Study plan

The prerequisite for the state doctoral examination and the defense of the Ph.D. thesis is the fulfillment of all study duties, including the fulfillment of the criteria of the publication activity and the submission of the doctoral dissertation itself.

The state doctoral examination is oral and includes the examining the theoretical knowledge of the candidate (s) in the topics of 1) Anatomy and Plant Cytology, 2) Plant Physiology, 3) Ecological and Stress Physiology of Plants. Questions are related to the topics of the courses taught at the Masaryk University in the Master and Doctoral studies in the field of Experimental plant biology, i.e. thesubjects taught predominantly at the parent OFAR ÚEB PřF MU (Section of Plant Physiology and Anatomy).

The defense of the doctoral dissertation consists of a 20-30 minute oral presentation in which the candidate briefly describes the theoretical basis and the hypothesis/- es of the thesis, the methods used, the results achieved and their interpretation. Then, the candidate responds to the questions raised in the reviewer's reports. The reviewers present during the defence of the Ph.D. thesis respond individually to the candidate's replies. This is followed by a theoretical debate in which members of the Examining Board, the Board of Plant Anatomy and Physiology, as well as the professional and lay public present in the defense raise questions (related to the topic of work and presentation) to the candidate (s) who is immediately responsible for these questions.

The evaluation of the candidate is immediately made by a secret ballot by the members of the commission (Examining Board) with voting rights. The candidate is informed immediately after counting the votes with the results of the vote and the result of the SDZ.

Requirements for scientific research activities can be summarized as follows:
(1) Preparation of the Ph.D. thesis - It applies for the whole period of study and consists of min. 60% of workload - Obligatory
Defense of Doctoral Thesis outlines - must be completed by 5th semester at the latest
(2) Publishing - consists of at least two papers in impacted journals, min. 15% of the workload
(3) Pedagogical activities (participation in teaching) - PhD students can take part in conducting bachelor's theses, conducting seminars, etc., up to a maximum of 140 hours per study (ie up to 5% of the workload) - Obligatory.
(4) Attendance of Seminar (16 credits for 4 years) - Obligatory
(5) Accompanying activities (study of literature, improvement of language competence, soft skills). Facultative.
(6) Fellowship/stay to be taken abroad (5% workload) - to be completed during the course. Obligatory. In justified cases, it is possible to replace the fellowship/stay with active participation of the student in the international project after the approval of the Board (Oborová rada in Czech). The plan of project participation plan must be specified in the application submitted to the Board)
(7) Attendance at the conference - active participation must be taken and documented (recommended form is oral presentation) for at least one international conference ore equal scientific event. Facultative

The subjects that the DSP student must successfully complete during the DSP course are determined on the basis of consultation with the doctoral supervisor and on the basis of his recommendation. Selection of courses and courses is carried out from the list of courses and courses taught at the maternity unit (OFAR ÚEB PřF) and, additionally, from the list of courses taught at the Faculty of Education, other faculties of MU and (upon agreement of the Board, OR) at academic institutions outside MU. The courses should consume of about 15% of student time capacities.

Students choose the subjects to acquire new knowledge corresponing to their professional focus and to extend their knowledge in related fields. Students can choose subjects from either the Subjects of general field and Specializing subjects or from both - see the two lists below.

Subjects of general field
Bi7270 Plant embryology
Bi7270c Plant Embryology - Exercise
Bi8670 Principles of Plant Biotechnology
Bi8670c Principles of Plant Biotechnology - Exercises
Bi8030 Production Biology
Bi8030c Production Biology - Exercise
Bi0007 Ecophysiology of higher plant photosynthesis
Bi0007c Ecophysiology of higher plant photosynthesis - exercises

Specialized subjects
Bi8180 Physiology and cultivation of algae and cyanobacteria
Bi8180c Physiology and cultivation of algae and cyanobacteria
Bi0321 Polar biology of plants
Bi9001 Statistical analysis of experimental data
Bi9001c Statistical Analysis of Experimental Data - Exercise
Bi0077 English for Plant Biologists
Bi0077c English for Plant Biologists - practice
Bi5880c Advanced Methods Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence - Exercise
Bi0078 Advanced English for Plant Biologists
Bi0078c Advanced English for Plant Biologists - practice
Bi6130 Stress Plant Physiology
Bi6130c Stress Plant Physiology - Exercise
Bi8920 Fluorescence microscopy

Recently (autumn 2018), the following doctoral thesis topics are offered:
Modern biophysical methods in the study of photosynthesis of poicilohydric organisms
Plant biotechnology with bioreactors: analysis of stress effects
Stress physiology of selected bryophytes from polar regions of the Earth.
Effect of selected heavy metal ions on physiological processes of lichens
Nutritional interactions in orchid mycorrhizal symbiosis
Analysis of selected characters, which condition the hydraulic resistance of the transport route in xylem
Physiological markers of higher efficiency of water utilization in different hop cultivars
Mechanisms of distant signaling of stress in plants
Perception of nutrient availability in plants: signal pathway analysis between anions and aquaporins

Recently, there are 8 topics taken by the doctoral students:
Michaela Marečková: The use of chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics in detection of low temperature stress.
Kateřina Trnková: Inhibition of polar physiological processes autotrophs by stress stress factors studied by chlorophyll fluorescence.
Markéta Hájková: The response of plants to the presence of drugs in the environment
Zuzana Samsonová: Analysis of genomic variability differences in the reaction of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes to drought stress.
Romana Sedmíková: Ecophysiology of orchideoid mycorrhizal symbiosis
Dominik Chmelík: Analysis of polyphenol content in plants exposed
radiation stress.
Lucie Svobodníková: Morphological-anatomical root plant study growing in a drug-enriched environment.
Dominik Bleša: Endophytic association of orchideoid mycorrhizal fungi.
Olga Miklíčková: Effect of fungicides on of mycorrhizal symbiosis.
Alla Orekhova: Modern biophysical methods in the study of photosynthesis of poicilohydric organisms

Within the last 5 years, the following doctoral dissertations have been defended:

Mgr. Tomáš Zavřel (2015): Optimization of cultivation conditions for selected microalgae species focused on biomass and valuable substances production.

Mgr. Halyna Korovetska (2017): Signaling mechanisms involved in the regulation of water use in hop plants.

RNDr. Radek Jupa (2017): Significance of selected structural features of xylan plants for its reliable function.