Instructor: Prof. Raymond Chollet (N-202/-246 Beadle Center; 472-3212/-2936 and/or <rchollet1@unl.edu>)

Semester II: Academic Year 2006-07

First Class:  08 January 2007

Class Period: Mon/Weds/Fri, 11:30 AM to 12:20 PM, N-172 Beadle Center

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

This lecture course is targeted at upperclass undergraduates and graduate students interested in a broad, survey-type current coverage of the biochemistry and metabolism of green plants.

READINGS:

• Assignments will be posted in the "READINGS" section of UNL Blackboard (BIOC834 [434] / <http://my.unl.edu>) well in advance of a given class period. These should be read prior to the actual lecture period.
• Sources will include the required textbook (see below), and various mini-reviews from PLANT PHYSIOLOGY (PP), THE PLANT CELL (TPC), TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE (TIPS) and BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES (TIBS), CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY, etc. as PDFs posted at UNL's Blackboard in the "PDF & IMAGE FILES" section or distributed as handouts.
• The REQUIRED textbook is the edited volume by B.B. Buchanan, W. Gruissem and R.L. Jones [BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANTS, (Amer. Soc. Plant Physiol.) or 2002 (J. Wiley & Sons)]. It should be purchased or borrowed immediately because it will be one of the major sources of reading assignments and related images for this course. Please bring this required text to every class, including that on Jan. 8th.

Two term exams (I, II) will each be worth 30% of the overall grade (totaling 100 points, each). Their format will be a combination of approximately 16 short-answer questions (80 points) and one detailed, short-essay question (20 points).

The Final Exam (III) will be worth 40% of the overall course grade (135 points). Its format will be a combination of (i) approximately 16 short-answer questions reviewing major topics covered up through Exam II (~43 points, total), and (ii) approximately 22 short-answer questions and one detailed, 20-point, short-essay question covering material presented after Exam II (~92 points, total).

The dates of Exams I-III are listed below. Representative short-answer questions will be posted in the "SAMPLE EXAM-QUESTIONS" section of UNL's Blackboard in advance of any given exam.

SEMESTER GRADES:

Each of the three above exams will be graded on a simple point-basis, e.g., 85/100 pts., 90/100 pts., & 120/135 pts. Next, your cumulative points will be totaled (e.g., 295/335 pts.) and an overall %-grade calculated (e.g., 88.1%). Your overall %-grade will then be converted to the nearest, overall term letter-grade based on the below guidelines (e.g., 88.1% = B+), and possibly adjusted upwards modestly (e.g., B+ —>A- or A) depending on your classroom participation, an increasingly upwards trend in your performance from Exam I through Exam III, and/or any minor, class-wide re-adjustment of letter-grades.

Conversion Guidelines for %- to Letter-Grades:

> 97% = A+ / 93–96% = A / 90–92% = A–

87–89% = B+ / 83–86% = B / 80–82% = B–

77–79% = C+ / 73–76% = C / 70–72% = C–

67–69% = D+ / 63–66% = D / 60–62% = D–

< 59% = F

IMPORTANT SEMESTER DATES:

• Jan. 08 = First Class
• Jan. 15 = NO CLASS (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at UNL)
• Feb. 14 = EXAM I [Weds., 7:00 to 8:30 PM (30% of term grade)]
• Mar. 12, 14, 16 = UNL SPRING BREAK
• Mar. 28 = EXAM II [Weds., 7:00 to 8:30 PM (30% of term grade)]
• Apr. 23 = Distribute Course-Evaluation Forms (due back by Fri., the 27th)
• Apr. 27 = Last Class
• May 02 = FINAL EXAM [Wed., 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM (40% of term grade)]

GENERAL TOPICS TO BE COVERED (in approximate order):
 
 

• Oxygenic Photosynthesis by Green Plants -- Part I [plastid structure and pigments; the "light reactions" (Type-II and Type-I photosynthetic reaction centers [RCs] and their common "themes"; electron and proton transport, including the water-oxidation process, the cytochrome b6/f complex, and non-cyclic and cyclic electron flow; major light-harvesting complexes [LHCs]; photophosphorylation and ATP synthase [CF1/CF0])]

Consult the following websites:

• Oxygenic Photosynthesis by Green Plants -- Part II [the "dark reactions" (C3 Cycle, Rubisco, and related regulation; stromal vs. cytoplasmic oxidative pentose-P [OPP] pathways; plastidic metabolite transporters; "source" and "sink" starch and sucrose metabolism, and related regulation; photorespiration; C4 Cycle, CAM, and related regulation)]
• Uptake and Assimilation of Nitrate/Ammonium into Amino Acids and Amide Amino Acids (Gln, Asn)
• Mo-Nitrogenase Complex and Symbiotic Nitrogen (N2) Fixation in Legumes
• Oxidation of Hexose-Phosphates (OPP Pathways, glycolysis) and Gluconeogenesis
• Mitochondrial Oxidative-Decarboxylation and Electron-Transport Pathways
• Fatty Acid, Glycerolipid and Triacylglycerol (TAG) Metabolism
• The Stromal Shikimic Acid Pathway and Aromatic Secondary Compounds
• If time permits: Distinct Pathways of Isoprenoid (Terpenoid) Biosynthesis (e.g., C5 Isoprene, C30 Phytosterols, C40 Carotenoids) in Green Plant