Adaptive and Stress Physiology

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The students have a profound knowledge of the physiological and biochemical mechanisms needed for adaptation to extreme and/or changing environmental parameters. They know how animals and plants survive similar environmental challenges and can explain the principal differences and similarities in their strategies. They have a clear understanding of the physiological regulatory mechanisms involved at the molecular, cellular and organismal level. The students are capable of gathering information on physiological adaptations to specific environmental conditions and can use this information to prepare a written report. They are also capable of setting up an experiment to illustrate such adaptations and to report on the results. In this course the students get familiar with the physiological and biochemical mechanisms allowing adaptation/acclimation to different environmental conditions. Some organisms live permanently in extremely difficult conditions, others have to adapt to changes in their environment that occur gradually or acutely during their life span. This results in various forms of stress. The students get insight into how animals on one side and plants on the other side survive adverse environmental conditions and how they use similar as well as different strategies to cope with these challenges. General principles Adaptation and acclimation Conformers and regulators, temporal and regional avoidance Types of environmental factors (constant, predictable varying, unpredictable, biotic and abiotic stress factors) Combination of stress factors and cross-protection Topics from animal adaptive and stress physiology Water deficit: osmotic problems in aquatic/transitional and terrestrial environments Thermoregulation: poikilotherm/ectotherm, homeotherm/endotherm, coping with extreme temperatures (chilling/freezing and heat), torpor, hibernation, diapause Hypoxic conditions: living at high altitude, living in the deep sea Biorhythmicity: molecular clock, circadian, seasonal and tidal rhythms, migration Ageing: different theories of ageing, healthspan vs. lifespan, cell-autonomous and cell-non-autonomous aspects, environmental aspects Topics from plant adaptive and stress physiology Water deficit: plant water status and acclimation and adaptations strategies (growth and development and fast responses) Salt and heavy metal stress as more specific types of osmotic stress. Chilling and freezing stress and heat stress Waterlogging and flooding (hypoxia) and oxidative stress Biotic interactions: symbioses and defense against pathogens and herbivores using physical barriers, chemical barriers (extensive secondary metabolism) and induced responses, including innate immunity Students design and perform experiments to test physiological adaptations to specific environmental conditions. Students search for relevant information on a specific adaptation on internet and prepare a short paper together with fellow students.