300448 VO Plants, Structure and Function (2020S)

Plants are the net primary producers on earth. Therefore they are the most important partner on earth for the human being. Without a thorough understanding of plants we will not solve problems of environmental and climate changes. The lecture aims at providing basic knowledge about the diversity in structure and function of plants at the level of evolution and ecology. Important morphological, anatomical and physiological features of various systematic groups will be discussed in detail. Particular attention will be given to topics such as modern plant genomics, seed and germination, structure and function of root-stem-leaf, flower and floral biology, as well as special features and functions of plant cells including for example the cell wall, the vacuole, chloroplasts, and photosynthesis.