Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid

In the last few years, our knowledge on plant biology has progressed to an unprecedented pace. A major cause for this progress is the development of innovative technologies that allow efficient and global analyses of genome structure, information and expression. The new technologies are rooted in advances in the sequencing of DNA and proteins, in the use of microchips, in the automation of many laboratory procedures, and in the possibility of handling large amounts of information through bioinformatic tools. Thus, in a few years, the stage has changed from that of knowing the sequence of a relatively small number of genes, into knowing the complete genome sequence of several plant species, including rice, poplar and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, as well as of many micro-organisms involved in positive (symbiotic) or negative (pathogenic) interactions with plants. The “Master in Biotechnology for Agriculture and Forestry” aims at the education of postgraduate students on the new developments in plant biotechnology through a multidisciplinary approach.
The main objectives of the Master are:
1) To give students a solid background on subjects related to Plant Biotechnology a Genomics and their applications to Agriculture, Food production and Environment.
2) To provide students with a direct and up-to-date knowledge on the different experimental techniques used in Plant Biotechnology
3) To give students an awareness of legislation, company management, and social and ethical aspects linked to Biotechnology