Fungal Biology

Course content

Fungal diversity:

  • Phylogeny, taxonomy, Ascomycota, Basiodiomycota, basal lineages,  Oomycota
  • Structure and differentiation and nutrient acquisition
  • Dispersal and survival


Fungal populations and genetics:

  • Genetics and mating types
  • Population genetics
  • Molecular markers and analysis


Ecosystem mycology:

  • Life-styles, nutritional modes
  • Mycorrhizal fungi
  • Saprotrophic and wood decaying fungi
  • Fungal communities


Fungal interactions:

  • Plant pathogens, ecology and lifecycles, emerging diseases
  • Fungal infections in insects
  • Mutualistic insect-fungal interactions
Learning outcome

Knowledge:
By the end of the course the student can:

  • describe the diversity of fungi in the light of phylogeny, life-styles and nutritional modes
  • explain how fungi interact with plants and insects in beneficial and harmful ways
  • critically evaluate different (molecular) methods for detection of specific fungi, detecting the genetic variation in populations and identifying species in complex communities
  • discuss, put into perspective, and criticize original research papers in modern mycology
     

Skills:
By completing the course the student can:

  • work experimentally with fungi including growing, transferring and setting up small experiments with fungi in pure culture
  • identify fungi from the environments based on isolations, pure culturing, simple DNA extraction, PCR and sequence analysis
     

Competences:
By the end of the course the student can:

  • integrate knowledge of fungal diversity in its broadest sense in order to solve specific questions within mycology
  • choose between various isolation and identification methods of fungi suiting particulate mycological questions or uses
  • put fungi into general ecological, biological and microbial ecological context

Lectures, demonstrations, laboratory and computer practicals, group discussions and student presentations.

See Absalon.

Introductory courses (bachelor level) in microbiology and/or mycology, ecology, evolutionary biology or phylogenetics and molecular biology are recommended

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.

The course is identical to the discontinued course NBIK13016U Mycology. Therefore you cannot register for NBIK18000U Fungal Biology, if you have already passed NBIK13016U Mycology.
If you are registered with examination attempts in NBIK13016U Mycology without having passed the course, you have to use your last examination attempts to pass the exam in NBIK18000U Fungal Biology. You have a total of three examination attempts.

Written
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
ECTS
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 20 minutes (no preparation time)
Oral examination is based on an original scientific paper handed out at the last teaching day accompanied with specific questions relating to the paper.
Aid
Without aids
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Several internal examiners
Criteria for exam assessment

In order to obtain the grade 12 the student should convincingly and accurately demonstrate the knowledge, skills and competences described under Learning Outcome.

Single subject courses (day)

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 21
  • Class Instruction
  • 14
  • Preparation
  • 78
  • Practical exercises
  • 21
  • Laboratory
  • 21
  • Guidance
  • 14
  • Exam
  • 37
  • English
  • 206