About the Programme

The M.Sc. Plant Genomics Course provides an insight into the genome and its characterization, variations and regulatory mechanisms in plants to apply in breeding programs.

Plant Genomics (Genome+Omics) is the study of genome/genes involved to determine various traits in plants for crop improvement towards higher yield, resistance to abiotic stress (salt, drought, submergence, etc) and biotic stress (pest-pathogen attack). Application based advanced technologies like Next Generation Sequencing, Genome Editing - CRISPR, Allele Mining, etc., are the key tools for molecular based crop improvement in Genomics.

Objective:

• The aim and objective of this course is to provide students with a working knowledge of the principles and practice of basic and advanced Genetics and Genomics allowing them to understand and interpret genomic data. The objectives is to prepare the students to adapt to the research environment and understand how projects are executed in a research laboratory.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identifying various omics approaches and their role in understanding plant function. Design and develop experiments to understand and manipulate plant function. They can get job opportunities in agribusiness, private companies, industries, universities and research laboratories.
• They can pursue higher studies and research in the field of plant genomics.

Syllabus

Career path you can choose after the course

Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years. However, advanced technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), usage of JMP software in genome interrogations, genome editing using CRISPR, allele mining, multi-genic approach in growth and development are revolutionizing this practice. Hence, the breeder’s investments on the technologies based genetic crop improvement within limited timeline is appreciable. Companies like Bayer (Germany), Syngenta (Switzerland) and DuPont (US) depend on combinations of both molecular and conventional breeding to develop various crop seeds for novel traits. With the estimated market of plant breeding and CRISPR plants to grow and reach USD 14.6 billion by 2023, the public and private sectors are interested to fund towards the application and development part of high-throughput sequencing systems, marker-assisted breeding and genomic selection in the field to drive the program over the next five years. Our course is designed to support and upskill the students to work in the areas of agriculture, molecular breeding and healthcare sectors. Science graduates from Centurion meet industrial partners (Syngenta and Kaveri Seeds Co.) and research partners (NRRI and IIRR) expectations to be well-versed with advanced techniques involved in the field of crop improvement through genome-wide association studies.