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Plant Biology Major

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Plant Biology Home

Phone: (612) 625-1234
Fax: (612) 625-1738

Department of Plant Biology
University of Minnesota
250 Biological Science Center
1445 Gortner Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108

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Course Descriptions

Biol 2022. General Botany
(3.0 cr; A-F only; prereq Biol 1001 or Biol 1009)
Principles of plant biology. Organization, function, growth/development, and reproductive biology of plants and plant-like organisms. Lab.

Biol 3002. Plant Biology: Function
(2.0 cr; prereq Biol 1002 or Biol 1009, one sem. chemistry with some organic content [e.g., Chem 1011], concurrent enrollment Biol 3005 or Agro 3005 or Hort 3005)
How plants make and use food; mineral function and uptake; water relations; transport processes; growth and development.

Biol 3005W. Plant Function Laboratory
(2.0 cr; no credit granted if credit received for Agro 3005 or Hort 3005; prereq concurrent
enrollment Biol 3002; meets CLE req of Writing Intensive) (course fee)
Various plants processes at subcellular, organ, whole plant levels. Lab, recitation.

Biol 3007W. Plant Biology: Diversity and Adaptation
(4.0 cr; prereq Biol 1002 or Biol 1009, Chem 1021)
The evolution and diversity of plants and their adaptations for survival in varied environments.
Includes lab.

PBio 1212. Plants and Society
(3.0 cr; not intended for biology majors; meets CLE req of Environment Theme)
Roles that plants play and have played in human biological and cultural development

PBio 4321. Minnesota Flora.
(3.0 cr; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3007)
Identification of common vascular plants of Minnesota and surrounding region; distinguishing
characteristics of local taxa; descriptive terminology; use of manuals of floras. Includes lab and field trips. Is offered in the Fall on even years e.g. 2010, 2012 etc.

PBio 4511. Flowering Plant Systematics.
(3.0 cr; no credit granted if credit received for PBio 4811; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3007)
Systematics of flowering plants of the world. Ecology, geography, origins, and evolution. Family
characteristics. Floral structure, function, evolution. Pollination biology. Methods of phylogenetic
reconstruction. Molecular evolution. Taxonomic terms. Methods of collection/identification.
Includes lab. Is offered in the Spring on even years e.g. 2010, 2012 etc.

PBio 4516W. Plant Cell Biology - Writing Intensive.
(3.0 cr; no credit granted if credit received for PBio 5414 or PBio 5516; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3002 or Biol 3007, Biol/BioC 3021 or Biol 4003)
This lecture, discussion, and writing intensive course covers the structure, function and dynamic properties of plant cellular components. The goal is to develop an understanding of how cellular structures function and contribute to cell growth, cell fate and development. Emphasis on developing a clear and concise writing style appropriate for incisive criticism of scientific papers.

PBio 4601. Topics in Plant Biochemistry.
(3.0 cr; A-F only)
This course will will begin with an analysis of photosynthesis and carbon metabolism in plants. An introduction to carbohydrates will be followed by a discussion of primary cell wall structure and synthesis. Basic metabolic pathways for synthesis of lipids, steroids, and aromatic amino acids will be covered as a background for the introduction to natural products such as lignin, flavonoids and alkaloids.

PBio 4793W. Directed Studies: Writing Intensive.
(1.0-7.0 cr; S-N only)
Individual study on selected topics or problems. Emphasizes readings, use of scientific literature. Written report. Need permission from instructor.

PBio 4794W. Directed Research: Writing Intensive.
(1.0-7.0 cr; S-N only)
Laboratory or field investigation of selected areas of research, including written report.
Need permission from instructor.

PBio 4801. Plains and Boreal Flora.
(4.0 cr; prereq taxonomy course; A-F only)
Survey of state summer flowering plants and ferns with particular reference to local flora. Identification of important plant families using technical keys, and field recognition of common species and habitat preferences; collecting methods, literature, and taxonomic methods.

PBio 4811. Flowering Plant Systematics.
(3.0 cr; no credit granted if credit received for PBio 4511; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3007)
Systematics of flowering plants of the world. Ecology, geography, origins, and evolution. Family
characteristics. Floral structure, function, evolution. Pollination biology. Methods of phylogenetic
reconstruction. Molecular evolution. Taxonomic terms. Methods of collection/identification. Field work.

PBio 4993. Directed Studies.
(1.0-7.0 cr; S-N only)
Individual study on selected topics or problems. Emphasizes selected readings, use of scientific
literature. Need permission from instructor.

PBio 4994. Directed Research.
(1.0-7.0 cr; S-N only) Laboratory or field investigation of selected areas of research. Need permission from instructor.

PBio 5301. Plant Genomics.
(3.0 cr; prereq - intro course in genetics, intro course in biochemistry).
Introduction to genomics. Emphasizes plants and relevant model organisms. DNA marker/sequencing technology, comparative genomics, whole genome sequencing, DNA chips/microarrays, EST libraries and SAGE analysis, gene-knockout systems, genome databases, sequence comparison/clustering algorithms, visualization tools.

Pbio 5309. Molecular Ecology And Ecological Genomics
(3.0 cr; Prereq-BIOL 3407 or BIOL 3409 or BIOL 4003; fall, even years)
Application of molecular tools (PCR, sequencing, AFLP, SNPs, QTL) and analyses of molecular data for understanding ecological/evolutionary processes. Strengths/weaknesses of techniques/analyses. Questions molecular tools are used to answer.

PBio 5412. Plant Physiology.
(3.0 cr; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3002 or Biol 3007, Biol/BioC 3021 or BioC 4331)
Physiological and biochemical bases of plant systems with emphasis on higher plants.

PBio 5416. Plant Morphology, Development, and Evolution.
(4.0 cr; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3002 or Biol 3007)
Evolutionary history of land plants. Morphological changes in vegetative and reproductive structures. Morphology of green algal ancestors, nonvascular land plants, and spore bearing and seed bearing vascular plants are analyzed in an evolutionary framework.

PBio 5514. Plant Molecular Biology.
(3.0 cr; no credit granted if credit received for PBio 5414; prereq BioC/Biol 3021 or BioC 4332 or Biol 4003 or equiv)
Survey topics in plant molecular biology. How advances in molecular/genomic biology are being used to better understand plant physiology and developmental biology. Uses of transgenic plants in research/biotechnology.

PBio 5516. Plant Cell Biology.
(3.0 cr; no credit granted if credit received for PBio 4516W or PBio 5414; prereq Biol 2022 or Biol 3012 or Biol 3007, Biol/BioC 3021 or Biol 4003)
Structure, function, and dynamic properties of plant cellular components such as organelles, cytoskeleton, and cell wall. How cellular structures are assembled. Cell growth/division. Cell fate/development. Responses to hormones and external signals.

PBio 5960. Special Topics.
No pre-requisites unless stated under a particular section.
In-depth treatment of specialized topics in plant biology.

PBio 8081. Integrative Plant Biology. Connecting Molecules to Ecosystems.
(1.0 cr; A-F only)
Background information and review of selected current literature. For first-year students in plant biological sciences and other biological science graduate programs.

PBio 8123. Research Ethics in the Plant and Environmental Sciences.
(0.5 cr; prereq grad student in applied plant sciences or plant pathology or plant biological sciences, or soil science; S-N only)
History/values relating to research/scholarship. Social responsibility/reporting misconduct. Authorship plagiarism. Peer review. Copyright/intellectural property. Conflicts of interest. Research data management. Fiscal responsibility/management. Environmental health/safety. Research involving humans/animals. Mentorship presentations by faculty and invited speakers. Meets first seven weeks of spring semester.

PBio 8333. FTE: Master’s.
(1.0 cr; masters student, adviser and DGS consent)

PBio 8444. FTE: Doctoral.
(1.0 cr; doctoral student, adviser and DGS consent)

PBio 8666. Doctoral Pre-Thesis Credits.
(1.0-18.0 cr; doctoral student who has not passed prelim oral)

PBio 8777. Thesis Credits: Master’s.
(1.0-18.0 cr)

PBio 8888. Thesis Credits: Doctoral.
(1.0-24.0 cr, doctoral student who has passed prelim oral)

PBio 8900. Seminar.
(1.0 cr; S-N only)
Current scientific research.

PBio 8910. Journal Club.
(1.0 cr; S-N only)
Critical evaluation of selected current literature.

PBio 8993. Directed Studies.
(1.0-5.0 cr {max 15.0 cr} prereq PBS grad student). Need permission from instructor.

PBio 8994. Directed Research.
(1.0-5.0 cr {max 10.0 cr}; prereq PBS grad student; S-N only). Need permission from instructor.
Independent research determined by student's interests, in consultation with faculty mentor.