Biotechnologies and the challenge of sustainable agronomy

This course is offered to L2 Life Sciences students wishing to learn more about how biotechnologies can contribute to the current and future challenges of sustainable production of agricultural and agri-food resources.

Man uses the properties of photosynthetic organisms and microorganisms to obtain and transform multiple resources and services: food products for humans or livestock, therapeutic molecules, construction materials, etc. This use is dependent on natural conditions and its impact on the environment is likely to be reversed, for example via the withdrawal or deterioration of limited and/or non-renewable resources (water, soil, etc.). It is therefore important, for this production of resources to be sustainable, that its organization (notion of agronomy) integrates the knowledge of these impacts and relies on the understanding of the properties of plants and microorganisms to meet these challenges. The development and use of new biotechnologies in the fields of applied genetics and plant physiology, the use of microorganisms, and the favorable or unfavorable interactions between these microorganisms and plants, contribute greatly to these sustainable agronomy strategies.

- to enrich a general culture on the major issues of agricultural and agri-food production today

- to acquire basic disciplinary notions in the fields of plant biotechnology and microorganisms, their applications in the fields of efficiency and sustainability of "plant", "microorganism", and "plant-microorganism" production systems, and product quality and traceability

- consolidate the ability to analyze and synthesize documents on the theme of plant and microbial production and biotechnology issues

- develop reasoning skills to propose biotechnological solutions to identified issues in an argumentative manner

Competencies covered by the EU:

- to know the major issues of current agricultural and agri-food production, and in particular, concerning "plant", "microorganism", and "plant-microorganism" production systems

- to know the tools and approaches of plant and microbial biotechnologies involved in the response to these issues

- mobilize this knowledge and his analytical skills to identify, from documents, the specific problems of a case studied

- mobilize this knowledge and his/her analytical skills to propose, based on documents, biotechnology strategies that could contribute to solving these problems

- carry out this work in an organized manner individually or in groups

- to transmit the synthetic result of this work in a clear and argued way in writing

Basic knowledge of plant physiology and microbiology (high school and first year of a life sciences degree)