Master's degree in biology, agricultural sciences

biotechnology and tropical plant improvement

Objectives

The Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement (BAPT) program provides advanced specialization in translational biology (transferring knowledge and approaches developed on model species to the improvement of non-model species of agronomic interest) and raises awareness of international project management for development aid. The choice of M1 and M2 internship topics allows students to reinforce this specialization in a privileged context where demand in this field is exceptional both in France and internationally (national research institutes: CIRAD, IRD; international: CGIAR and private companies internationally). The aim of this combination of courses is to train students to undertake a doctoral thesis and become researchers who will be recruited by fundamental or applied research organizations in the plant sciences. Alternative career paths exist for students who do not wish to follow this route (research engineers, scientific communication, consulting in local authorities, associations, non-governmental organizations, etc.). In terms of research, all research organizations are targeted (universities, CNRS, IRD, INRAe, and CIRAD), including applied research programs in partnership with companies in the plant improvement, plant biotechnology, or development aid research sectors, as well as international research centers (e.g., CGIAR centers).

Training content

The BAPT program is based on teaching units common to the BiPa, IPM, and MEV programs, designed to provide students with a foundation of fundamental knowledge in plant biology in the broadest sense and the tools required for a scientific approach (statistics, bioinformatics, critical analysis, project management, etc.). This core curriculum includes an internship in M1 and M2, which allows students to contribute to the development of a research project in a laboratory at a public institute or private company. The subject and field of the internship is tailored to the program followed by the student.

Thanks to TU , including a specialized thematic school, and a choice of options offered in M1 and M2, the BAPT program focuses on the acquisition of biotechnology tools and knowledge of plant improvement practices, targeting in particular the main food and cash crops of Mediterranean and tropical environments.

A TU M1 TU shared between the BAPT and Ibion-Tec programs provides an introduction to engineering approaches aimed at producing phyto-molecules of interest.

In M2, two TU for the BAPT program allow students to work in small groups on a project focusing on a research question aimed at improving a cultivated plant in response to environmental changes (water deficit, poor soil, etc.). To do this, students must draw on their knowledge to analyze plant phenotypes and adaptive strategies, model them, and propose an improvement objective (ideotype). The thematic school "Functional Genomics of Tropical and Mediterranean Plants" aims to illustrate, through case studies, how knowledge acquired on model species and the use of genomic data on species that have not yet been extensively studied can be used to design conventional or biotechnological strategies for improving the stress resistance of major tropical species. This school, which facilitates exchanges between master's students, doctoral students, and researchers, also illustrates the structures and tools for partnerships that enable the development of international and interinstitutional collaborative research aimed at development aid. Through the options available to them, students can refine their training and either go further by working on plant adaptation to climate change or their resistance to biotic stresses, or broaden their horizons to include the human and social dimensions of plant breeding.

Finally, drawing on the Montpellier International Campus, which is Europe's leading plant science research hub dedicated to improving Mediterranean and tropical crop species, thanks in particular to the establishment of theIRD (Research Institute for Development), and the CIRAD (Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development), students will have access to a wide range of internships in France or abroad, giving them the opportunity to explore in practice how to conduct research on a tropical crop species and/or a research project in the Global South in partnership with a national or international research institute.

List of Teaching Units

M1, first semester

M1, second semester

Master's degree, first semester

Master's degree, second semester