Genetics and Plant Breeding

Code: FIT13885L

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Agronomy

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

Erradicar a fome - Acabar com a fome, alcançar a segurança alimentar e melhoria da nutrição e promover a agricultura sustentável.

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Ação climática - Tomar medidas urgentes para combater a mudança climática e seus impactos (*).

Proteger a vida terrestre - Proteger, recuperar e promover o uso sustentável dos ecossistemas terrestres, gerir de forma sustentável as florestas, combater a desertificação, deter e reverter a degradação da Terra e deter a perda da biodiversidade.

Learning Goals

The students should:
To acquire the basic knowledge on plant genetics and to apply it for plant breeding.
To use classical and recent techniques and methodologies for plant breeding and to understand how complementary they are.
To Understand the genetic diversity of the vegetal kingdom and to have a critical opinion about how man modifies it on its profit.

-Classical Genetics: Mendelian Genetics; Extension of Mendel lows: Cytoplasmatic hereditarity.
-Cytogenetics: Chromosome structure; Chromosome changes in structure and number; Autossomes and sexual chromosomes
-Molecular Genetics: DNA replication; Gene expression: transcription and translation; Genetic organization in eukaryotes
-Population Genetics: Genotypic and phenotypic frequencies; Hardy-Weinberg law; Basis of genetic changes.
-Quantitative Genetics: Continuous variation of characters; Phenotypic and genotypic variance; Heritability evaluation.
-Superior plants reproduction systems; Plant reproduction and plant breeding conditioning.
-Genetic diversity: Origin centres; Genetic resources; Genetic vulnerability.
-Classical breeding techniques and methodologies; Breeding autogamic plants; Breeding allogamic plants; Breeding plants vegetatively propagated.
-Plant Biotechnology and plant breeding: In vitro culture techniques; Genetically Modified Organisms;
Marker Assisted Selection

Teaching Methods

Teaching: Theoretical classes; Problem solving; Use of the E-learning platform

Evaluation: For each CU component, Genetics and Plant Breeding, respectively, 3 tests will be carried out on each component. For the final grade will be counted the 2 best grades of each component. Students approve if the average obtained is greater than or equal to 9.5 values, on a 0 to 20scale. Students who do not opt for this continuing assessment scheme may undergo a final exam in normal evaluation period. Students who fail the continuing assessment or the final exam of normal evaluation period, can still approve on the CU in an appeal exam.