1 MCDB 141 Molecular Basis of Plant Development and Differentiation Spring, 2010 Prerequisites: LS3 and LS4 or equivalent. Lectures: Monday and Wednesday, 11:00 - 12:15, LaKretz 120 Required Discussion Sections: Fridays, 12 noon or 1 P.M. (Franz 2288) Instructor: Professor Elaine Tobin Office Hours: Thursdays, 3:00-4:00 or by appointment, LSB 3313A Email: [email protected] Teaching Assistant: Dominique Lisiero Office hours:Wednesdays 5-7 P.M., Gonda 2303 Email: [email protected] Attendance at and participation in the discussion section is required and is an integral component of the course. During the discussion sections, students will discuss and critically analyze the assigned scientific research papers which will be available on the course website. You need to come prepared and to your assigned section. There will be a short assignment about the assigned research paper to be turned in at the beginning of each section. There is no textbook for this course. Copies of articles that are to be used in place of a textbook will be available on the course web site. Copies of the research papers for discussion in section will also be made available on the course web site. The site can be found at http://www.lsic.ucla.edu/classes/spring10/ Grading: Term Paper: 10% A term paper critically analyzing a current (published after July 1, 2009) research article is due in your section on June 4. Further information about this assignment will be distributed in section. Discussion Section: 15% Midterm: 30% Final exam: Monday, June 7 (Cumulative): 45% Please note: The exams will include material covered only in the discussion sections and the reading material from the web site as well as lecture material.2 MCDB 141 Molecular Basis of Plant Development and Differentiation Spring, 2008 Date Lecture Topic March 29 1 Introduction and overview of plant development; plant cells and differentiation; plant life cycles March 31 2 Review of gene regulation and methods to study it for understanding plant development April 2 Section 1: Organization; introduction to reading research papers and using computer resources April 5 3 Plant transformation: the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumifaciens; introduction to plant hormones and their roles in development April 7 4 How plant cells enlarge—cell walls and auxin action April 9 Section 2: Using computers: searching for articles; analyzing sequence data Meet in Young Hall Science Learning Center Room 4341 April 12 5 Auxin and growth; phototropism and geotropism April 14 6 Guest Lecturer: Dr. Brandon Celaya Roles of auxin in development and how auxin functions April 16 Section 3: Schenck et al. (2010) Rapid auxin-induced cell expansion and gene expression: a four-decade-old question revisited. Plant Physiol. 152: 1183-1185. April 19 7 Guest Lecturer: Professor Winslow Briggs (Stanford) Phototropin, the photoreceptor for phototropism April 21 8 Seedling growth: introduction to the roles of light and photoreceptors; the development of chloroplasts and photosynthesis April 23 Section 4: Sakamoto and Briggs (2002) Cellular and subcellular localization of phototropin 1. Plant Cell 14: 1723-1735. April 26 9 Structure and function of the photosynthetic apparatus April 28 10 The phytochrome photoreceptor family: discovery and its roles in plant development April 30 Section 5: Takano et al. (2009) Phytochromes are the sole photoreceptors for perceiving red/far-red light in rice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106: 14705-14710.3 Date Lecture Topic May 3 MIDTERM May 5 11 Phytochrome action, continued May 7 Section 6: Shen et al. (2007) Phytochrome induces rapid PIF phosphorylation and degradation in response to red-light activation. Plant Physiol. 145: 1043- 1051. May 10 12 Gibberellins: from discovery to mechanism of action May 12 13 Guest Lecture: Professor Chentao Lin: Cryptochromes and plant development May 14 Section 7: Yu et al. (2007) Arabidopsis cryptochrome 2 completes its posttranslational life cycle in the nucleus. Plant Cell 19: 3146-3156. PLUS deadline for submitting a .pdf copy printed out of the article selected for approval for your term paper (this can be done earlier if you would like). May 17 14 Seed development and storage proteins, a role for abscisic acid (ABA) May 19 15 Guest Lecturer: Dr. Brandon Celaya Abscisic acid roles and mechanisms of action May 21 Section 8: Pandey et al. (2009) Two novel GPCR-type G proteins are abscisic acid receptors in Arabidopsis. Cell 136: 136-148. May 24 16 Flowering, fertilization and self-incompatibility May 26 17 Guest Lecturer: Dr. Brandon Celaya Embryo development May 28 Section 9: Notaguchi et al. (2008) Long-distance, graft-transmissible action of Arabidopsis FLOWERING LOCUS T protein to promote flowering. Plant Cell Physiol. 49:1645-1658. May 31 MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY June 2 18 Circadian rhythms in plants and their importance for flowering June 4 Section 10: Review for final and TURN IN TERM PAPER+ printed copy of article used. You MUST print the pdf of the article. Final Examination June