Unit 1: Principles of Plant Physiology
Cell organelles and their physiological functions, structure and physiological functions, water
potential of plant cells, Mechanism of water uptake by roots-transport in roots, aquaporins,
movement of water in plants – Mycorhizal association on water uptake, Physiology of water
stress in plants, Photosynthesis and its importance in bio productivity. Photochemical process,
photochemical reactions, CO2 reduction in Calvin cycle, supplementary pathway of C fixation
in C4 and CAM plants and its significance, Photo respiration, Mitochondrial respiration, growth
and maintenance respiration, cyanide resistant respiration and its significance, Secondary
metabolites and their significance in plant defense mechanism, Photo morphogenesis, Photo
periodism and Vernalisation.
Unit 2: Plant Developmental Biology–Physiological and Molecular Basis
Novel features of plant growth and development, Seed Germination and Seedling Growth,
tropisms, Photoperiodism and its significance; Vernalization and hormonal control;
Inflorescence and floral determination; Molecular genetics of floral development and floral organ differentiation, Seed Development and Dormancy, Senescence and Programmed Cell
Death (PCD), Biological clocks, Sex determination in plants; Self-incompatibility and its
genetic control.
Unit 3: Physiological and Molecular Responses of Plants to Abiotic Stresses
Basic principles of a crop improvement programme under stress, Drought resistance
mechanisms: Escape Dehydration postponement (Drought avoidance), Dehydration tolerance
and characteristics of resurrection plants. Osmotic adjustment, Osmoprotectants, Stress proteins.
Water use efficiency as a drought resistant trait, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Role of
scavenging systems (SOD catalase etc.), High temperature stress, Chilling stress, Salinity stress.
Unit 4: Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth and Development
Definition and classification of plant growth regulators, concept of death hormone, Site of
synthesis, biosynthetic pathways, metabolism and the influence on plant growth development of
Auxins, Gibberllins, cytokinins, Abscissic acid and Ethylene, Signal perception. transduction,
and effect at functional gene level of different hormones, Synthetic growth regulators,
Classification, their effect on plant growth and development.
Unit 5: Physiology of Growth and Yield and Modeling
Crop growth analysis, Canopy architecture, light interception, energy use efficiency of different
canopies, Source-sink relationships, Plant growth analysis techniques, Plant ideotypes, Simple
physiological yield models- Duncan’s. Monteith’s, and Passioura’s, Crop growth modelsempirical models testing and yield prediction.
Unit 6: Morphogenesis, Tissue Culture and Transformation
The cellular basis of growth and morphogenesis, cellular totipotency, Introduction to in vitro
methods, micropropagation, axillary bud, shoot – tip and meristem culture. Haploids and their
applications, Somaclonal variations and applications, Introduction to protoplast isolation
Principles and applications, Introduction to A. tumefaciens. Root formation using A.rhizogenes
Unit 7: Mineral Nutrition
Overview of essential mineral elements, kinetics of nutrient uptake by plants, Molecular
mechanism of ion uptake and ion transporters, Molecular physiology of micronutrient
acquisition, Physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying differential nutrient efficiency
in crop genotypes, Plant responses to mineral toxicity
Cell organelles and their physiological functions, structure and physiological functions, water
potential of plant cells, Mechanism of water uptake by roots-transport in roots, aquaporins,
movement of water in plants – Mycorhizal association on water uptake, Physiology of water
stress in plants, Photosynthesis and its importance in bio productivity. Photochemical process,
photochemical reactions, CO2 reduction in Calvin cycle, supplementary pathway of C fixation
in C4 and CAM plants and its significance, Photo respiration, Mitochondrial respiration, growth
and maintenance respiration, cyanide resistant respiration and its significance, Secondary
metabolites and their significance in plant defense mechanism, Photo morphogenesis, Photo
periodism and Vernalisation.
Unit 2: Plant Developmental Biology–Physiological and Molecular Basis
Novel features of plant growth and development, Seed Germination and Seedling Growth,
tropisms, Photoperiodism and its significance; Vernalization and hormonal control;
Inflorescence and floral determination; Molecular genetics of floral development and floral organ differentiation, Seed Development and Dormancy, Senescence and Programmed Cell
Death (PCD), Biological clocks, Sex determination in plants; Self-incompatibility and its
genetic control.
Unit 3: Physiological and Molecular Responses of Plants to Abiotic Stresses
Basic principles of a crop improvement programme under stress, Drought resistance
mechanisms: Escape Dehydration postponement (Drought avoidance), Dehydration tolerance
and characteristics of resurrection plants. Osmotic adjustment, Osmoprotectants, Stress proteins.
Water use efficiency as a drought resistant trait, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Role of
scavenging systems (SOD catalase etc.), High temperature stress, Chilling stress, Salinity stress.
Unit 4: Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth and Development
Definition and classification of plant growth regulators, concept of death hormone, Site of
synthesis, biosynthetic pathways, metabolism and the influence on plant growth development of
Auxins, Gibberllins, cytokinins, Abscissic acid and Ethylene, Signal perception. transduction,
and effect at functional gene level of different hormones, Synthetic growth regulators,
Classification, their effect on plant growth and development.
Unit 5: Physiology of Growth and Yield and Modeling
Crop growth analysis, Canopy architecture, light interception, energy use efficiency of different
canopies, Source-sink relationships, Plant growth analysis techniques, Plant ideotypes, Simple
physiological yield models- Duncan’s. Monteith’s, and Passioura’s, Crop growth modelsempirical models testing and yield prediction.
Unit 6: Morphogenesis, Tissue Culture and Transformation
The cellular basis of growth and morphogenesis, cellular totipotency, Introduction to in vitro
methods, micropropagation, axillary bud, shoot – tip and meristem culture. Haploids and their
applications, Somaclonal variations and applications, Introduction to protoplast isolation
Principles and applications, Introduction to A. tumefaciens. Root formation using A.rhizogenes
Unit 7: Mineral Nutrition
Overview of essential mineral elements, kinetics of nutrient uptake by plants, Molecular
mechanism of ion uptake and ion transporters, Molecular physiology of micronutrient
acquisition, Physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying differential nutrient efficiency
in crop genotypes, Plant responses to mineral toxicity
2022
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