Plant Biotechnology
Theory: 3 hours/week | Practicals: 2 hours/week | ECTS Units: 5
Learning Outcomes
The objectives of the course are to:
- Understand the basic and advanced methodologies used for genetic modification of plants and plant genome editing.
- Understand methodologies for the production of novel products from plant systems.
- Become familiar with approaches for producing high value-added products in plant systems.
- Gain knowledge of and apply bioinformatics tools in plant molecular biology and biotechnology.
- Critically approach and solve thematic assignments in plant biotechnology by searching for relevant data and information, synthesizing and presenting a topic, and proposing possible solutions.
- Critically evaluate the economic, social, and ethical implications of plant biotechnology.
- Become familiar with issues related to risk assessment of genetically modified plants, regulatory approval processes, and the commercialization of genetically modified and genome-edited plants.
- Acquire hands-on experience in applying fundamental plant genetic transformation techniques in laboratory exercises, including the design and analysis of standard experimental setups.
Analytical Description of the Course
i. Cell and tissue culture techniques: types of cell cultures, culture media, growth regulators, plant regeneration, somatic embryogenesis, somaclonal variation, in vitro selection and improvement, production of secondary metabolites from cultured plant cells.
ii. Model plants in Plant Biotechnology.
iii. Transgene characteristics: factors affecting their expression, modifications, promoters.
iv. Agrobacterium tumefaciens: bacterial biology, Ti plasmids, tumor formation in plants, DNA transfer and creation of transgenic plants, vector systems, integration sites and multiple-copy insertion, data analysis; Agrobacterium rhizogenes.
v. Direct gene transfer methodologies.
vi. Chloroplast transformation.
vii. Production of marker-free transgenic plants.
viii. Transient gene expression systems in transgenic plants – gene silencing.
ix. Genetic engineering using site-specific nucleases (Zinc-Finger Nucleases, TALENs, CRISPR/Cas).
Applications:
x. Improvement of agronomic traits (resistance to herbicides, insects, diseases, environmental stresses).
xi. Improvement of product quality and yield (metabolic modification of lipids, carbohydrates, secondary metabolites, proteins, amino acids).
xii. Transgenic plants with modified developmental traits (morphology, flowering, seed germination, male sterility, phytochromes).
xiii. Transgenic plants for molecular farming (production of pharmaceuticals, bioplastics, industrial enzymes).
xiv. Risk assessment and transgenic plants – GMO diagnostics.
xv. Patents and social acceptance of genetically modified plants.
xvi. Modern methodologies supporting classical plant breeding – molecular markers.
xvii. Determination of gene function through mutagenesis (T-DNA insertion mutants, gene tagging, high-throughput analysis vectors).
Laboratory Exercises
- Assessing the effects of genetic modifications on beneficial plant–microorganism symbiotic interactions.
- Transient gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves (Agroinfiltration).
- Bioinformatics in plant biotechnology – use of databases.
- Application of CRISPR/Cas9 methodology in plants.
Student Performance Evaluation
Written examinations (or oral examinations where required), including multiple-choice and short-answer questions.
Written assignments on a series of different problems assigned throughout the semester, with specified submission deadlines.
Written examination of laboratory exercises.
Suggested Bibliography
The exact content of the course is not fully covered by any available Greek textbooks. For this reason, the course relies heavily on recent publications, which are
- Plant Biotechnology, P. Chatzopoulos, EMBRYO Publications, 2001.
- Plant Biotechnology. A. Slater, N.W.S. Nigel, M.R. Fowler, Oxford University Press, 2003.
Teaching Material / E-class
Lecturers
