| Invasive forest pathogens and global changes
(objectives)
invasive Forest Pathogens and Global Changes course approaches the International context of Plant Protection and, specifically, of protection of forests within global change scenarios, including climatic changes and biological invasions. The course aims to provide the single elements that make the complex picture of prevention, monitoring, diagnosis, and control of forest pathogens, considering, time by time, the issues of international agreements, regulations, and the new frontiers of prevention, new diagnostic tools, and the advances in knowledge on biological invasions.
a) Knowledge and understanding. The course will provide the students with the concepts and information needed to develop the single issues and integrate them within the general context of plant protection. Through an analytical process, open discussions, and the stimulation of the attitude to the analysis, the students will be able to assimilate and elaborate on the issues and to collocate them within the complex context of plant protection, integrating ecological, biological concepts with socio-economic ones. b) Applying knowledge and understanding; the body of information on a specific topic that the student will receive through an interactive and practical approach will allow perceiving the applicability into the professional activity at the national and international levels. Moreover the course includes several practical activities specifically for laboratory diagnostics. c) Making judgments; the interactive teaching method based on the framing of the general topics, and their development through practical examples and class braining storms, will stimulate the student skills in elaborating their own judgment. d) Communication skills; the body of information and concepts provided by the course will enable the student to efficiently communicate the topic of biosecurity in forest protection and the complex of agreements and rules that regulate the quarantine system at a global level. e) Learning skills. The use of a teaching approach based on general concepts and practical activities (literature reading, laboratory activities) helps the students in the process of learning and concepts assimilation.
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Code
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118983 |
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Language
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ENG |
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Type of certificate
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Profit certificate
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Credits
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6
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Scientific Disciplinary Sector Code
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AGR/12
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Contact Hours
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40
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Laboratory Hours
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8
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Type of Activity
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Core compulsory activities
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Teacher
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VANNINI Andrea
(syllabus)
Biological Invasions: general concepts and glossary; concept of introduction, naturalization; acclimatization and invasion; examples of biological invasions; factors associated to risk of introduction. Invasive Forest Pathogens: dimension of the problem. Introduction to pathways: living plants trade; timber trade; seed and propagation material trade; unregulated pathways: wood manufactured products; examples. Strategies of invasions: host jump; hybridization; differential evolution. Impacts: economic; on biodiversity; on carbon dioxide fixation; on cultural heritage; examples. Phytosanitary regulations: ICPP, SPS agreement, NPPO, Phytosanitary services; EPPO products, quarantine organisms lists; EPPO standards; Pest Risk Analysis. Invasive Forest Pathogens: European situation; vulnerability of EU countries to invasion. Pest Risk Analysis: concepts and examples. Constraints of the Phytosanitary regulations; possible solutions: search of centers of origin; the sentinel tree strategy. Introduction to diagnostic. Serological diagnostics: polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies; the antigen; the ELISA test; molecular methods: PCR; the concept of markers; characteristics of markers for molecular diagnostics; general and specific primer sets; practical application. Molecular diagnostic: multiplex and nested conventional PCR; quantitative PCR, TaqMan and SYBR Green technologies; examples of application; proof of the vitality of the pathogen: mRNA as a template; the dqRT-PCR approach; the HTS approach; the use of EPPO diagnostic standards. Phytosanitary forest monitoring: introduction; proximal and remote sensing activities, advantages and disadvantages. Phytosanitary monitoring in European countries (the example of France) and Italy. Phytosanitary monitoring: ICP forests monitoring in Europe: Levels 1 and 2. Plant Viruses: structure, cycle, vectors, epidemiology, symptomatology, diagnosis, and control; examples of viral diseases Introduction to Phytoplasmas and Spyroplasmas: disease cycle, vectors, symptomatology, epidemiology, detection & diagnosis; taxonomy; an example of Phytoplasmas and Spiroplasmas diseases. Introduction to Bacteria: morphology, biology, ecology, symptomatology, phytopathogenic bacteria; diagnosis and taxonomy; an example of bacterial diseases. Oomycetes: taxonomic context; morphology, biology, epidemiology; an example of Phytophthora diseases. Laboratory practical work on specimens collection; binocular observation; microscopic observation; application of identification keys; isolation from samples onto growing media. DNA extraction from fungal cultures; separation on agarose gel and observation; sample preparation for PCR reaction; PCR amplification and run of agarose gel for amplicons separation; Sequence analysis and BLAST on GeneBank.
(reference books)
Teacher PPT presentation; scientific papers; online software; web sites
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Dates of beginning and end of teaching activities
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From to |
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Delivery mode
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Traditional
At a distance
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Attendance
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not mandatory
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Evaluation methods
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Oral exam
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