606-307 Fungi and Plant Diseases

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Objectives:

Students should gain:

• an understanding of the biology and diversity of organisms that cause plant disease;

• an understanding of the mechanism by which these organisms cause disease at the level of cells, plants and communities;

• an understanding of the mechanisms used by plants to defend themselves against disease;

• an introduction to current themes in research into plant diseases.

Content:

Biology of fungi; diversity, characteristics of major groups. The causes of plant disease: oomycetes and fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, mollicutes, nematodes and abiotic factors. Epidemiology, crop loss assessment and disease control: integrated control programs, biological control, cultural practices, quarantine and pesticides. Infection processes: pre-penetration events, host-parasite recognition mechanisms, disease aetiology, whole plant, cellular, genetic, biochemical and molecular aspects of host-parasite physiology, disease resistance and pathogenic strategies. Molecular approaches to understanding plant disease: pathogenicity, virulence and resistance.

Assessment: