Context of the internship

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) is a world leader in agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences. Its research aims to build solutions for multi-performing agriculture, quality food and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems. The joint research unit Physiology, Environment and Genetics for Animals and Livestock Systems (UMR Pegase) is located in Brittany, 10 km from Rennes, in Saint-Gilles. INRAE and Institut Agro agents carry out research and provide training in animal biology and breeding systems. Within the unit, researchers from the Genetics and Genomics team study the genetic background of the adaptation of laying hens to innovative and sustainable rearing environments.
Cage rearing of laying hens is disappearing in Europe, in favor of alternative systems that offer living conditions more respectful of animal welfare. In 2020, 52% of laying hens in the European Union were raised in alternative systems to cages. An end to cage farming in the European Union is even planned for 2027, following the End the Cage Age citizens' initiative. However, purebred animals from breeding nuclei are generally reared in cages. This breeding system makes it easier to monitor the pedigree and individual performance of selection candidates. The environments in selection nucleus and in some farms are very different: highly controlled in selection and more subject to perturbations in production. However, breeders aim to offer animals from a selection that is relevant to all farms, including alternative systems. It is therefore necessary to assess whether the best-performing animals in conventional systems are also good performers in alternative systems. These differences in the ranking of candidates for selection are due to interactions between genotype and environment (G×E).
Your objective is to evaluate these interactions on the major selection criteria for laying hens, in order to contribute to the transition of laying hen farms towards more welfare-friendly and agro-ecological farming.

Assignments

Your mission will be to estimate the genetic parameters of certain major traits for selection purposes, such as egg-laying intensity, in contrasting environments (floor vs cage system). The parameters to be estimated are: heritabilities in each environment and genetic correlations for the same trait in two environments (the use of random regressions, known as reaction norms, may be considered, as a bonus).
This internship is an opportunity to discover impact research in animal genetics (public-private partnership). During your internship, you'll learn about research by identifying the problem you've been assigned, carrying out a search and a literature review on the topic, analyzing data (with R, for example), performing genetic calculations, writing a scientific report and taking part in the day-to-day life of a research team.
A Ph.D. thesis on a topic close to that of this internship may be discussed during the internship.

Profile and skills required

• Interest in genetic improvement of adaptive capacities of farm animals.
• Interest in data analysis.
• Agricultural engineer or Master's degree.
• Possibility to do this internship in English.

Reception and contact details

• Internship allowance: approximately 586 € per month (according to the minimum hourly rate in effect in January 2025).
• Place of the training course: INRAE, UMR Pegase, 35590 Saint-Gilles.
• Lunch is available at the INRAE restaurant at a subsidized rate.
• Possible access by public transport from Rennes.
• Duration / period desired: 6 months, possible from september 2024 according to the schedule of your university.
• First contact by email only (nicolas.bedere[at]inrae.fr) with CV and cover letter.