Curricular Tracks

Students in the Plant Biology Program may choose from four research and curriculum tracks:

1. molecular and cellular biology/genomics
2. organismal and population biology
3. horticulture and plant technology
4. plant pathology

Specific curricular requirements for each student are developed within the general program requirements by his or her committee, with approval by the track coordinator and program director. The tracks are interwoven in that members of the graduate faculty may be members of more than one track and students are encouraged to take courses in more than one track area.

 

Students in the molecular and cellular biology/genomics track may specialize in biocontrol of pests and pathogens, biofuels and bioenergy, biotechnology and crop improvements, biotic and abiotic stress/interactions with the environment, circadian control, genetic control of plant development, metabolomics/primary and secondary metabolism, natural products and human health, programmed cell death/senescence and fruit ripening, plant diversity/anatomy/evolution and biogeography, interactiosn with pathogenic and symbiotic microbes, plastid molecular genetics, structural/functional and computational genomics, transcriptional and post-trnacsriptional gene regulation.

Students in the organismal and population biology track may emphasize evolutionary history, biogeography and phylogenetics, population structure and variation, physiological ecology and niche evaluations, species interactions and ecosystem dynamics, pollination, dispersal, and reproductive biology, morphilogical and anatomical evolutionm taxonomy and classification, and studies of threatened and invasive species.

The horticulture and plant technology track focuses on agricultural biotechnology, plant breeding and genetics, plant physiology, weed science, plant systematic, plant-microbe interactions, turfgrass science, crop science in agronomic crops and biofuels, horticultural science in fruits, vegetables, flowers and tree crops.

Among the issues that students in the plant pathology track may address are host/pathogen interactions, epidemiology and control of plant disease, plant virology, bacteriology, mycoplasmology, mycology, molecular biology of plant pathogenic or endophytic microorganisms, and biotechnology.

The list below categorizes each faculty according to their respective track(s).

  *Names in bold indicate track coordinators.

Useful Links

1. Link 1
2. Link 2
3. Link 3