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, which are 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 the scientific approach (statistics, bioinformatics, critical analysis, project management, etc.). This core curriculum also includes an internship in M1 and M2 that allows the student to contribute to the development of a research project in a laboratory of a public institute or a private company.
Thanks to specific courses, including a specialized thematic school, and to the choice of options offered in M1 and M2, the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding course is oriented towards the appropriation of biotechnology tools as well as knowledge of the practice of plant breeding, targeting in particular the main food or cash crops of Mediterranean and tropical environments. A specific module of the M1 shared with the IBION-Tec course allows to approach engineering approaches aiming at the production of phytomolecules of interest.
One of the major development issues, given the world population growth expected in the coming years, is to support the increase of agricultural production in Southern countries in a context of global warming. Thus, the two specific modules of the M2 course allow students to work in small groups on a project based on a research question targeting the improvement of a cultivated plant to changes in the environment (water deficit, poor soil....). To do this, they are required to mobilize their knowledge in order to analyze phenotypes and adaptive strategies of plants, to model them and to propose an improvement objective (ideoptype). The thematic school "functional genomics of tropical and Mediterranean plants" aims to illustrate, through case studies, how the knowledge acquired on model species and the use of genomic data on species that are still little studied allow the design of classical or biotechnological improvement strategies adapted to the stress resistance of the main tropical species. In this school, which allows exchanges between master's students, doctoral students and researchers, the set-up and tools of partnerships are also illustrated, allowing the elaboration of international and inter-institutional collaborative research targeting development aid. Through the choice of options offered, students can refine their training and either go further by working on the adaptation of plants to climate change or on their resistance to biotic stresses, or open up to the human and social dimensions of plant improvement. Finally, the Montpellier international campus is the leading European research center for plant sciences dedicated to the improvement of Mediterranean and tropical cultivated species, thanks in particular to theIRD (Institute of Research for Development) and CIRAD (Center for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development), Students will have access to a wide range of internships in France or abroad, giving them the opportunity to explore research on a tropical crop species and/or a research project in the South in partnership with a national or international research institute.
In addition to this specialization, additional skills to the scientific ones are considered essential in all the courses of the Master in Biology and Agrosciences and are fully integrated in the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Improvement course. This concerns documentary research and the management and exploitation of databases, scientific communication and the setting up, management and conduct of projects.
For more information on this course and its content, go to https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/biologie-des-plantes/biotechnologie-et-amelioration-des-plantes-tropicales/
> 80%
Success rate
Objectives
The objective of the BAPT program is to train students who are ready to undertake a doctoral thesis and become researchers who will be recruited in basic or applied research structures in the plant sciences. Alternative outlets exist for students who do not wish to follow this path (research engineers, scientific communication, consulting in communities, associations, etc.). For research, all research organizations are targeted (Universities, CNRS, IRD, INRAe and CIRAD), including applied research in partnership with companies in the plant improvement sector, plant biotechnologies or research for development aid, as well as international research centers (e.g. CGIAR center). The Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants course allows students, through several specific modules and choices of options, to acquire a more advanced specialization in translational biology (transfer of knowledge acquired and approaches developed on model species to the improvement of species of non-model agronomic interest) and to become aware of the conduct of international projects for development aid. The choice of subjects for the M1 and M2 internships also helps 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 private companies).
Know-how and skills
Knowing:
- Acquire in-depth knowledge in the fields of genetics and genomics, cellular and molecular biology, plant biology (development, ecophysiology, basis of interactions with microorganisms...)
- 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...)
- To have a vision of the related disciplines to be mobilized to conduct a plant improvement project in a development aid context (law of the living, ethno-ecology, fair and equitable partnership ...).
Know-how:
- Know how to mobilize concepts and tools from different disciplines to define a research question and set up an experiment, to analyze results and to draw conclusions and/or operating models.
- Know how to identify the questions 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 reflection in order to design an improvement strategy.
- Know how to search for or collect relevant scientific information to address a given problem, prioritize this information, compare it, synthesize it and build working hypotheses for new research.
- Know how to communicate and argue with rigor and precision in a manner adapted to different audiences or contexts, through oral or written presentations.
- Know how to lead a project within a team, know how to 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 common project.
- Know how to work independently.
- Know how to respect the legal, ethical and scientific rules of conduct related to experimentation, publication and use of documents, sharing of biological resources and partnerships.
- Ability to adapt to multicultural work environments.
Organization
Internships, tutored projects
Internship | Mandatory |
|---|---|
Duration of the course | 5 and 6 months |
Internship abroad | Possible |
Internships and tutored projects are essential elements of the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding course
A 5-month internship is offered in M1 and a 6-month internship is offered in M2, with a defense in front of a jury of experts in conditions of high-level scientific debate. The Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants course is based on a particularly rich scientific environment in the field of tropical plant improvement in Montpellier. The student will thus be able to join a laboratory dealing with this problem 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's partnered facilities, IRD's mixed international laboratories, or international or national institutes in the South). This configuration guarantees that these problems will be tackled with a high scientific level and a supervision in accordance with the standards of the Master's program, and gives the student an opening to international and multicultural partnerships.
Many of the courses in the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding program are based on participatory approaches, with students carrying out tutorials and projects designed to link the knowledge acquired in the more academic courses in order to define and/or solve a research question related to plant improvement.
Program
The Biotechnology and Improvement of Tropical Plants program is divided into 4 semesters, each comprising Teaching Units (TU) validated by ECTS credits. It is integrated following a L3 in Life Sciences. It is both an academic program and one that includes a participatory project-based pedagogical approach in many courses.
The first year (M1) is mainly devoted to the acquisition of the fundamental and technical bases of research in Plant Biology around several major themes: genetics and plant improvement, plant adaptation to the environment and ecophysiology, development, plant-microorganism interaction, metabolic engineering, as well as research tools such as statistics and bioinformatics. The 5-month internship completes the M1 training with a first research experience in a laboratory.
The second year (M2) proposes to broaden this knowledge by deepening these disciplinary fields and by giving in several modules the opportunity to the students to mobilize and integrate their knowledge to solve research questions or to develop projects around plant improvement. The 6-month internship constitutes an experience corresponding to the student's professional project.
The list of teaching units that make up the course is available 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 is available 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 creditsBibliographic synthesis
2 creditsInternship 4 months
15 creditsCHOICE 1
3 creditsYour choice: 1 of 2
Gene networks-Modeling
3 creditsImprovement of tropical and Mediterranean plants
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 is available on the Master's website https://bioagro.edu.umontpellier.fr/master-biologie-agrosciences/biologie-des-plantes/.
Thematic school
3 creditsIntegrated approach to plant improvement: 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 Breeding Project: phenotypes
3 creditsBioInformatics: building queries
2 creditsCHOICE 1
3 creditsYour choice: 1 of 4
Adaptation of tropical field crops to climate change
3 creditsPlants and Men, a shared history
3 creditsModel plants, modeling
3 creditsVirology
3 credits
Project management
3 credits
Admission
How to register
Applications are made on the following platforms:
French & European students:
- For the M1, follow the procedure " My Master " from 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 "Studies in France" procedure: https: //pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/etudesenfrance/dyn/public/authentification/login.html
Applications are studied by a pedagogical committee made up of the main teachers of the Master's program.
Successful candidates 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 Improvement of Tropical Plants 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 a M1 in Plant Biology or equivalent. The program is open to French and foreign students via the "Welcome to France" program, subject to acceptance of applications.
Necessary pre-requisites
Plant biology and physiology, molecular biology, biotechnology
Recommended prerequisites
Genetics
Basics of statistics and bioinformatics
Taste for plant improvement
Taste for research in international partnership
Basic knowledge of English (reading publications)
And then
Further studies
A very high proportion of students graduating from the Master in Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding go on to do a doctorate in France or abroad, where they are highly appreciated.
Some students complete their training with management training to move towards entrepreneurship, or towards bioinformatics to strengthen their skills at the interface of experimental biology and computer science.
At the end of the Master's degree, some students join research organizations as study engineers or as international volunteers in the South. Other students go into scientific communication (museum, popularization) or consulting (local authorities, associations, non-governmental organizations).
Continuing your studies abroad
Thanks to the numerous links between the Master's teaching teams and the exceptional network of international collaborations maintained by the Montpellier laboratories, the 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 internship abroad, it is also widely open to those doing their internship in Montpellier or in other research centers in France.
Bridges and reorientation
Students enrolled in the Biotechnology and Tropical Plant Breeding course can be reoriented between M1 and M2 within the courses of the Master's in Agrosciences Biology, in particular with the BiPa, IPM and MEV courses, subject to acceptance by the course directors concerned.
Professional integration
- Doctoral contracts from public or private organizations
- Research organizations, national and international
- Research and Development sector in private enterprise
- Advice and expertise within local authorities, associations or non-governmental organizations
- Scientific communication (press, museum)