Phytobiome is a term that refers to a plant (phyto) in a specific ecological zone (biome). This includes the plant itself, its environment, and all micro and macro-organisms living in, on, or around the plant. These organisms include microbes, collectively known as microbiota, animals, and other plants. The environment includes soil, air and climate. Knowledge of interactions within a phytobiome can be used to create tools for agriculture, crop management, improving health, preservation, productivity, and sustainability of cropping systems and forests. The purpose of this module is to make students aware of the different facets and areas of research that make up the phytobiome, to give them integrative examples that include at least some of these components. Ultimately, it aims to lead them to develop a collaborative research project, preferably in relation to their own activities, under the concept of phytobiome.
The philosophy of the module is to have parallel interventions on which the students will rely to develop a research project labelled "phytobiome" by group.