Plant biotechnology - land and sea

Biotechnology uses cell and molecular biological approaches to alter certain characteristics within a particular organism. It has been particularly successful when applied to terrestrial plants, especially in many different crop species important for global agriculture. This technology has now been used land plants for more than 30 years, with its continued development expected to accelerate in the future. In contrast, the use of biotechnology on marine photosynthetic organism is comparatively new, although many exciting new advances have generated considerable interest in its future prospects. The course aims to provide theoretical and practical insights into modern biotechnology as applied to both terrestrial plants and marine photosynthetic organisms. Teaching will focus on lectures and group discussions, as well as experimental work covering selected topics within the plant biotechnology field.