Syllabus: Spring 2013 v.2.0

Tues. and Thur. 12:30 p.m.- 1:45 p.m., ILC 140
Instructor: Barry M. Pryor, Marley 541E
626-5312; E-mail: bmpryor@u.arizona.edu
Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 2:00 - 3:00

TA: Nick Garber, npgarber@email.arizona.edu, 626-8931

Preceptor: Holly Norberg, hfnorberg@email.arizona.edu

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Course Objectives:

Students will become familiar with commercial fungal products such as food and drink (bread, salami, beer, etc.), antibiotics (penicillin, cephalosporin, etc.), other industrial products (pharmaceuticals, enzymes, etc.), and the use of fungi as model systems in biology research. Students will also become familiar with fungi that cause animal and plant diseases, in both a historical and contemporary context. There are a number of examples where the use of fungi for food or religion, or the occurrence of fungal-caused plant disease epidemics have changed the course of social development, and the students will be able to place these events within a historical context.

Topics

• The biology of fungi (what are fungi??)
• Fungi as food (shitake, truffles, vegemite, huitlachoche, and other strange things to eat)
• Fungal fermentative products for drink (beers, wines, and unusual fermentations from native cultures)
• Other fungal fermentative foods (soy sauce, salami, etc)
• Fungi in breads and bread making (life without croissants!!)
• Fungi in religion (portals to new dimensions)
• Fungal poisoning (the Salem witch hunt and other travesties)
• Fungi in human disease (athlete's foot, ring worm, and allergies)
• Fungi in plant disease (agricultural impacts and ecosystem changing epidemics, e.g., Chestnut Blight)
• Fungi in major famines (Irish potato famine, Bengal famine, and other historical milestones)
• Fungi in plant health (symbiosis, mycorhizal associations, all plants need fungi)
• Fungi in decomposition (recycling the forests, as well as our manufactured products)
• Fungi in medicine (antibiotics and the new age of senior living, population explosion)
• Fungi as models for scientific research (the nerdy side of fungi)

Texts:

Required:

Required textbook: Hudler, G.W., Magical Mushrooms, Mysterious Molds, 5th. Edition. 2000

Reading assignments: see lecture schedule below.

Material from primary literature will be assigned during the final weeks of the course and this will be available from on-line journals or from the course website.

Exams and Grading:

Final numerical grades are calculated as a percentage of total points received by each student out of 600 possible points. There will be three exams and a final exam each worth 100 points, and two essays each worth 100 points.

Letter grades will be determined as follows:

A 90-100%

B 80-89%

C 70-79%

D 60-69%

E less than 60%

Investigative essay:
One essay will be required from each student over the course of the semester and the subject matter must corresponding one of the first three course sections: Fungi in our environment, Fungi in our food, and Fungi in medicine.  The essay will be 2-3 pages in length and will require literature review and citation in the subject of the student’s choosing from a list of potential subjects developed by the instructor.  The essay will be worth 100 points. Following submission of the essay, the instructor will provide editorial comments and criticisms within two weeks, and the essay returned to the student for revision.  The student will then have one additional week to resubmit the revised essay.  

Creative Project:
This assignment will be tap into the creative energies of each student that is specific to their major.  This is a new exercise this year based upon some extra credit assignments turned in in 2011.  The format of the project is open, art, music, scientific, political, etc, and the only stipulation is that it is directly relevant to fungi or mycology.  The assignment will be worth 100 pts.  We will discuss more about this project as the semester progresses.

Honors Credit:

This course is available for Honors credit through Honors Contracts. Students enrolled for Honors credit will meet as a group with the instructor for 1 additional hour per week to discuss contemporary topics in the general media or in scientific journals regarding fungi in society or in science. This group will also explore how research on fungi impacts the quality of life for various social groups. Each honors student will be expected to prepare a 3-5 page essay proposing increased public support of fungal research in a specific area or on a specific subject as a means for promoting social development. The students or the instructor will collectively review the essays and provide critical comments on the effectiveness of the proposal. Each student will respond to the review comments and incorporate them into a final draft of the assignment, due the final week of class.

Incomplete Grades:

Incomplete grades will be given only under special circumstances according to the university policy as stated on page 26 of "The University of Arizona Record 98-99 General Academic Manual".

Academic Integrity:

Such issues will be handled according tothe university policy on academic integrity as described on page 18 of "The University of Arizona Record 98-99 General Academic Manual".

Special Needs and Accomodations:

Students with special needs may contact the Learning Disabilities Program/SALT, Old Main Bldg., Room 117 (621-1242) and/or the Center for Disability Related Resources/CDRR, Second and Cherry Streets (621-5227). Everything possible will be done to accommodate students with special needs. Please discuss your special needs in advance.

Tentative Lecture and Exam Schedule:

Classroom Behavior

Students must turn off all cell phones/pagers.

The Arizona Board of Regents' Student Code of Conduct http://web.arizona.edu/~policy/threatening.pdf , ABOR Policy 5-308, prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to one's self. See: http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml .

Special Needs and Accommodations Statement

Students who need special accommodation or services should contact the Disability Resources Center, 1224 East Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ 85721, (520) 621-3268, FAX (520) 621-9423, email: uadrc@email.arizona.edu, http://drc.arizona.edu/ . You must register and request that the Center or DRC send me official notification of your accommodations needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate. The need for accommodations must be documented by the appropriate office.

Student Code of Academic Integrity

Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/codeofacademicintegrity

Confidentiality of Student Records

http://www.registrar.arizona.edu/ferpa/default.htm

Related resources:

The American Phytopathological Society web site

Extension Plant Pathology, The University of Arizona

UC IPM Online

The Texas Plant Disease Handbook

Fruit Pathology: Disease Diagnostic Key

Vegetable Diseases (Cornell)

 

Course Objectives | Grading Policy | Texts | Lecture and Exam Schedule | Top