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Plant Pathology (PLPA) Courses

Academic Unit: Plant Pathology

PLPA 1005 - Plants Get Sick Too [BIOL]
(4 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
Biology of plant disease and plant-disease-causing organisms. Effects of plant disease on agriculture, human health/welfare, and the environment. Management/control of plant disease. Lecture, Internet, lab.
PLPA 2001 - Introductory Plant Pathology
(3 cr; Prereq-BIOL 1009 or equiv; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Biology of the major groups of plant pathogens, symptoms and signs of plant disease, plant disease diagnosis, and principles of disease management. Lecture and laboratory.
PLPA 2003 - Plague, Famine, and Beer: The Impact of Microscopic Organisms on Human Civilization [HIS]
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Impacts that microbes have made on course of human civilization. Negative influences of major human/plant infectious disease. Positive benefits attained by harnessing power of microbes. Scale of history includes prehistoric to present day. Projected future impacts.
PLPA 3003 - Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
This course provides an overview of tree diseases in urban and forested areas. It covers diseases that have had a significant impact on society such as Dutch Elm disease; oak wilt, chestnut blight, white pine blister rust, sudden oak death and many others. It also provides an overview of important cankers, leaf diseases, wilts, rusts, root rots and other tree problems. Laboratory sessions enable students to get hands-on experience identifying disease agents, examining symptoms and learning appropriate control procedures. Emphasis will also be placed on ecological processes, biological and cultural control, and host-parasite interactions. This course should be of value to anyone interested in biological sciences, natural resources or ecology. It is a must for individuals that will have a career in natural resources but should also be useful to those interested in maintaining healthy trees at home, in urban areas or woodlands. Alumni of the University working with trees or woody ornamentals indicate this is one of the most important courses you can take as a student.
PLPA 3004 - Microbes for Sustainable Crop Production
(3 cr; Prereq-Knowledge of basic microbiology is required. Students enrolling for this course must complete, MICB 3301, BIOL 1961, or PLPA1005. Alternatively, students with junior standing with a completion of 60+ credits are also eligible. Graduate or undergraduate students who may have not taken either of the prerequisite courses listed above, but still wish to enroll, must talk to the instructor before enrolling.; A-F only; offered Every Fall)
Equivalent courses: PLPA 5004
Sustainable agricultural practices are crucial to address food security as climate change and the increasing world population continue to challenge food production. Several aspects of agricultural sustainability are important to achieve increased food production, including: maintaining soil fertility, managing water, and plant genetic resources, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture, and restoring degraded lands. To keep up with the growing food demand, there has been an increased use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture; however, these chemicals when used in large quantities harm the environment and limit the beneficial activities of plant-associated microbes. Millions of microorganisms live in soil and plants, and many of them have been shown to increase plant biomass without supplementary fertilizers or the use of pesticides to provide protection against plant pathogens. This course is designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students interested in learning about beneficial soil microbes, how to identify such microbes, and how these microbes can be harnessed to improve the sustainability of our agricultural production systems.
PLPA 3993 - Directed Study
(1 cr [max 4]; Prereq-department consent, instructor consent, no more than 6 credits of directed study counts towards CFANS major requirements. ; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 6 credits; may be repeated 6 times)
A course in which a student designs and carries out a directed study on selected topics or problems under the direction of a faculty member; eg, literature review. Directed study courses may be taken for variable credit and special permission is needed for enrollment. Students enrolling in a directed study will be required to use the University-wide on-line directed study contract process in order to enroll.
PLPA 4096 - Professional Experience Program: Internship
(1 cr [max 3]; Prereq-COAFES undergrad, complete internship contract available in COAFES Career Services before registering; UC only; S-N or Audit; offered Every Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 6 credits; may be repeated 6 times)
Supervised practicum with professional experience in plant pathology and related industries including the Plant Disease and "Dial-U" clinics. Evaluative reports and consultations with faculty advisers and employers.
PLPA 5003 - Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees
(3 cr; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
This course provides an overview of tree diseases in urban and forested areas. It covers diseases that have had a significant impact on society such as Dutch Elm disease; oak wilt, chestnut blight, white pine blister rust, sudden oak death and many others. It also provides an overview of important cankers, leaf diseases, wilts, rusts, root rots and other tree problems. Laboratory sessions enable students to get hands-on experience identifying disease agents, examining symptoms and learning appropriate control procedures. Emphasis will also be placed on ecological processes, biological and cultural control, and host-parasite interactions. This course should be of value to anyone interested in biological sciences, natural resources or ecology. It is a must or individuals that will have a career in natural resources but should also be useful to those interested in maintaining healthy trees at home, in urban areas or woodlands. Alumni of the University working with trees or woody ornamentals indicate this is one of the most important courses you can take as a student.
PLPA 5004 - Microbes for Sustainable Crop Production
(3 cr; A-F only; offered Every Fall)
Equivalent courses: PLPA 3004
Sustainable agricultural practices are crucial to address food security as climate change and the increasing world population continue to challenge food production. Several aspects of agricultural sustainability are important to achieve increased food production, including; maintaining soil fertility, managing water, and plant genetic resources, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture, and restoring degraded lands. To keep up with the growing food demand, there has been an increased use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture; however, these chemicals when used in large quantities harm the environment and limit the beneficial activities of plant-associated microbes. Millions of microorganisms live in soil and plants, and many of them have been shown to increase plant biomass without supplementary fertilizers or the use of pesticides to provide protection against plant pathogens. This course is designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students interested in learning about beneficial soil microbes, how to identify such microbes, and how these microbes can be harnessed to improve the sustainability of our agricultural production systems.
PLPA 5100 - Topics in Plant Pathology (Topics course)
(1 cr [max 4]; A-F or Audit; offered Every Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 4 credits)
Topics in Plant Pathology
PLPA 5103 - Plant-Microbe Interactions
(3 cr; Prereq-Intro course in plant pathology or molecular biology or equiv; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Genetics, physiology, molecular biology of plant-microbe interactions. Communication between plant/microbes, signal transduction, control of gene expression, symbiosis/parasitism, plant host response mechanisms, plant disease physiology.
PLPA 5202 - Field Plant Pathology
(2 cr; S-N only; offered Every Fall)
Characteristics of a variety of plant diseases. Field trips to observe symptoms and effects of diseases, and to learn about prevention and control of diseases in field, forest, golf course, greenhouse, nursery, orchard, and urban environments.
PLPA 5203 - Introduction to Fungal Biology
(3 cr; Prereq-BIOL 1009 or equiv; Student Option; offered Spring Odd Year)
Fungi are a critical component of the diversity and function of terrestrial ecosystems, affecting decomposition, plant nutrient uptake, and agricultural practices. Key components of fungal biology, including ecology, genetics, life cycles and diversity. Labs provide hands on experience with a diverse range of organisms.
PLPA 5300 - Current Topics in Molecular Plant Pathology
(1 cr; Prereq-Introductory courses in plant pathology or microbiology; genetics; molecular biology or genomics; or consent of instructor; S-N only; offered Every Spring; may be repeated for 2 credits; may be repeated 2 times)
Current Topics in Molecular Plant Pathology is a highly interactive class in which students read, discuss, and critique pivotal publications in the field of molecular plant pathology. Specific topics will change from year to year, but will generally include subjects such as plant-microbe communication, diversity and evolution of plant-microbe associations, genomic analysis of pathogens (symbionts) and plant host responses, and mechanisms of pathogenicity.
PLPA 5301 - Large Scale Omic Data in Plant Biology
(3 cr; Prereq-Intro course in genetics or instr consent; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
Introduction to large scale data in plant biology. Emphasizes model plants and important agricultural crops focusing on new approaches and technologies in the field. Fundamentals, acquisition, and analysis of high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing, high-throughput plant phenotyping, functional and comparative genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and microbiomics.
PLPA 5303 - Data Visualization in Plant and Microbial Biology
(3 cr; Prereq-Limited experience with R software is recommended, but not required.; Student Option; offered Every Fall; may be repeated for 31 credits)
Data Visualization in Plant and Microbial Biology is a course for graduate and advanced undergraduate students interested in developing skills to visualize common datasets in plant and microbial research. Students will learn fundamentals of data visualization and reproducibility that are common approaches to present plant and microbial biological data. The topics to be covered in the course are not limited to but can include fundamentals of proper data visualization techniques, principles of manuscript figure design, differences between manuscript, poster, presentation, and communication data visualizations, and how to ensure that analysis and visualizations are reproducible. The class will consist of lectures, discussions, group activities, and lots of hands-on learning and analysis.
PLPA 5444 - Ecology, Epidemiology, and Evolutionary Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions
(3 cr; Prereq-Intro plant pathology or advanced biology coursework recommended; A-F or Audit; offered Every Fall)
Concepts and recent research in the ecology, epidemiology, and evolutionary/coevolutionary biology of plant-microbe interactions spanning the range from parasitic to mutualistic in agricultural and natural habitats.
PLPA 5480 - Principles of Plant Pathology
(3 cr; Prereq-BIOL 1009 or equiv; Student Option; offered Every Fall)
This course is intended for graduate students and undergraduate students in their third or fourth year that are interested in learning about principles of plant pathology, diseases that affect plants, microbiology and microbial and plant interactions. In this course students will learn principles of plant pathology through lectures and demonstrations and exercises in laboratory. Students will gain knowledge of mycology and select diseases caused by fungi within Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and the fungal-like Oomycota. Diseases caused by bacteria, nematodes, viruses, parasitic plants and abiotic damage are also examined. Lectures will include information concerning the history and importance of plant pathology, mycology, bacteriology, nematology, virology, infection process, genetics of host and microorganism interactions, epidemiology of diseases and disease control strategies. In the hands-on laboratory period the student will learn laboratory skills, gain experience using the microscope, work with microorganisms, learn diagnostic skills, and be able to recognize 30 plant diseases.
PLPA 5660 - Plant Disease Resistance and Applications
(3 cr; Prereq-2001, BIOL 4003; A-F or Audit; offered Every Spring)
Fundamentals of disease resistance in plants and the genetics of host-parasite interactions as they relate to the sustainable control of plant diseases. Examples explored at the Mendelian, populational, and molecular level of organization.
PLPA 5999 - Special Topics in Plant Pathology (Topics course)
(1 cr; Student Option; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer)
Workshops on topics in plant pathology. See Class Schedule or department for current offerings.
PLPA 8005 - Supervised Classroom or Extension Teaching Experience
(1 cr [max 2]; Prereq-instr consent; S-N only; offered Every Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 2 credits)
Teaching experience in Plant Pathology. Discussions about effective teaching to strengthen skills and develop a personal teaching philosophy.
PLPA 8090 - Research and Internship (Topics course)
(1 cr [max 8]; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 8 credits)
Special assignment in lab or field problems in pathological research. Opportunities to provide students with unique exposure to research in other environments, including private industries, federal agencies, other countries, or other universities. Because of their value to the graduate student experience, the Department of Plant Pathology will offer credit for internships of 3-12 weeks duration.
PLPA 8103 - Plant-Microbe Interactions
(3 cr; Prereq-Intro course in plant pathology or molecular biology or equiv; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Genetics, physiology, and molecular biology of plant-microbe interactions. Communication between plants/microbes. Signal transduction, control of gene expression, symbiosis/parasitism, plant host response mechanisms, plant disease physiology.
PLPA 8104 - Plant Virology
(2 cr; Prereq-5480; A-F only; offered Every Spring)
Characteristics, biology, epidemiology, and control of plant diseases caused by viruses.
PLPA 8105 - Plant Bacteriology
(3 cr; Prereq-5480; Student Option; offered Every Spring)
Bacteria interact with plants in various ways depending upon environmental conditions, nutrient status, and host plant genotypes. The outcome of these interactions can result in the plant associated bacteria being pathogens, or mutualists. In the Plant Bacteriology course, we will examine several bacterial diseases in-depth to understand the disease cycles, epidemiology, mechanisms of pathogenesis, beneficial microbes, and means of disease control. The laboratory section will focus on techniques used to identify bacteria, for inoculating plants, isolating bacteria from plant material, and methods to understand the plant-bacterial interactions. The first hour of most class sessions will consist primarily of lectures by the instructor followed by group discussion of assigned readings. Laboratory sessions will occur for 90 minutes and are designed to illustrate concepts presented during the lecture/discussion sessions.
PLPA 8123 - Research Ethics in Plant and Environmental Sciences
(.5 cr; Prereq-Enrolled in a plant/environmental grad research program; S-N or Audit; offered Every Spring)
Equivalent courses: APSC 8123, PMB 8123 (ending 21-JAN-03, was PBS 8123 until 16-JAN-18, was PBIO 8123 until 06-SEP-05), SOIL 8123
Ethics training to graduate students enrolled in plant/environmental graduate research programs and fulfill requirement for training in responsible conduct of research.
PLPA 8200 - Plant Pathology Seminar
(1 cr; A-F only; offered Every Fall & Spring)
Students enrolled in PlPa 8200 will gain experience and expertise in the area of oral scientific communication. Through participation in a regular departmental seminar series, students will be exposed to a variety of seminar preparation and presentation techniques. Working one-on-one with a Seminar Advisor and the course Instructor, students will select and appropriately define a seminar topic, identify pertinent literature, prepare an effective abstract, and prepare and present a public seminar on the selected topic. Students will further interact with classmates and other participants in the departmental seminar series through public question and answer periods and by moderating individual seminar sessions. PlPA 8200 will be conducted in hybrid format, providing opportunities for in person and online (Zoom) participation in a synchronous manner.
PLPA 8300 - Plant Pathology Project
(1 cr [max 6]; Student Option; offered Every Fall & Spring; may be repeated for 24 credits; may be repeated 4 times)
Laboratory or library projects for Plan B master's students in plant pathology.
PLPA 8333 - FTE: Master's
(1 cr; Prereq-Master's student, adviser and DGS consent; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; 6 academic progress units; 6 financial aid progress units)
(No description)
PLPA 8444 - FTE: Doctoral
(1 cr; Prereq-Doctoral student, adviser and DGS consent; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; 6 academic progress units; 6 financial aid progress units)
(No description)
PLPA 8500 - Perspectives in Plant Pathology
(2 cr; S-N or Audit; offered Every Fall; may be repeated for 4 credits; may be repeated 2 times)
Integrative overview of the field. For Ph.D. students nearing end of formal classroom experience.
PLPA 8666 - Doctoral Pre-Thesis Credits
(1 cr [max 6]; Prereq-Doctoral student who has not passed prelim oral; no required consent for 1st/2nd registrations, up to 12 combined cr; dept consent for 3rd/4th registrations, up to 24 combined cr; doctoral student admitted before summer 2007 may register up to four times, up to 60 combined cr; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 12 credits; may be repeated 2 times)
TBD
PLPA 8777 - Thesis Credits: Master's
(1 cr [max 18]; Prereq-Max 18 cr per semester or summer; 10 cr total required [Plan A only]; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 50 credits; may be repeated 10 times)
(No description)
PLPA 8888 - Thesis Credit: Doctoral
(1 cr [max 24]; Prereq-Max 18 cr per semester or summer; 24 cr required; No Grade Associated; offered Every Fall, Spring & Summer; may be repeated for 100 credits; may be repeated 10 times)
(No description)

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