BigOmics module
Last update: 2 August 2024
It is part of the Agrosciences Master's curriculum at the University of Montpellier, and will be offered for the fourth time at the start of the 2024 academic year to students in the four M2 courses (between 30 and 40 students per year). It includes lectures by specialists in specific plants or methodologies, as well as tutorials in the form of mini-projects on adaptive genomic diversity in rice. The lectures are given by world-renowned Montpellier researchers, and the rice research topics are derived from thesis work defended in Montpellier by students from Portugal (JDA SANTOS, 2019), Senegal (A BEYE 2023) and Vietnam (HV NGUYEN 2023). The research mini-projects offered to students in this way are at the cutting edge of current research and totally pioneering.
The module's evolutionary framework is complemented by various projects, all of which contribute to the continuation of research work and the dissemination of skills. The AdaptGrass project (2019-2023) was funded by the I-site MUSE and included a grant for a co-tutored thesis between UM and UCAD, as well as a training workshop in Senegal. The research theme was that of adaptive introgressions in rice, in particular for its adaptations to extreme water regimes, and in sorghum, in particular for gene flow involving the Guinea margaritiferum type. The DivBreed project (2020-2023) was co-funded by Labex Agro and SEARCA. It covered a thesis on the diversity of elite rices at IRRI, under the joint supervision of UM and UPLB in the Philippines. The DiVaGenomes project (2022-2024) was funded by the AUF to help hold an ambitious workshop in Senegal and then organize a workshop in Antananarivo, Madagascar, as part of a triangular collaboration. The EU-funded BioPolis project is supporting a training workshop in Montpellier for students identified by CIBIO in Porto and UM in Montpellier. In addition, CIRAD and INRAe are making a significant contribution, and Agropolis Fondation is funding a mobility grant for Issa DIEDHIOU (UCAD) to come to Montpellier in 2024. Together, these projects coherently support the implementation of the Research - Higher Education - International Partnership triangle in the strategic field of mobilizing genomic diversity for crop adaptation.
The Dakar workshop was held from May 8 to 12, 2023 at UCAD, and was organized by the teaching staff of the Plant Biology Department.
There were 54 participants on site:
- 40 students from two UCAD courses, the first year of the Bioinformatics Master's program (6 students) and the 2nd year of the BioVeM Master's program (22 students), or currently on a research placement at CERAAS/ISRA in Thiès (12 students).
- 10 teachers or researchers to continue training in Senegal (7), Niger (1) and Madagascar (2)
- 4 on-site trainers from France, CIRAD (3) and INRAe (1).
The entire group was welcomed by Professor Bassirou LO, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, and his team, in the presence of Ibra TOURE, CIRAD Regional Director and INRAe representative in Dakar.The Antananarivo workshop was held from April 11 to 16, 2024 at the University's Campus Numérique de l'AUF facilities.
It was attended by 37 students, including :
- 22 Master 2 students, including 18 from Master PHYTECH and 4 from Master SYGEDUR,
- 6 PhD students and 5 researchers, as well as
- 6 training tutors, including 3 from the university and 3 from FOFIFA.
In addition to the local trainers, four trainers came from France and one from Senegal.
The collective was welcomed by Pr Lala Harivelo RAVAOMANARIVO, Vice-President of the University of Antananarivo, and Pr Aimé Lala RAZAFINJARA, Managing Director of FOFIFA. The closing session featured a presentation by Dr Jean-Marc BOUVET, CIRAD Regional Director, and a number of interviews (https://www.cirad.fr/dans-le-monde/nos-directions-regionales/afrique-australe-et-madagascar/actualites-afrique-australe-et-madagascar/formation-bigomics-a-madagascar).
The internationalization of the module was reinforced by another international BigOmics workshop, this time in Montpellier, co-organized by CIBIO and the University of Montpellier as part of the European BIOPOLIS project, and held at CIRAD from March 4 to 8, 2024. It brought together 15 students from various institutional backgrounds and seven different countries. It was opened by Claire BILLOT, CIRAD, Director of AGAP Institut, and Paula Dias, CNRS, coordinator of the BIOPOLIS project in Montpellier. Held in English, it provided an opportunity to develop complementary teaching aids.
Claire BILLOT (Cirad), Issa DIEDHIOU (UCAD), Diaga DIOUF (UCAD), Jean Christophe GLASZMANN (Cirad) were the pedagogical managers involved in the workshops, Khalil KANE (ISRA-CERAAS), Lucie LEMAGNEN (Cirad), Jean Michel LEONG POCK TSY (FoFiFa) Tendro RADANIELINA (Univ Antananarivo), Gautier SARAH (INRAE), Guilhem SEMPERE (Cirad) and Stéphanie SIDIBE BOCS (Cirad)
In addition to these researchers and teachers, eight trainers were called in, some from Montpellier (Olivier GARSMEUR, Simon RIO, Franc-Christophe BAURENS, Aude GILABERT, Jean-François DUFAYARD, CIRAD; Alexis DEREEPER, IRD; Franck CURK and Concetta BURGARELLA, INRAe), others from Guadeloupe (Guillaume MARTIN, CIRAD).
The supervisory team also mobilized five remote tutors to support the students' work: Nour AHMADI, Laetizia CAMUS-KULANDAIVELU, Julien FROUIN, Andrea-Maria GUYOT, Jovanie MENDY.
Last update: 2 August 2024