Program Overview

Program Overview

The Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life at Hiroshima University offers a Master's Course in the Division of Integrated Sciences for Life, with a program in Life and Environmental Sciences.

Program Details

• Lecture Code: WE
• Subject Classification: Specialized Education
• Subject Name: Environmental plant sciences and symbiotic microbiology
• Instructors: KUGA YUKARI, WASAKI JUN, NAKAGAWA NAOKI, KATSUYAMA CHIE
• Campus: Higashi-Hiroshima
• Semester/Term: 1st-Year, Second Semester, 4Term
• Days, Periods, and Classrooms: (4T) Mon5-6, Tues5-6: Online
• Lesson Style: Lecture, with online lectures (simultaneous interactive and on-demand), online interactive tutorials, and seminar presentations by students

Lesson Style Details

• Online lectures may be either simultaneous interactive or on-demand, depending on the instructor.
• The style of the lesson will be decided by each instructor.

Program Structure

• Credits: 2.0
• Class Hours/Week: 4
• Language of Instruction: Japanese/English (the language of instruction will be decided and announced by the instructor on the first day of class based on the language proficiency of the students)
• Course Level: Graduate Basic
• Course Area (Area): Biological and Life Sciences
• Course Area (Discipline): Basic Biology

Eligibility and Keywords

• Eligible Students: Not specified
• Keywords: Soil, Plant-Microbe-Environment interaction, Cell biology, Mycorrhiza, Rhizosphere, Root exudates, Soil microbes, Inorganic nutrient dynamics, ImageJ, SDG-02, SDG-15

Class Objectives and Outline

The goal of this class is to understand the complexity and interactions of plant growth environments, focusing on chemical and biological factors influencing plant growth and presence, with special emphasis on external and internal environments and mechanisms of interactions.

Class Schedule

• Monday:
  • Lesson 1 (Kuga, Wasaki, Nakagawa): Guidance
  • Lessons 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 (Wasaki, Nakagawa): Overviews of relationships between plants and environments, mainly from chemical aspects
• Tuesday:
  • Lessons 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 (Kuga, Katsuyama): Overviews of symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes, including definitions, examples, and biological networks
  • An exercise of image analysis using ImageJ will be provided

Requirements and Evaluation

• Attendance: Attendance of both Monday and Tuesday classes is necessary
• Text/Reference: Handouts of the latest published papers
• PC or AV used in Class: Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Stream, Moodle, PowerPoints, Video
• Learning Techniques: Quizzes, Post-class Report
• Suggestions on Preparation and Review: Actively participate in each class and study the contents introduced using related scientific books/papers/dictionaries
• Grading Method: Active participation in class 50%, assignment 50%

Practical Experience

The different microscopy methods used in cytology and microbiology researches will be described based on the experience as a manager of a laser scanning confocal microscope facility at a foreign university.