Infectious plant diseases continue to cause human suffering and enormous economic losses. Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants. On the other hand, bacteria of the genera Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Mesorhizobium and Azorhizobium are able to induce the formation of nitrogen fixing nodules on leguminous plants. Either symbiotic nitrogen fixation or infectious plant diseases involves complex anatomical, morphological, and biochemical interactions between the host plant and the invading organisms.
Course Outline
1. Signaling and recognition in plant-microbe interactions
2. Cellular mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions
3. Plant-virus interactions
4. Bacterial virulence
5. Mechanisms and evolution of plant defence
6. Biocontrol of pathogens
7. Developmental impacts of plant-microbe symbioses
8. Biochemistry of beneficial plant-microbe interactions
9. Plant symbiotic genes
10. Plant-microbe molecular entity in sustainable agriculture