Agricultural Sciences

This course addresses the particularities of production systems of salmonids (salmon and trout) so that students acquire the specific language, understand its biological bases and relate them to commercial production of salmonid species for human consumption. Special emphasis is placed on the activity in Chile, its requirements, characteristics and cultivation systems.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. At course completion, the student possesses knowledge on: the potential of biotechnology based genetic improvement to develop resilient cultivars suitable for sustainable agricultural systems; the molecular genetic control of the main features of agronomic interest including the response to abiotic and biotic stresses, the efficient use of water and nutrients, and host-pathogen interaction; genetic improvement methods that integrate assisted selection, phenotyping high-throughput, genetic engineering and genomic editing. In particular, the student possesses the skills to: participate in the management of genetic improvement programs aimed at varietal development in seed and nursery companies; evaluate and incorporate the appropriate biotechnological tools into genetic improvement programs; recognize and manage the positive aspects and critical issues of varietal innovation in agricultural systems, considering the entire production chain.

PREREQUISITES: The student who accesses this course must have a good knowledge of the fundamentals of mathematics, chemistry, plant biology, agronomy, crop biology and physiology, plant pathology, and the fundamentals of statistical analysis (sample, mean, variance and standard deviation). Most importantly, students must have already a clear and good knowledge of the fundamentals of Agricultural Genetics. 

The course is divided into two parts: Genetics for sustainable agriculture; and Plant breeding and biotechnology for sustainable agriculture. During and at the end of PART 1, exercises are proposed to the class, and evaluations are assigned. Students that: i) attended the course, ii) scored positively (>18) to the exercises for PART2, in the final exam will be asked to defend PART2 only.

This course covers the biology, agronomy, physiology, and ecology of seaweeds, in order to analyze cultivation, ecophysiology, and ecology in marine systems vs. terrestrial systems. Aspects that are relevant in this context are: limits and possibilities of seaweed production in relation to the physical environment (light, temperature, carbon); the importance of salinity for productivity and metabolism; ecological risks and environmental hazards; biodiversity, reproduction and breeding. Assumed Knowledge in PPH10306 Biology of Plants or comparable.

The course explores healthy and valuable soil systems, focusing on the soil microbiome, carbon sequestration, water retention, and sustainable production. It examines the biological, chemical, and physical aspects of soil and emphasizes strategies for soil regeneration.

This course examines the structure, diversity and development of trees and other plants, with emphasis on the angiosperms.

This course provides research training for exchange students. Students work on a research project under the guidance of assigned faculty members. Through a full-time commitment, students improve their research skills by participating in the different phases of research, including development of research plans, proposals, data analysis, and presentation of research results. A pass/no pass grade is assigned based a progress report, self-evaluation, midterm report, presentation, and final report.

This six-week summer course provides individual research training through the experience of belonging to a specific laboratory at Tohoku University. Students are assigned to a laboratory research group with Japanese and international students under the supervision of Tohoku University faculty. They participate in various group activities, including seminars, for the purpose of training in research methods and developing teamwork skills. The specific topic studied depends on the instructor in charge of the laboratory to which each student is assigned. The methods of assessment vary with the student's project and laboratory instructor. Students submit an abstract concerning the results of their individual research each semester and present the results near the end of this program.

Plants are continuously challenged by sometimes life-threatening changes in their environment. These can severely impact their development and even kill plants. Interestingly, plants can flexibly adjust their development to deal with these environmental changes. They can for example adjust root anatomy to resist drought, overall root architecture to forage for nutrients, and shoot architecture to escape from shade or submergence. In order to ascertain optimal development, plants have evolved a broad variety of mechanisms of developmental plasticity. This course discusses how plants control their development, how plants sense the environmental cues flooding and salinity, and how environmental signaling controls plant development through a combination of molecular genetics, physiology, and functional genomics.  This course combines lectures with hands-on practice in wet lab practicals and data labs. This includes practicing how to define research questions and hypotheses, how to design and perform experiments, how to collect and analyze data, and how to interpret results in the biological context. In the wet labs, learn how to carry out experiments with plants, such as treating plants with different light and water regimes, measuring phenotypic traits, and assessing molecular level changes to protein and mRNA. In the data labs, learn how to analyze large gene expression datasets using online databases to gain biological insight on how roots and shoot respond to changes in their environment. Assumed previous knowledge is plants and micro-organisms, and Plant Physiology and Development are required. Molecular Genetic Research Techniques (B-B2MGOT14) and Plants in Context (B-B2PICO21) are recommended.