Exploration and practice of a bioinformatics course for grassland science majors at Qingdao Agricultural University

Big data analysis in biology allows us to understand how organisms grow, develop, and adapt. However, this requires organizing and analyzing vast amounts of data using computers and databases. Biologists must apply bioinformatics knowledge to solve problems in life sciences. However, this field is not widely taught in grassland science majors, despite several grass plants being sequenced. As a result, the grassland science industry needs bioinformatics experts who can extract valuable genes for molecular breeding from the genome. To address this issue, Qingdao Agricultural University introduced a bioinformatics course with positive feedback from students. Balancing theoretical knowledge and practical tool use is critical during teaching to provide a comprehensive understanding of bioinformatics. This article offers advice for grassland science majors looking to introduce similar courses.