Environmental (abiotic) stress is the most important limiting factor in crop productivity. This master course aims to broaden the student’s horizon in abiotic-stress biology and to gain the latest insights into the molecular mechanisms by which plants perceive such stress signals, how they are transduced, and how stress signals are eventually converted into intracellular responses that allow the plant to react appropriately so that it will survive and resume growth (acclimation).
A second aim of this course is to learn to write a successful grant application/research proposal. Students will be guided through the essential stages of proposal development, how to formulate specific project goals, how to collect and present supportive background data (written and verbally), to determine the level of stakeholder engagement, to measure and evaluate the outcomes, to plan project activities, and to budget appropriate project costs.
The course will start with lectures about various forms of abiotic stresses that plants encounter. These include, osmotic stress (salinity, drought), temperature stress (heat, cold), and heavy metals. The emphasis will be on how plants sense these stresses and how these signals are converted into responses at the molecular and physiological levels that allow plants to cope with the stress. Potential applications for crop improvement will also be discussed. The second part of the course involves the construction of a research proposal, including writing, presenting and data mining. At the end of the course, students are expected to successfully present and defend their own proposal.