Università Roma Tre

INTRODUCTORY LESSONS: Primary and secondary metabolism. Biosynthetic pathways of phenolics, terpenoids, nitrogen-containing compounds (alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides, glucosinolates). Key enzymes of the mail metabolic pathways and homeostatic regulation (transcriptional, allosteric, redox and post-translational regulation: the example of the ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase). Herbicide-target enzymes.

PLANT RESPONSES AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES: effects of biotic/abiotic stresses and principal pollutants on primary and secondary metabolism. Climate change, phenotypic plasticity and integrated defense responses to multiple stresses. Regulated enzymes at the interface between primary and secondary metabolism. Metabolic plasticity: metabolic pathways modulation in response to changes in environmental conditions. Environmental effects on production and accumulation of secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds.

CELL SIGNALING. Intracellular and intercellular signaling pathways during defense responses. Coordination of responses in different organs. Systemic responses. Signaling pathways between perception sites and response sites. Occurrence of propagating electrical signals in plants: the new frontiers of plant physiology. The action potential in plants and the rapid long-distance leaf-to-leaf. root-to-shoot and shoot-to-root signaling.

BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS: FUNCTIONAL ROLES AND APPLICATIONS.
Chemical basis of plant–environment communication. Officinal plants and bioactive compounds. Flavonoids, carotenoids and alkaloids: functional aspect and application in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutical fields. Food supplements, dyes and additives. Essential oils. Mother tinctures. In vitro production of bioactive compounds by cell and tissues cultures. Bio-transformations, bioreactors and fermenters. Biotechnological approaches.

1) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants. Buchanan et al.; John Wiley & Sons Inc
2) Molecole Bioattive delle piante. Massimo Maffei; Published by the author.
3) Biologia delle Piante. Vol 2: Interazioni con l’ambiente e Domesticazione. Smith A. M. et al.; Zanichelli.
4) Articoli scientifici e lezioni in power point fornite dal docente

The professor receives every day by appointment via e-mail: alessandra.cona@uniroma3.it