Plant Pathology 692
Fall 2014
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PLANT-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Instructor
Steve Whitham swhitham@iastate.edu
4419
4952 Bessey
Mingsheng Qi –
msqi@iastate.edu
PFF assistant
4417
5531 Bessey
Class list
plp692-fall2014@iastate.edu
Time
W, 2:10 - 3:25 pm; F 10:10 - 11:25 a.m.
Place
145 Bessey Hall
Format
This is a 3-credit course comprising lectures and student-led discussions of research articles
concerning molecular aspects of plant interactions with microbes, particularly pathogenic
microbes. The course is intended to familiarize students with seminal work in the field and
enable them to understand and critically evaluate current (and future) work. Different topics will
be dealt with weekly. Typically, lectures will be given on Wednesday and paper discussions will
take place on Friday (3 papers). The course also includes a research proposal writing and peer
review exercise to be carried out over the semester.
Expectations
Students are expected to attend lectures, complete reading assignments on time, and
participate in class discussion. Additionally, students will be expected to lead discussions of
several papers throughout the semester. Students should also choose one exciting new paper
published during the semester and lead a discussion of that paper during the last week of class.
Finally, students will be expected to write an original research proposal (unrelated to their thesis
or dissertation research), and to participate in a peer-review exercise of proposals submitted by
previous classes. Each student will write (anonymous) critical reviews of two proposals and to
participate in a panel discussion to rank all the proposals for an imaginary funding program.
Likewise ISU proposals will be evaluated and ranked by postdocs from the Department of Plant
Pathology. Proposals will be graded by the instructors independent of the postdoc reviews.
Outcomes
There are three main learning outcomes expected. First, class participants will become familiar
with current topics in molecular plant-microbe interactions. Second, they will be able to
understand and critically evaluate current and future work in the field. Third, they will develop
critical thinking skills through the grant proposal and peer review exercises.
Grading
Students will be evaluated and grades determined according to the following appropriation:
20%
Attendance and participation
25%
40%
15%
Discussion leadership
Proposal
Peer review exercise
Course materials
Handouts will be distributed during class and will be available online at:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~swhitham/WWW/plp692/plp692.htm
Links to readings will be posted approximately one week in advance at the above URL or
readings will be provided as handouts.
Content, projected schedule, and deadlines
Week
Aug. 27
Sep. 3
Sep. 10
Sep. 17
Sep. 24a
Oct. 1
Oct. 8b
Oct. 15
Oct. 22
Oct. 29
Nov. 5
Topic/Activity
Class introduction; Viral pathogenesis
Fungi/oomycetes pathogenesis
Bacterial pathogenesis
Agrobacterium/Rhizobium/Mycorhizae
Nematode pathogenesis
MAMP-triggered immunity
Effector-triggered immunity: R genes (evolution,
structure & function)
Proposal preparation/literature management; R
genes (pathogen recognition, downstream
signaling)
Systemic acquired resistance
Induced systemic resistance
‘omics of plant-pathogen interactions (ISU projects)
Nov. 12c
‘omics of plant-pathogen interactions (ISU projects)
Nov. 19d
‘omics of plant-pathogen interactions (ISU projects)
Nov. 26
Thanksgiving break
Dec. 3
Proposal review and panel
Dec. 10
Student choice (e.g. Hot topics)
Dec. 15
Finals week
a
Clear proposal topic with Steve, Sep. 24
b
Preproposals due Wednesday, Oct. 8
c
Proposals due 5 pm Monday, Nov. 11
d
Reviews due 5 pm Friday, Nov. 21
Instructor
Steve
Steve
Mingsheng
Mingsheng
Parijat Juvale
Steve
Steve
Steve
Steve
Steve
Wei Wang,
Mingsheng
Bing Yang,
Roger Wise
Gustavo Macintosh,
Larry Halverson
No class
Steve
Steve
Instructor availability
Students are welcome to drop by Steve’s office anytime. To guarantee a meeting, please
schedule in advance.
Students with disabilities
If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Disability
Resources (DR) office for information on appropriate policies and procedures. DR is located on
the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076-- phone 515-294-7220.