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Program Requirements

This specialization emphasizes the study of plants from the cellular to the organismal level. The structure, physiology, development, evolution, and ecology of plants will be studied. Most courses offer laboratory classes that expand on the lecture material and introduce students to the latest techniques in plant biology. Many laboratory exercises use the excellent research and field facilities at the Morgan Arboretum, ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Herbarium, Emile A. Lods Agronomy Research Centre, the Horticultural Centre and the Plant Science greenhouses as well as ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ field stations. Students may undertake a research project under the guidance of a member of the Plant Science Department as part of their studies. Graduates with the specialization may continue in post-graduate study or work in the fields of botany, mycology, molecular biology, ecology, conservation, or environmental science.

For information on academic advising, see:

Required Courses (9 credits)

• PLNT 353 Plant Structure and Function (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : The general anatomy and physiology of vascular plants with emphasis on how physiological processes influence function.

  Terms: Winter 2021

  Instructors: Bede, Jacqueline (Winter)

  • Winter

  • 2 lectures and one 3-hour lab

  • Prerequisites: AEBI 210 and LSCI 204 and LSCI 211 or permission of instructor.

• PLNT 358 Flowering Plant Diversity (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.

  Terms: Fall 2020

  Instructors: Beauregard, Frieda (Fall)

  • 2 lectures, one 3-hour lab, plus a 4-day field week held the week preceding the start of classes

  • Prerequisite: PLNT 201 or AEBI 210 or ENVR 202 or permission of instructor

• PLNT 426 Plant Ecophysiology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : This course investigates the complex interactions between plants and their environment, focusing on the mechanisms underlying plant physiological processes. Plasticity of plants to their ecological environment; topics include phytoremediation, plant stress responses, plant-symbiosis and plant-insect interactions.

  Terms: Winter 2021

  Instructors: Bede, Jacqueline (Winter)

  • Prerequisites: LSCI 204 and PLNT 353 or permission of instructor.

Complementary Courses (15 credits)

15 credits of complementary courses selected from:

• ANSC 326 Fundamentals of Population Genetics (3 credits)

  Offered by: Animal Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Animal Science : Population genetics mechanisms in mammals, birds and plant. Factors influencing gene, genotype, and phenotypic frequencies. Effects of different types of selection, Hardy-Weinberg, linkage and recombination, polymorphisms and heterozygosity, population size, random drift and inbreeding on gene and genotype frequencies. Relationship between quantitative genetic parameters and gene frequencies.

  Terms: Fall 2020

  Instructors: Cue, Roger (Fall)

  • Fall

  • Prerequisites: AEMA 310 or equivalent or permission of instructor and CELL 204 or LSCI 204 or equivalent or permission of instructor.

• BINF 511 Bioinformatics for Genomics (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Bioinformatics : Bioinformatics methods and reasoning in relation to genomics, proteomics and metabolomics strategies with an emphasis on functional genomics data. The course will cover introduction to UNIX, Perl programming, data processing and integration, file parsing, relational database design and implementation, angled towards solutions relevant for genomics.

  Terms: Winter 2021

  Instructors: Stromvik, Martina (Winter)

  • Prerequisite: Understanding of cell and molecular biology (equivalent to a cell or molecular biology course) or permission from instructor.

• ENVB 313 Phylogeny and Biogeography (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Environmental Biology : Phylogeny reconstruction; principles of systematics; predictive power of phylogenetic trees; theory and principles of biogeography; historical biogeography of plants and animals; role of abiotic and biotic factors in shaping distributions.

  Terms: Fall 2020

  Instructors: Gillung, Jessica (Fall)

  • Fall

  • Prerequisite: AEBI 212 or WILD 212

  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 313

• PLNT 304 Biology of Fungi (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : This course describes the various groups of fungi and explores in depth their biology and physiology, their ecological niches and the role in various ecosystems and their benefits and uses in industry and biotechnology.

  Terms: Winter 2021

  Instructors: Jabaji, Suha (Winter)

  • 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab

  • Restriction: U2 or above, or permission of instructor.

• PLNT 305 Plant Pathology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : The theory and concepts of plant pathology, including the disease cycle, infection, symptoms, resistance, epidemiology and control. The biology and taxonomy of pathogens will be studied, including fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes. Techniques of inoculation, isolation of pathogens from diseased plants, disease diagnosis and pathogen identification will be demonstrated.

  Terms: Fall 2020

  Instructors: Ajjamada, Kushalappa (Fall)

  • 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab

• PLNT 310 Plant Propagation (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : Principles and practical aspects of plant propagation are examined. The course consists of two parts. The first third deals with sexual propagation; the production, processing storage certification and analysis of seeds. The remaining two-thirds deals with vegetative propagation; cutting, budding, grafting, layering, and tissue culture.

  Terms: Winter 2021

  Instructors: Gravel, Valérie (Winter)

  • 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab

• PLNT 435 Plant Breeding (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : Principles and practices of plant breeding, including reproduction of crop plants; plant hybridization; sources of genetic variation; selection methods used for self- and cross-pollinated crops and for clonally reproduced crops; breeding for diseases and pest resistance; applications of biotechnology in plant breeding.

  Terms: Winter 2021

  Instructors: Singh, Jaswinder (Winter)

  • Winter

  • Prerequisites: PLNT 201 or AEBI 210 and CELL 204 or LSCI 204

  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PLNT 535.

• PLNT 460 Plant Ecology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Plant Science : Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.

  Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2020-2021 academic year.

  Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2020-2021 academic year.

  • 3 lectures and one 3-hour lab

  • Prerequisite: AEMA 310 or permission of instructor.