COURSE TITLE: BIODIVERSITY AND PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES

COURSE CODE: PBG-308

CREDIT HOURS:3(3-0)

INSTRUCTOR: DR. IKRAM-UL-HAQ

This  is a graduate level course which includes the importance of plant biodiversity, characteristics of wild and domesticated plant species their distribution, germplasm its importance and conservation, evaluation and maintenance, and different gene banks.

The objective of this course is to enable students to understand:

 Importance of biodiversity in plant breeding

 Strategies of germplasm collection and conservation

 Role of novel techniques in germplasm identification and preservation

Contents:

1. Importance of plant biodiversity.
2. Characteristics of wild and domesticated plant species.
3. Origin and distribution patterns of crop species.
4. Centres of origin and genetic diversity
5. Wild relatives of crops.
6. Exploration of genetic resources.
7. Principles and strategies of germplasm collection.
8. Seed banks.
9. Mechanism of gene banking.
10. Maintenance of Germplasm.
11. Evaluation and conservation of germplasm.
12. Utilization of genetic resources in crop research and plant breeding.
13. Introduction to national and international germplasm centres.

Readings:

1. Singh, B.D. 2003. Plant breeding: Principles and Methods. Kalyani Publisher, New Dehli India
2. Sleper, D.A. and J.M. Poehlman. 2006. Breeding Field Crops. 5th Ed., Iowa State University Press, Ames, USA.
3. 2. Dhillon, B.S., R.K. Tyagi and A. Lal. 2004. Plant Genetic Resource Management. Narosa, New Delhi, India.
4. 3. Brown, A. H. D., O. H. Frankel, D. R. Marshall and J. T. Williams. 1989. The Use of Plant Genetic Resources. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
5. State of diversity of major and minor crops, country report, Pakistan. Published by FAO, ISBN-978-92-5-106534-1

ASSESMENT CRITERIA