Module Identifier RS31910  
Module Title CROP BIOTECHNOLOGY - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Dr Malcolm H Leitch  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Other staff Dr Peter D Jenkins  
Course delivery Lecture   18 Hours  
  Other   3 Hours 1 x 3 hour visit to IGER  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours Outcomes assessed: 1, 2, 3   100%  
  Supplementary Exam   2 Hours   100%  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Analyse the principles of current plant breeding technologies
2. Evaluate the practice of current plant breeding programmes
3. Discuss the potential of crop biotechnology

Aims

The module aims to provide a comprehensive series of lectures that; a) develop the principles of Mendelian genetics with respect to current plant breeding strategies, b) evaluate the current practices of plant breeding in improving yield and quality of crop plants, and c) discuss the potential of new technologies for further crop improvement. Staff from IGER contribute significantly to the module delivery. The objectives and achievements of plant breeding with respect to a range of crop species are reviewed. The course will also include discussion of variety development, registration, multiplication and certification procedures. The likely impact of advances in biotechnology on future crop breeding programmes is analysed and arguments for and against the use of genetically modified organisms will be reviewed.

Transferable skills

.2 IT and information handling
Some requirement for accessing information from the internet. Assessed indirectly through examination performance.

Reading Lists

Books
Falconer, D S. Introduction to quantitative genetics. 3rd. Longman Scientific and Technical
Hayward M D, Bosemark N O and Romagosa I. (1993) Plant breeding : principles and prospects. Chapman and Hall