ECTS
120 credits
Duration
2 years
Training structure
Faculty of Science
Language(s) of instruction
French
Presentation
The Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants (BAPT) course is based on teaching units (UE) common to the BiPa, IPM and MEV courses, designed to provide a foundation of fundamental knowledge in the fields of genetics and genomics, cellular and molecular biology, plant biology (development, ecophysiology, basis of interactions with microorganisms, etc.) and the tools required for a scientific approach (statistics, bioinformatics, critical analysis, project management, etc.). This core curriculum also includes an internship in M1 and M2, enabling students to contribute to the development of a research project in a laboratory of a public institute or private company.
Thanks to specific courses, including a specialized thematic school, and a choice of options offered in M1 and M2, the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding pathway focuses on the appropriation of biotechnology tools, as well as knowledge of the practice of plant breeding, targeting in particular the main food and cash crops in Mediterranean and tropical environments. A specific module in M1, shared with the IBION-Tec course, covers engineering approaches to the production of phyto-molecules of interest.
One of the major challenges of development, given the world's demographic growth expected in the coming years, is to support increased agricultural production in developing countries in a context of global warming. Thus, the two specific modules of the M2 course enable students to work in small groups on a project based on a research question targeting the improvement of a cultivated plant in response to environmental changes (water deficit, poor soil....). To do this, they are required to mobilize their knowledge to analyze phenotypes and adaptive plant strategies, model them and propose an improvement objective (ideoptype). The "Functional genomics of tropical and Mediterranean plants" thematic school aims to illustrate, through case studies, how knowledge acquired on model species and the use of genomics data on species still little studied can be used to design conventional or biotechnological improvement strategies adapted to the stress resistance of the main tropical species. This school, which enables exchanges between Master's students, doctoral students and researchers, also illustrates how partnerships can be set up and tools used to develop international and inter-institutional collaborative research targeting development aid. Through a choice of options, students can fine-tune their training and either go further by working on plant adaptation to climate change or resistance to biotic stresses, or open up to the human and social dimensions of plant improvement. Last but not least, the Montpellier international campus is Europe's leading center for plant science research into the improvement of Mediterranean and tropical crops, thanks in particular to theIRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement), Students will have access to a wide choice of internships in France or abroad, giving them the opportunity to explore the practicalities of carrying out research on a tropical crop species and/or projecting into a research field in the South in partnership with a national or international research institute.
In addition to this specialization, additional scientific skills are considered essential in all Biology and Agrosciences Master's courses, and are fully integrated into the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding course. These include documentary research, database management and exploitation, scientific communication and project management.
For more information on this course and its content, visit https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/biologie-des-plantes/biotechnologie-et-amelioration-des-plantes-tropicales/
> 80%
Success rates
Objectives
The aim of the BAPT course is to train students who are ready to embark on a doctoral thesis and become researchers who will be recruited by basic or applied research organizations in the plant sciences. Alternative outlets exist for students who do not wish to follow this path (research engineers, scientific communication, consultancy in local authorities, associations, etc.). In terms of research, all research organizations are covered (universities, CNRS, IRD, INRAe and CIRAD), including applied research facilities in partnership with companies in the plant improvement, plant biotechnology or development aid research sectors, as well as international research centers (CGIAR centers, for example). The Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding pathway, through a number of specific modules and options, enables students to acquire a more advanced specialization in translational biology (transferring the knowledge acquired and approaches developed on model species to the improvement of non-model species of agronomic interest) and to develop their awareness of international project management for development aid. The choice of subjects for the M1 and M2 internships also reinforces 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, international private companies).
Know-how and skills
Knowledge:
- Acquire in-depth knowledge of genetics and genomics, cellular and molecular biology, plant biology (development, ecophysiology, basis of interactions with microorganisms, etc.).
- Acquire the tools required for a scientific approach (statistics, bioinformatics, critical analysis, project management, etc.).
- Master the modern research strategies used to approach plant improvement (high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping, association genetics, modeling, comparative genomics and translational biology, molecular engineering, etc.).
- Have a vision of the related disciplines that need to be mobilized to conduct a plant improvement project in a development aid context (living rights, ethno-ecology, fair and equitable partnership, etc.).
Know-how:
- Know how to mobilize concepts and tools from different disciplines to define a research question and set up an experiment, analyze results and draw conclusions and/or operating models.
- Identify the issues raised at different scales of integration (molecule, cell, whole plant, plant in relation to its environment, plant in relation to a human and social context) and integrate them into a multi-scale approach to design an improvement strategy.
- Know how to search for or gather relevant scientific information to tackle a given problem, prioritize this information, compare it, synthesize it and build working hypotheses for new research.
- Know how to communicate and argue rigorously and accurately, adapted to different audiences and contexts, through oral or written presentations.
- Know how to manage a project as part of a team, identify and develop collaborations with researchers or professionals bringing complementary skills and expertise.
Know-how:
- Know how to work in a team, develop and implement a joint project.
- Ability to work independently.
- Know how to comply with the legal, ethical and scientific rules of conduct relating to experimentation, publication and use of documents, sharing of biological resources and partnerships.
- Ability to adapt to multicultural working environments.
Organization
Internships, tutored projects
Internship | Mandatory |
|---|---|
Length of internship | 5 and 6 months |
Internship abroad | Possible |
Internships and tutored projects are essential elements of the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement program.
A 5-month internship is offered in M1, and a 6-month internship in M2, with a presentation to a panel of experts under conditions of high-level scientific debate. The Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement program is based on a particularly rich scientific environment in the field of tropical plant improvement in Montpellier. Students will be able to join a laboratory working on this topic, either directly in France in a team belonging to a research unit associated with CIRAD or IRD, or in a field in the South with which these research units collaborate (CIRAD partnership projects, IRD mixed international laboratories, or international or national institutes in the South). This configuration ensures that these issues are addressed with a high level of scientific expertise and supervision in line with Master's standards, and provides students with an openness to international and multicultural partnerships.
Many of the courses in Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding are based on participatory approaches, with students carrying out tutorials and projects at the heart of the pedagogical approach. In particular, these projects are designed to link the knowledge acquired in the more academic courses, in order to define and/or resolve a research question relating to plant breeding.
Program
The Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding program is divided into 4 semesters, each comprising a number of teaching units (UE) awarded ECTS credits. It follows an L3 in Life Sciences. The program is both academic and project-based, with a large proportion of teaching units based on a participatory approach.
The first year (M1) is mainly devoted to acquiring the fundamental and technical bases of plant biology research, focusing on several major themes: genetics and plant improvement, plant adaptation to the environment and ecophysiology, development, plant-micro-organism interaction, metabolic engineering, as well as research tools such as statistics and bioinformatics. The 5-month internship completes the M1 course with initial laboratory research experience.
The second year (M2) broadens this knowledge by deepening these disciplinary fields, and by giving students the opportunity in several modules to mobilize and integrate their knowledge to solve research questions or develop projects around plant improvement. The 6-month internship is an experience in line with the student's career plan.
The list of teaching units that make up the course can be consulted on the Master's website https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/master-biologie-agrosciences/biologie-des-plantes/.
Select a program
M1 - Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants (BAPT)
The list of teaching units that make up the course can be consulted on the Master's website https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/master-biologie-agrosciences/biologie-des-plantes/.
Biostatistics with R
5 creditsPlant development
5 creditsPlant-Microorganism Interactions
5 creditsBasics of ecophysiology
2 creditsPlant molecular genetics
5 creditsMetabolic engineering of plant biomolecules of interest
3 creditsTools for plant improvement
3 creditsPlant nutrition
2 credits
BioInformatics: Data and Databases
2 creditsLiterature review
2 credits4-month internship
15 creditsCHOICE 1
3 creditsYour choice: 1 of 2
Gene networks-Modeling
3 creditsTropical and Mediterranean plant breeding
3 credits
Experimental approaches to plant biology
5 creditsProject management
3 credits
M2 - Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants (BAPT)
The list of teaching units that make up the course can be consulted on the Master's website https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/master-biologie-agrosciences/biologie-des-plantes/.
Thematic school
3 creditsAn integrated approach to plant breeding: a case study
3 creditsEpigenetics in plants
3 creditsBigOmics, comparative genomics
2 creditsEcophysiology: from phenotype to ideotype
2 creditsQuantitative genetics
3 creditsData processing
3 creditsIntegrated Plant Improvement Project: phenotypes
3 creditsBioInformatics: building queries
2 creditsCHOICE 1
3 creditsYour choice: 1 of 4
Adapting tropical field crops to climate change
3 creditsPlants and people, a shared history
3 creditsModel plants, modeling
3 creditsVirology
3 credits
Project management
3 credits
Laboratory or company internship
28 creditsCritical analysis of scientific information
2 credits
Admission
How to register
Applications can be submitted on the following platforms:
French & European students :
- For M1, follow the "My Master" procedure on the website: https: //www.monmaster.gouv.fr/
- For M2, students must submit their application via the e-candidat application: https: //candidature.umontpellier.fr/candidature
International students from outside the EU: follow the "Études en France" procedure: https: //pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etudesenfrance/dyn/public/authentification/login.html
Applications are examined by a pedagogical committee made up of the Master's main lecturers.
Successful applicants must complete their administrative registration as soon as possible, and then proceed to a pedagogical registration indicating the nature of the teaching modules chosen.
Target audience
The Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement program is open in M1 to students with at least a Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences or equivalent, and in M2 to students with at least an M1 in Plant Biology or equivalent. The program is open to students from France and abroad via the "Bienvenue en France" scheme, subject to acceptance of applications.
Necessary prerequisites
Plant biology and physiology, molecular biology, biotechnology
Recommended prerequisites
Genetics
Basics of statistics and bioinformatics
A taste for plant improvement
A taste for research in international partnerships
Basic knowledge of English (reading publications)
And then
Further studies
A very high proportion of students graduating from the Master's program in Tropical Plant Biotechnology and Improvement go on to do a PhD in France or abroad, where they are highly appreciated.
Some students complement their training with management training to move towards entrepreneurship, or bioinformatics to reinforce skills at the interface of experimental biology and computer science.
On completion of the Master's degree, some students join research organizations as study engineers or as international volunteers in a field in the South. Other students go into scientific communication (museums, popularization) or consultancy (local authorities, associations, non-governmental organizations).
Studying abroad
Thanks to the many links between the Master's teaching teams and the exceptional network of international collaborations maintained by Montpellier laboratories, M1 and M2 internships can be carried out abroad (Africa, North and Latin America, Asia, Europe). This gives students the opportunity to do a PhD in the host laboratory, or to join international PhD programs. This possibility is not restricted to students doing their Master's internship abroad, but is also widely open to those doing their internship in Montpellier or other research centers in France.
Bridges and reorientation
Students enrolled in the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding pathway can transfer between M1 and M2 within the Biology Agrosciences Master's pathways, in particular with the BiPa, IPM and MEV pathways, subject to acceptance by the pathway managers concerned.
Professional integration
- Doctoral contracts from public or private organizations
- National and international research organizations
- Research and development in private enterprise
- Advice and expertise for local authorities, associations and non-governmental organizations
- Scientific communication (press, museum)