Photosynthetic Life -- BSCI 348P and CBMG 688P Course Description

 

Instructor: Charles F. Delwiche

Photosynthesis is among the most important of all biochemical processes: it is the basis for most terrestrial food chains, is the ultimate source of the fuel energy in oil and coal, and is responsible for the origin and maintenance of oxygen in the atmosphere (although not all photosythesis generates oxygen). Photosynthesis is performed by a wide variety of organisms that differ in their biochemistry, structure, and way of life. Photosynthetic Life will cover the full range of photosynthetic organisms, from prokaryotes to plants, with the goal of examining the interaction between evolutionary history, biochemical and developmental capabilities and limitations, and the ecological role of each group. The course will begin by studying the phototrophic archaea and photosynthetic bacteria, culminating with the cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria are of particular environmental, economic, and evolutionary importance because they are the only bacteria capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, as well as because they are the group that gave rise to chloroplasts. This first portion of the course will also serve as an overview of the biochemistry of photosynthesis. The second portion of the course will move on to the photosynthetic eukaryotes, studying each major group of photosynthetic eukaryotes ("algae"), as well as non-photosynthetic relatives of these organisms. We will address classical algal biology as well as modern advances in molecular biology. Finally, we will briefly discuss land plants in their proper context, as green algae that are uniquely adapted to life in the terrestrial environment. Interspersed with taxon-specific lectures will be complementary lectures on "special topics", including the endosymbiotic origin of plastids, phytoplankton ecology, genetic diversity, algae as model systems, bloom and toxin-forming organisms, the economic importance of phototrophs, and photosynthetic life in extreme environments.

Undergraduates should register for BSCI 348P, and graduate students for PBIO 699P.

BSCI 348P qualifies as an upper level, non-lab course for specializations: GENB, PBIO, MICB, and BEES