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To examine recent advances in plant biology research and, where appropriate, the implications of this research for biotechnological applications. Seminar topics may include any aspect of plant development and plant response to its biotic and abiotic environment.
In this course, recent advances in plant biology research and their potential for biotechnological applications will be examined. Topics covered in the course include phytoremediation, how plant cells sense and respond to sugar signals (covered by David Leung), sensing environmental stress (covered by Samarth) and plant immunity (covered by Claudia Meisrimler).Recommended preparatory course(s): BIOL352.
As a student in this course, I will develop the ability to:demonstrate a sophisticated understanding and evaluation of experimental design, methodology and data in the field of plant biotechnology. (assessment task: internal assessment) access and critically assess the scientific literature in plant developmental and stress biology. (assessment task: internal assessment)develop and trial my own “teaching to learn” techniques. (task: class presentations)Transferable Skills RegisterAs a student in this course, I will develop the following skills:An ability to manage in a team work environment. Most jobs require interactions with others to accomplish a task to a particular standard and on time. (Graduate Attribute 2: Employable, innovative and enterprising)A greater competence in evaluation and design of techniques relevant to experimental plant biology. (Graduate Attribute 2: Employable, innovative and enterprising)An appreciation of opportunities arising from recent advances in science and technology for solving practical problems. (Graduate Attributes 1 and 4: Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award and globally aware)
BIOL491
BIOL411 or BIOL412
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Claudia Meisrimler
David Leung and Samarth
Samarth
Six Tutorial Sessions in 2026 (2 h each)• Sensing Environmental Stress (Samarth)• Sugar Sensing (David)• Plant Immunity (Claudia)Tutorial Information on LearnInformation about the course, including the course handout and notices along with links to relevant papers for the tutorials, will be placed on Learn.Seminar participationContributions to the six seminars are not marked in a formal sense, but a mark worth 15% of the course will be agreed on by the lecturers at the end of the course. This mark will be based on the following:• attendance. You are required to attend all six seminars. For this reason, if you cannot attend a seminar you should discuss the reasons for this with the relevant lecturer in advance. If you are ill, you should provide a medical certificate for this.• quality of presentations (David’s section). How well prepared were you for the classes? How did you present the research material that was required of you?• participation. Seminars are not simply about your material. You should be prepared by having read ALL the papers being covered in the seminar, and should contribute to the seminar by asking questions and being involved in discussions.
Learn Site Course Outline
Domestic fee $1,286.00
International Postgraduate fees
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see School of Biological Sciences .