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Course Units in Botany for BSc (Honors) Degree

Curriculum of Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honors Degree Programme
Course Units in Botany for BSc (Honors) Degree
Special Degree

BOT4012 : Quantitative Plant Ecology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Quantitative description of vegetation, Sampling, Association between species, Plant communities, Classification, Ordination, Pattern, Habitats and ecosystems of Sri Lanka
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4022 : Horticulture, Floriculture and Landscaping (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Divisions of horticulture, Advantages and disadvantages of horticulture, Clas- siffication of horticultural plants, Plant propagation methods, Cultivation of horticultural plants, Plant Nurseries, Hydroponics and Aquaponics, Floriculture, Landscaping: Design- ing, Installing and Maintenance, Site selection, Selection of plants (Trees, Shrubs, Herba- ceous, and Grasses etc.), Post-planting immediate care, Pruning and training of plants, Art of Bonsai, Wildlife gardening, Plant growth structures.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4032 : Microbial ecology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Plant-microbe interactions (rhizosphere, phyllosphere, role in disease resistance), Ecology of soil and aquatic microorganisms (interactions with environment, role in biogeochemical cycles), Microbiology of air, Unusual environments, Case studies
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4042 :Applied Microbiology (30 lecture hrs) (Core)

Principles of industrial micro- biology (Properties of the ideal strain, fermentation media and systems, bioreactor designs, downstream processing, product development), Microbes as living factories: Biocatalysis of useful products, Organic synthesis, synthesis of optically pure drugs, antibiotics, polysaccha- rides and polyesters, microbial biomass, food additives etc., Microbial Enzymes (production and application), Food and beverage fermentation, Microbes and Energy, Biomass to fu- els (ethanol, methane), Bacterial batteries, Environmental Applications (Biodegradation and bioremediation, sewage and wastewater treatment, mineral recovery, bio-deterioration), Medical microbiology.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70% and Continuous assess- ments : 30%

BOT4052 :Advanced Plant Pathology (20 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Molec- ular plant pathology- Genetics of host-pathogen interactions (gene for gene interaction, recognition and triggering resistance), Hypersensitive reaction (oxidative burst, cell death), Induced resistance in plants (local and systemic), Putative signal transduction pathways towards systemic resistance, Biotechnology in plant protection (Diagnosis, transgenics etc.), Diseases caused by proteins, Molecular tools used in plant pathology Ecological plant pathol- ogy - Disease assessment, Epidemiology, Disease forecasting, Plant disease management (chemical, cultural, biological control, etc. and integrated approaches)
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4062 :Advanced Molecular Biology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Genome organization, Chromosome structure and function, Organelle gene organization and extra nuclear inheritance , recombination, DNA repair, Gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, Gene regulation at different stages, Post-transcriptional modifications, Protein synthesis, structures and tracking, Transposons and their practical applications, Human genome project, Seminars in molecular biology.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4072 :Economic Botany and Entrepreneurship (30 lecture hrs) (Core)

Concepts of economics, Economic aspects of different plant categories including Mangroves, and Medic- inal plants, Plantation crops in Sri Lanka, Fruits and vegetables, Fibre and Timber, Spices, oils, gums etc., Algae, Microorganisms, Plant based industries and concepts of entrepreneur- ship, Excursions.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70% and Continuous assess- ments : 30%

BOT4082 :Forestry and Forest Management (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Introduction to forestry, History of forestry, Biomes & forest Classification in Sri Lanka, Forest policies & laws in Sri Lanka, Forest mensuration and inventory, Silviculture & dier- ent silvicultural systems, Agroforestry & social forestry, Use of remote sensing and GIS in forestry, Forest management, Carbon stock & sequestration, REDD+ program.

Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4092 :Food Technology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

History of food science & technology, Food spoilage, Food poisoning, Food preservation methods, Posthar- vest technology, Food packaging and labelling, Genetically modified/engineered food, Food nutrition, Food processing, Food analysis, Fruit ripening, Microbes in food industry.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4102 :Plant Cell and Tissue Culture (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

In vitro methods in plant tissue culture (sterilization techniques and media preparation etc.), Micropropagation, Callus and suspension cultures, Organ cultures, Organogenesis, Embryogenesis, Haploid cultures, Protoplast cultures and their applications, Somaclonal variation and applications, In vitro production of secondary metabolites, Virus free plants and rejuvenation, Somatic embryogenesis and artificial seeds, Applications of tissue culture in Sri Lanka, Conservation, Cryopreservation, Structure of a plant tissue culture laboratory, Seminars in current topics in tissue culture.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4112 :Weed Biology and Management (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Introduction, Characteristics of weeds, Weed spread and evolution, Problems and Losses Caused by Weeds,Preventive, Mechanical & chemical weed control: Herbicides (application, mechanisms of action, transformations in plants, persistence and behaviour in soil, Environ- mental Fate of Herbicides, Herbicide Behaviour in Plants, Herbicide Formulations, Herbicide Families and Characteristics, Developing a Weed Management Program, Herbicide Resis- tance), Organic Weed Management, Weed Management in Selected Crops, Vegetables, and Turf, Invasive species, Allelopathic eect of weeds, Paddy field and aquatic weeds
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4122 :Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (30 lecture hrs) (Core)

Introduc- tion to genetic engineering, concept of reverse genetics, techniques in recombinant DNA technology (enzymes, vectors, cloning, library preparation, sequencing and transformation), methods of gene modication, genetic engineering of microorganisms and plants, popular genetically modied organisms in research, industry (food and pharmaceutical), agriculture, DNA ngerprinting, Disease diagnosis, Gene therapy and forensics, Ethics in genetic engi- neering and biotechnology
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70% and Continuous assess- ments : 30%

BOT4132 :Advanced Plant Physiology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Crop photosynthesis and yield, Metabolic and structural factors in uencing photosynthetic rate, Light distribution and canopy structure, Limitations of crop yield by weather and climate, Partitioning and re-mobilization of photosynthetic assimilates, Translocation and source sink relationship, Eects of water relations,mineral nutrition and plant growth regulators in crop production, Biochemical adaptations of plants to the environment, Biochemistry of C3 C4 intermediate species, Calcium in plants and its role of controlling stomatal function,Stress plant physiology.(types of stress, responses of plant to environmental stress), Antioxidant, Free radical and membrane stability under stress condition.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4142 :Advanced Environmental Science (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Op. for students following Honours Degree in Botany The global environment (population growth, decline of vital life support ecosystems, global atmospheric changes, loss of biodiversity), Sustainability, Solid waste management, Anaero- bic digestion technology, Agriculture related environmental problems, Environmental moni- toring, Bioindicators and bio-monitoring, Bioremediation, Bioremediation techniques, Phy- toremediation, Uses of plants in air quality monitoring & urban greening, Principles of 35 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Legal aspects of EIA, Challenges of EIA, Legal aspects of environmental pollution in Sri Lanka, Some applications of environmental biotech- nology.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4152 :Advanced Plant Virology (20 lecture hrs & 21 practical hrs) (Core)

History of viruses and plant virology, properties of viruses, virus architecture, virus taxonomy, virus genome, virus genome replication, virus genome translation strategies, plant virus infection process, translocation of viruses in plants, plant virus disease symptoms, defense and counter defense mechanisms, transmission of plant viruses, plant virus disease control, plant virus disease diagnostics, and diseases caused by viroids.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4162 :Wood Science and Technology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Wood anatomy and structure of wood, Structure of wood, Physical properties of wood, Mechanical properties of wood, Identication of wood species, Defects of woods, Grading of woods/timber, Common and specic uses of wood, Wood seasoning, Wood preservation, Wood based industries.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4172 :Techniques in Plant breeding (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

History of plant breeding, Conventional breeding methods (mass selection, pure line selec- tion, hybridization, single seed descent, backcross breeding, recurrent selection methods, synthetic varieties), Modern plant breeding methods (molecular markers, quantitative trait loci, gene mapping, selectable marker genes, Protoplast culture techniques, anther culture),
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Field visit reports : 30%

BOT4182 :Herbarium Methodologies (15 lecture hrs & 45 practical hrs) (Core)

BOT4192 : Advanced Plant Systematics (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

Species concept and speciation, Phenotypic plasticity, Nucleotide diversity and polymor- phism, Plant systematics and molecular evolution, Forces of evolution, Botanical gardens, regulations and getting permission in plant collection, Preservation of plant materials and eld techniques, applications of herbaria, Taxonomic evidence to classify and group plants, 36 Molecular systematics, Analysis of data gathered from dierent sources, Population Genet- ics, Red list and conservation, IUCN, Seminars in related topics in Plant Systematics.
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Seminar presentations : 30%

BOT4202 :Ecotoxicology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Optional)

History, basic concepts and terminology, Toxicology and its branches, Classiffication of tox- ins/ toxicants, Use classes and exposure classes of toxicants, Toxicity and toxicity test- ing, Dose response relationship, Probit analysis, Factors affecting the toxicity, Toxicity of mixtures of toxicants, Toxicokinetics & toxicodynamics of toxicants, Ecological assess- ments, Phytotoxicity assessments, Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, Environmental fate of tox- icants, Biotic and abiotic degradation, Bioaccumulation, Biomagnication, Bioindicators and biomarkers, Biotoxins with special reference to algal and cyanobacterial toxins. Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Practical examination and Continuous assessments : 30%

BOT4213 :Biostatistics (30 lecture hrs & 30 practical hrs) (Optional)

BOT4222 :Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Core)

: Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics (25 lecture hrs + 15 practical hrs) Molecular evolution, Gene substitution, Gene faxation, Multiple hits, Nucleotide Poly- morphisms and Nucleotide diversity, DNA sequence alignment, Sequence analysis, Tajima's D statistics, Molecular clock, Molecular phylogeny, Phylogenetic trees, Species tree VS gene tree, Methods of tree building (Distance, Parsimony and Likelihood); UPGMA, NJ, ML, MP trees, Bootstrap analysis, Use of computer software for sequence alignment, editing and analysis, Genbank searching
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Practical examination and Continuous assessments : 30%

BOT4232 :Plant Ecophysiology (25 lecture hrs & 15 practical hrs) (Optional)

Honours Degree in Botany Plant cell and its environment, Plant growth and plant growth analysis, Interactions be- tween functions of plants and environmental parameters, Light environment of plants and measurements, Water status and water stress, Methods of assessing water status and water stress, Dendroclimatology, Stable carbon isotopes in plant ecophysiology studies, Dendro- climatology
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4242 :Seed Physiology and Technology (20 lecture hrs & 21 practical hrs) (Core)

Seed morphology,Seed development,Orthodox and recalcitrant seeds, Planting value of seeds, Seed quality, Physical biochemical, performance and Stress tests for seed vigour,Soil health, Soil seed bank, Seed longevity, Seed processing,Seed treatment, Seed packaging & marketing 37 ,Seed deterioration, Storage of seeds,Seed dormancy
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70%, Continuous assessments and Practical records : 30%

BOT4282 :Bioinformatics (20 lecture hrs & 21 practical hrs) (Core)

: Introduction to Bioinformatics, Genome and proteome databases, Sequence alignment (pairwise alignment, database similarity search, multiple sequence alignment, Hidden Markove Model, domain prediction), Phylogenetic tree, High throughput sequencing methods and data analysis, Ge- nomics (genome/transcriptome mapping, assembly and annotation), Proteomics (protein structure, prediction and expression analysis), Applications of bioinformatics (functional genomics, metagenomics, genome editing).
Evaluation methods: End semester examination : 70% and continuous assess- ments : 30%