Amélioration des plantes pour une production durable

Context

In a context of a growing human population with less arable lands, Plant Breeding plays a major role in producing new varieties to feed people. Plant Breeding also meets new challenges with the need of developing sustainable agriculture and maintaining biodiversity.

Plant Breeding plays an important role in the development of plant varieties for food, feed and industrial uses as fiber, fuel, shelter, landscaping, eco-systems services and a variety of other human activities.

New varieties have to meet current demands regarding yield, disease and pest resistance, quality characteristics, human health, salt or drought tolerance and suitability for sustainable plant production systems.

Plant Breeding involves a variety of aspects, ranging from the molecular level and discovery and cloning of new genes to the population level and study of genetic diversity.
 

Objectives of the pathway

The international program Plant Breeding and Genetics will provide students with cutting edge research based training in Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnologies. Teaching will provide the most up to date scientific advances on plant genomes, genetics, physiology, pathology, biotechnologies, bioinformatics and data analysis. Project based practicals will be proposed on model species and crops as well.

In addition to fundamental knowledge, students will develop specific skills in selected fields of Plant Breeding and Genetics as gathering and studying germplasm, markers based selection , integration of “omics” information and bioinformatics tools in selection strategies, integration of other biotechnologies as gene-editing in selection strategies.

The specificity of the Plant Breeding and Genetics pathway is the need to be a specialist in plant genetics but also to develop various knowledge in all related fields of plant biology as a breeder as to consider plant as a whole and in interaction with its environment.
 

Novelty and ambitious character of the pathway

The Plant Breeding and Genetics pathway is an international and integrated pathway. It is supported by high standard research laboratory network in plant genetics in France and abroad and on a large number of private companies with important R&D laboratories.

The Plant Breeding and Genetics program is designed for a maximum cohort of 15 students.

It  is specifically organized to let the student build his own program with 3 mandatory teaching unit during the M1S2 and 2 elective to be chosen in a list of elective TU and 4 mandatory TU during the M2S1 and one elective TU to be chosen in a dedicated list.

From Year 2, the Plant Breeding and Genetics program is taught in English. Practical teaching, flipped classrooms and project based teaching is enhanced.

Many courses are driven by researchers and professionnals.
 

First year, first semester (M1 S1)

All Teaching units are mandatory and common, see Program, Organisation, Master 1
 

First year, second semester (M1 S2)

The First year, second semester (M1 S2) is organized to provide a first specific mandatory teaching unit (Plant Genetics, genomics and epigenetics) and 2 other TU to be chosen in the elective one.

It is recommended for students to build their training depending on their professional project and to develop skills in complementary domains of Plant Breeding and  Genetics. The training is completed by a two month long internship in Bordeaux or abroad that will give students a first research experience.
 

The Second year, first semester (M2 S1)

The Second year, first semester (M2 S1) is organized to provide two specific mandatory teaching unit and 1 other TU to be chosen in the elective one. The Plant Breeding an Genetics pathway is taught in English.