831331 Stress physiology of plants

Type
Lecture
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Tholen, Daniel , Fitzky, Anne-Charlott , Savi, Tadeja
Organisation
Offered in
Sommersemester 2025
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Definition of the term stress in plants.
Perception and transduction of stress signals.
Plant responses to stress conditions: mechanisms of stress resistance (stress avoidance, stress tolerance and stress acclimation).
Major types of abiotic stress and their interactions with the physiological responses of plants:
water stress (drought, flooding)
radiation stress (excess light, UV radiation)
basics of plant nutrition, poor soils
low and high temperature extremes
Acid soils, alkaline soils, salinity, heavy metals
atmospheric pollutants (oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, ozone...)
Poor soils, heavy metals
We kindly invite students to register also for the practical course "Methods of measuring stress resistance in plants" (831302).
Previous knowledge expected

Basic knowledge of plant structure and functions
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Students who have successfully passed the lecture, are able to recognize that stress in plants is induced by unfavourable environmental conditions. The knowledge of the adverse effects of the major types of abiotic stress on metabolism and on other physiological processes that control growth, development and productivity of plants, enables the students to assess losses in crop yield that can be attributed to stress. Moreover, the students have the ability to analyze the mechanisms of stress resistance which plants have developed to cope with stress conditions in order to prevent injury and maintain life functions.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.