À propos de ce cours

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For centuries we have collectively marveled at plant diversity and form—from Charles Darwin’s early fascination with stems and flowers to Seymour Krelborn’s distorted doting in Little Shop of Horrors. This course intends to present an intriguing and scientifically valid look at how plants themselves experience the world—from the colors they see to the sensations they feel. Highlighting the latest research in genetics and more, we will delve into the inner lives of plants and draw parallels with the human senses to reveal that we have much more in common with sunflowers and oak trees than we may realize. We’ll learn how plants know up from down, how they know when a neighbor has been infested by a group of hungry beetles, and whether they appreciate the music you’ve been playing for them or if they’re just deaf to the sounds around them. We’ll explore definitions of memory and consciousness as they relate to plants in asking whether we can say that plants might even be aware of their surroundings. This highly interdisciplinary course meshes historical studies with cutting edge modern research and will be relevant to all humans who seek their place in nature. 

This class has three main goals: 1. To introduce you to basic plant biology by exploring plant senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste, balance). 2. To introduce you to biological research and the scientific method. 3. To get the student to question life in general and what defines us as humans.

Once you've taken this course, if you are interested in a more in-depth study of plants, check out my follow-up course, Fundamentals of Plant Biology (https://www.coursera.org/learn/plant-biology/home/welcome).

In order to receive academic credit for this course you must successfully pass the academic exam on campus. For information on how to register for the academic exam – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/registration

Additionally, you can apply to certain degrees using the grades you received on the courses. Read more on this here – 
https://go.tau.ac.il/b.a/mooc-acceptance

Teachers interested in teaching this course in their class rooms are invited to explore our Academic High school program here – https://tauonline.tau.ac.il/online-highschool

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Niveau débutant

Approx. 18 heures pour terminer

Recommandé : 25 hours of videos, quizzes, and reading assignments...

Anglais

Sous-titres : Arabe, Français, Catalan, Portugais (brésilien), Allemand, Anglais, Hébreu, Espagnol, Roumain...

Compétences que vous acquerrez

Plant BiologyGeneticsCell BiologyPlant

100 % en ligne

Commencez dès maintenant et apprenez aux horaires qui vous conviennent.

Dates limites flexibles

Réinitialisez les dates limites selon votre disponibilité.

Niveau débutant

Approx. 18 heures pour terminer

Recommandé : 25 hours of videos, quizzes, and reading assignments...

Anglais

Sous-titres : Arabe, Français, Catalan, Portugais (brésilien), Allemand, Anglais, Hébreu, Espagnol, Roumain...

Programme du cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours

Semaine

1

1 heure pour terminer

Introduction

Welcome to "What a Plant Knows (and other things you didn't know about plants)". If you have not already, please review the Course Syllabus for general information about this course.

9 vidéos (Total 45 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz

9 vidéos

Course Promo1 min

1.1 Introduction3 min

1.2 Our Life and Plants7 min

1.3 Plants and Biology Research3 min

1.4 Plants and Food Security4 min

1.5 Major Themes in Plant Biology4 min

1.6 Scientific Process3 min

1.7 The Evolution of Plant Structure and Senses6 min

1.8 Plant Evolution10 min

1 lecture

How to succeed in this course? PDF version5 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

Introduction10 min

Semaine

2

2 heures pour terminer

What a Plant Sees?

This week we start a systematic review of a plant's sensory systems by starting with plant responses to light. We will cover an overview of human vision, plant responses to light, Darwin's experiments showing plant responses to light, phototropism, phytochrome and flowering, and modern research on phototropism. In other words, this week we get into more advanced concepts in plant sensory biology. The last module is especially advanced, and will be clearer for those of you with a strong biology background. But do not fret, aside from very basic concepts, this module will NOT be included in the exam (you will not be responsible for understanding the intricacies of the experimental methods, etc.). If you have not already, please review the Course Syllabus for general information about this course.

7 vidéos (Total 50 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz

7 vidéos

2.1 Introduction5 min

2.2 Darwin's Experiment6 min

2.3 Light and Flowering7 min

2.4 Phytochrome: A Light-Activated Switch7 min

2.5 Arabidopsis Blind Mutant8 min

2.6 What a Plant Sees?5 min

2.7 Molecular Biology of Plant Vision8 min

1 lecture

Week 2 - Suggested Reading30 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

What a Plant Sees?16 min

Semaine

3

2 heures pour terminer

What a Plant Smells?

This week we continue our systematic review of a plant's sensory systems by exploring responses to volatile chemicals (in other words, what a plant smells). We start with an overview of the plant cell, briefly review human olfaction (smell), and then explore how fruits know when to ripen. From there we go over three different experiments that explore plant responses to volatile chemicals and start exploring the controversial question, "Do plants communicate with each other?".

7 vidéos (Total 48 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz

7 vidéos

3.1 Introduction to the Plant Cell6 min

3.2 Lock and Key Mechanism of a Receptor3 min

3.3 Ethylene and Fruit Ripening7 min

3.4 Mechanism of Ethylene Receptor7 min

3.5 Plant Communication: Example 16 min

3.6 Plant Communication: Example 26 min

3.7 Inter and Intra Communication11 min

1 lecture

Week 3 - Suggested Reading30 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

What a Plant Smells?12 min

Semaine

4

2 heures pour terminer

What a Plant Feels?

This week we continue our systematic review of a plant's sensory systems by exploring responses to tactile stimulation (in other words, what a plant feels). We start with an overview of the mechano-sensory system that differentiates between different tactile stimulations, briefly review the way electricity is used in neural communication, and then explore how the Venus flytrap knows when to close, and what powers the opening and closing of the Mimosa leaves. We'll learn how plants change their structure to cope with windy conditions, and go over some of the rather complex biology that is involved in the genetic response in plants to being touched. I'll let you know what I think of the question, Do plants feel pain? And then we'll try to understand whether plants hear, and if they do, which music they prefer.

10 vidéos (Total 78 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz

10 vidéos

4.1 Introduction to the Human Mechano-Sensory System7 min

4.2 How Does the Venus Trap Know When it has been Touched?7 min

4.3 Water and the Plant Cell6 min

4.4 Leaf Movement in Mimosa4 min

4.5 Thigmomorphogenesis8 min

4.6 Genes that Respond to Touch4 min

4.7 Do Plants Feel Pain?3 min

4.8 The Sound of Music and Plants10 min

4.9 Plants and Deaf Genes10 min

4.10 Sound Perception in Plants13 min

1 lecture

Week 4 - Suggested Reading30 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

What a Plant Feels?10 min

Semaine

5

2 heures pour terminer

How a Plant Knows Where it is?

This week we continue our systematic review of a plant's sensory systems by exploring the 6th sense - proprioception. We start with an overview of the proprioceptive system that allows us to keep our balance and to know where are body parts are in space. Theמ we will explore how plants know up from down, using both experiments from a few hundred years ago, and experiments conducted on the space station. We'll go over the structure of roots more in detail in order to understand where the cells are that sense gravity. We'll revisit phototropism, and learn what the chemical signal is in plants that allows them to respond to light and gravity. And lastly, we'll learn what makes a plant dance.

8 vidéos (Total 51 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz

8 vidéos

5.1 How a Plant Keeps its Balance4 min

5.2 Plant Response to Gravity3 min

5.3 Gravitropism in Roots10 min

5.4 The Discovery of Auxin5 min

5.5 Auxin Transport3 min

5.6 Auxin and Root Initiation8 min

5.7 Sensing Gravity6 min

5.8 Circumnutation7 min

1 lecture

Week 5 - Suggested Reading30 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

How a Plant Knows Where it is?10 min

Semaine

6

1 heure pour terminer

What a Plant Remembers?

This week we move beyond survey of a plant's sensory systems, and explore how plants retain, store and recall sensory information. In other words, we ask the questions, What do plants remember? We'll try to define what we mean by "memory" and briefly review different types of human memory. The we'll look at the short-term memory found in the Venus fly trap, and the long term morphogenic memory first described 50 years ago by the Czech scientist Rudolf Dostal. We'll have a guest lecture from Prof. Nir Ohad about epigenetics and the long-term memory of winter, and even the role of epigenetics in trans-generational memory.

6 vidéos (Total 33 min), 1 lecture, 1 quiz

6 vidéos

6.1 What a Plant Remembers?5 min

6.2 Short Term Memory5 min

6.3 Long Term Memory 15 min

6.4 Long Term Memory 2 (with Prof. Nir Ohad)10 min

6.5 Epigenetic Heredity1 min

6.6 Intelligent Memory?3 min

1 lecture

Week 6 - Suggested Reading30 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

What a Plant Remembers?8 min

Semaine

7

2 heures pour terminer

The Aware Plant

This is the final week in our journey through a plant's sense of the world. This week's lecture has two separate parts. In the first part, we continue last week's discussion of a plant's ability to remember to a more theoretical discussion on the definition of memory and consciousness. This leads us to the question, "Are plants intelligent?". We'll hear what some of the students in this class think of intelligence before finishing with a quick examination of "intelligence", and end with my own take on a plant's, and our place, in the world. In the second part we'll go for a tour of my lab and see our plant growth facilities. I'll give you a brief overview of one of the projects in my lab, and you'll meet a few of the students doing the research. And in the end, you'll even get to meet Dr. Aviva Katz.

6 vidéos (Total 29 min), 2 lectures, 1 quiz

6 vidéos

7.1 Memory and Consciousness5 min

7.2 What Do We Mean When We Say "Intelligent"?7 min

7.3 A Tour of the Manna Center4 min

7.4 Research in the Chamovitz Lab8 min

7.5 Food Security1 min

Bloopers (oops!)1 min

2 lectures

Week 7 - Suggested Reading30 min

What's next?10 min

1 exercice pour s'entraîner

Final50 min

Enseignant

Professor Daniel Chamovitz, Ph.D.

Dean, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences

Director, Manna Center for Plant Biosciences

Foire Aux Questions

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À quoi ai-je droit si j'achète le Certificat ?
Lorsque vous achetez un Certificat, vous bénéficiez d'un accès à tout le contenu du cours, y compris les devoirs notés. Lorsque vous avez terminé et réussi le cours, votre Certificat électronique est ajouté à votre page Accomplissements. À partir de cette page, vous pouvez imprimer votre Certificat ou l'ajouter à votre profil LinkedIn. Si vous souhaitez seulement lire et visualiser le contenu du cours, vous pouvez accéder gratuitement au cours en tant qu'auditeur libre.
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Understanding Plants - Part I: What a Plant Knows