually by doctoral students and postdocs. In a lecture series, the theoretical background of the projects and their interrelationship is provided. Finally, students discuss their projects and results during a poster session.
ObjectiveIn this block course, students actively participate in ongoing research projects on plant metabolism and are tutored individually by doctoral students and postdocs.
ContentParticipation in the following research projects will be possible: Photosynthetic metabolism; how is photo-assimilated carbon allocated to sustain plant growth? Chloroplast biology; how is chloroplast function integrated with that to the whole cell? Starch biosynthesis and degradation; how are complex, semi-crystalline starch granules made from simple sugars, and once made, how are they degraded again to release the stored carbohydrate? Regulation of metabolism through protein-protein interaction; how and why do proteins involved in starch metabolism interact with each other to form multi-subunit enzymes and multi-enzyme complexes? Sugar sensing; How does a plant know how much sugar it has, and how does this influence development.
Lecture notesNo script
LiteratureDescriptions of the possible projects including individual reading assignments will be handed out beforehand.