Bot. 501 Growth Hormones and their Applied Aspects and Plant Tissue Culture
(a) Growth Hormones and their Applied Aspects: Auxins – Gibberellins – Cytokinins, Abscisic acid and Ethylene Vegetative propagation - Flowering, Fruiting & Abscission - Prevention of pre-harvest fruit drop and promotion of the fall down mature of the fruits - Prevention of lodging - Breaking of Dormancy - Delaying of senescence - Control of sex expression - Stimulation of latex flow - Herbicides and their physiological effects - Parthenocarpy - Control of plant size and development - stress physiology .
(b) Plant Tissue Culture: The history of plant tissue culture (P. T. C.) - Basic materials, preparation of cultures and methods of P.T.C. techniques - Choice of culture media & their preparation - Sterilization procedures - The cultures of plant organs: Excised root culture - Stem tip culture - Leaf culture - Culture of isolated flowers & ovaries - Culture of isolated ovules - Embryo culture - The cultures of plant cells: Callus culture - Cell suspension culture - Higher plant protoplast fusion - Cell wall regeneration - Cell colony formation - Regeneration of whole plant - Organogenesis: Root formation (Rhizogenesis) - Shoot formation (Caulogenesis) - Embryo formation (Somatic embryogenesis)-Some applications of P.T.C techniques: Meristem & shoot tip cultures - Micropropagation - Cryopreservation (freeze-storage)- Production of virus – Free plants - Production of secondary metabolites - Genetic manipulation & protoplast fusion technology - Advantages and disadvantages of plant tissue culture techniques

Bot. 502 Metabolism and its Economic Significance and Molecular Genetics
(a) Metabolism and its Economic significance: Primary metabolism: Carbohydrate metabolism - Nitrogen metabolism - Lipid metabolism - Secondary metabolism: Biosynthetic routes of secondary plant products - Terpenoids: Steroids - Carotenoids – Rubber - Phenolic and related compounds: Coumarins – Lignin- Flavonoids – Anthocyanins, Flavanols and Flavones - Alkaloids - Porphyrins.
(b) Molecular Genetics: Chemical structure of DNA - Ultra structure of chromosome in Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes - DNA replication - DNA transcription in Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes -Genetic code - Protein synthesis - Gene regulation in Prokaryotes: a- Lac.Operon b- Tryp.Operon - Restriction enzymes - Types of vectors: a- Plasmids b- Phages - Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) - Plant transformation by Agrobacterium - Examples for dome transgenic plants: Transgenic tomato plants resistant to necrosis - Transgenic tobacco plants resistant to TMV virus - Transgenic plants producing antibodies - Examples of some transformed microorganisms - Production of insulin by bacteria -Production of HV-antigen by bacteria.

Bot. 503 Applied Plant Ecology and Pollution
(a) Applied Plant Ecology: Mineral nutrition and water relations: Structure of cell membranes - Plant water relations - Essential & non – essential elements - Mechanisms of ion and solute uptake- Stress physiology: water deficit and drought resistance _ Strategies of drought resistance - Chilling & Freezing - Changes in membrane properties on chilling injury _ Acclimation to freezing - Heat stress & heat shock - Effects on photosynthesis & respiration _ Adaptations against heating including heat shock - Proteins - Salinity - Effect of salinity on plant functions - Salt stress - Induced proteins - Oxygen deficiency & its effects on plants.
(b) Pollution: Sources of Pollution - Mechanisms of pollution injury - The impact of individual atmospheric pollutants on lower and higher plants - Plant responses to combination of pollutants.

Bot. 504 Practical Course