Course Overview

> Students learn how to:

- Integrate theoretical and practical knowledge in a design study for
a breeding program;
- Integrate genotyping and phenotyping methods
- Connect breeding methods, techniques and breeding goals depending
on species, parent al choice, breeding strategy, population genetics,
selection methods, traits of interest that are crucial for successful
practical breeding
- Integrate legal rules and variety development, breeder’s rights
and patents
- Integrate advanced statistics and bioinformatics

The project concerns the set up of a breeding program for a specific
crop (student choice) with specific goals (breeding for: resistance to
pathogens, tolerance to abiotic stresses, fruit quality, biomolecule
production, etc.).

Learning Achievement

Competence

Course prerequisites

- Students must have completed a first year of Master in Biological
science.
- Knowledge of quantitative and population genetics and evolution
basis or basic knowlege of genetics/genomics.
- Knowledge of statistics and R.

Grading Philosophy

- Essay and group presentation of the personal project.
- Quality of the proposal, report and presentation.

Course schedule

- Principles of selection and genetic gain, response to selection.
- Germplasm resources, collecting, analysing, classifying.
- International rules on germplasm resources.
- Population improvement and cultivar development (breeding for
lines, hybrids, clones, populations).
- High through-put phenotyping.
- Breeding strategies and methods including molecular breeding (MAS,
genomic selection) and biotechnologies.
- Multiple traits selection.
- Genotype by environment interaction.
- Protecting varieties and intellectual property.
- Plant Breeding international network and organization.

A focus is carried out on crop breeding but also on the breeding of
local species such as pine, grapevine, fruit trees, strawberries,
tomato, sunflower, etc.

Course type

- 42 In-class hours: face-to-face including at least 10 hours with researchers and breeders (30 hours), project study (12 hours). - Company visits (16 hours). - Distance-learning: self-study (10 hours). - Personal work (122 hours).

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Other information

Due to course content such as personal projects and company visits,
the number of students may be limited. Duration: 12 weeks (Fall Semester)

Language of instruction: English
Mode of delivery: Face-to-face teaching: in-class, seminars, flipped classroom; distance learning

Site for Inquiry