PhD: Call for applications CJS 2014

Inra and the Doctoral School RP2E offer during 2014 one “Contrat Jeune Scientifique” (Young Scientist Contract) for 3 years (duration for completion of a PhD) followed by two years of postdoctoral research abroad. Research will take place at Nancy (France). Candidates may choose among four topics,  two of them being proposed by IAM scientists.

 

1- Functional characterization of a chloroplast-targeted candidate effector of the poplar rust pathogen Melampsora larici-populina: could the rust fungus hijack chloroplastic functions to achieve infection?

Contact: Sébastien Duplessis, Arnaud Hecker

2-Functional variability of the detoxification system in lignolytic fungi                          Contact: E. Gelhaye, M. Morel-Rouhier

Call_for_applications_CJS_2014_RP2E-Inra-Nancy

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PhD and Postdoctoral positions

Positions available in IAM department for september 2014: (click on the link to obtain a pdf version presenting the project)
– 2 PhD thesis :
Topic 1: Genetic and genomic characterization of effective mineral weathering bacteria (Description: CARACTERISATION FONCTIONNELLE D’UNE SOUCHE DE BURKHOLDERIA GLATHEI EFFICACE POUR ALTERER LES MINERAUX)

Topic 2: Impact of nutrient availability on the structure of the forest soil bacterial communities (Description: IMPACT DE LA DISPONIBILITE EN CATIONS NUTRITIFS SUR LA STRUCTURATION ET LE FONCTIONNEMENT DES COMMUNAUTES BACTERIENNES DES SOLS FORESTIERS CAPABLES D’ALTERER LES MINERAUX )

– 1 junior post-doc position :
Metagenomic analysis of the structure of the forest bacterial communities in different reactive interface of the forest ecosystem

 

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Assistant professor position in Physiology

Maître de Conférences Section CNU : 66 (english see below)

Profil de publication: Physiologie/Biologie cellulaire Vacant au 02/09/2014

Profil enseignement :

Filières de formation concernées : UFR STB- Département Biologie Végétale- Génétique et Microbiologie – Licence Sciences du Vivant, Master (Forêt, Agronomie, Génie de l’environnement, spécialité Biologie des interactions plantes-environnement) et BioMANE (Biotechnologies, microbiologie, aliment, nutrition, environnement) (L1/L2/L3, M1 et M2).La personne recrutée devra s’intégrer dans des enseignements de Physiologie et Biologie Végétale déjà existants et devra aussi s’impliquer dans des enseignements de biologie cellulaire.

Mots-clés enseignement : Physiologie végétale, Biologie cellulaire

Profil recherche :

Le travail de recherche de la personne recrutée s’effectuera au sein de l’UMR 1136 INRA/UL « Interactions arbres/Microorganismes ». Il/Elle s’intégrera dans l’équipe « Réponses aux stress et régulation redox ». Il/Elle travaillera notamment (i) sur l’étude des processus de détoxication intracellulaire et/ou (ii) sur les mécanismes d’adaptation des champignons forestiers à leur environnement. Des compétences fortes en physiologie et/ou biologie cellulaire sont requises pour mener à bien ce projet. Des compétences en biochimie seraient un atout.

Mots-clés recherche : Champignons, Biologie cellulaire, protéines, interactions, arbre

Research:

The research program at the interface between theme 1 and theme 2 aims at studying the mechanisms of fungal adaptation to their environment focusing on the lignin decaying fungi. The mechanisms and the gene networks involved in this adaptation could be mainly due to extension/contraction of gene families in particular those involved in stress response. Among these gene families, our preliminary data on the GSTome performed on the wood decaying fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium revealed that duplications have been followed in all investigated cases (>15 isoforms) by neo-functionnalisation processes leading to different specificities/activities in the various investigated enzymes. Furthermore, beside the classical genes involved in stress responses, we have highlighted the induction of genes coding for small secreted proteins (SSP) in response to oak extractives. These small proteins do not exhibit any homology with sequences available in the databases. A clear relationship has been observed between wood specificity and secretion of such proteins.

Besides these examples, comparative genomic analyses at inter and intra species level are underway to identify expanded new detoxification or signalling families involved in the adaptation to the degradation of various recalcitrant compounds.

 

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Assistant professor position in Microbial Ecology

Maître de Conférences Section CNU : 66/65 (english see below)

Profil de publication : Ecologie microbienne Vacant au 02/09/2014

Profil enseignement :
La personne recrutée devra s’intégrer dans des enseignements de Microbiologie et de physiologie végétale existants. Elle devra également développer des enseignements d’écologie microbienne à destination des Master BEFAGE et BIOMANE notamment.

UFR STB- Département Biologie Végétale- Génétique et Microbiologie – Licence Sciences du Vivant, Master BEFAGE (Biologie et Ecologie pour la Forêt, l’Agronomie et la Gestion des Ecosystèmes) et BioMANE (Biotechnologies, Microbiologie, Aliment, Nutrition, Environnement) (L1/L2/L3, M1 et M2)

Mots-clés enseignement : Microbiologie, physiologie végétale

Profil recherche :
Les recherches dans le domaine de la filière forêt/Bois sont des thématiques prioritaires de l’UL et elles sont notamment portées par le pôle scientifique A2F, mais également par le laboratoire d’excellence « ARBRE ». La personne recrutée intégrera l’équipe « Ecogénomique des interactions» de l’UMR 1136 « Interactions arbres/Microorganismes ». Elle travaillera, en appui de la thématique « Ecologie et rôle des communautés microbiennes de l’écosystème forestier », sur l’étude des communautés microbiennes (bactéries et champignons) colonisant et dégradant le bois. En complément de compétences en écologie microbienne, biologie moléculaire, microscopie et biochimie, il ou elle devra avoir une formation solide en physiologie végétale et/ou en anatomie du bois, lui permettant de développer également des approches intégrées permettant l’étude in situ des mécanismes de la dégradation du bois
Nom laboratoire : Interactions Arbres/Microorganismes, UMR INRA/UL 1136

Mots-clés recherche : Ecologie microbienne, bactéries, champignons, bois.

The research program aims at studying the ecology of the microbial communities colonizing wood and the complex interactions established between bacteria and decaying fungi. Using a combination of cultivation dependent and independent approaches (in situ and in microcosm), the candidate will (i) decipher the direct and indirect role of these microbes in the wood degradation process and (ii) connect wood biochemistry to microbial ecology.

Required experiences: The candidate should have a background in microbial ecology, molecular biology, physiology, biochemistry and/or microscopy. Knowledge in biotic interaction domain (bacteria with eucaryotes/microeucaryotes) or trophic interactions will be appreciated.

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Postdoctoral position on forest epidemiology modeling

A postdoctoral position on forest epidemiology modeling is available at the Agroclim (INRA, Avignon) and Tree/Microorganism Interactions laboratories (INRA, Nancy) in France.

The Agroclim and Tree/Microorganism Interactions (IAM) laboratories are seeking a highly-qualified post-doctoral researcher to work on a joint project assessing the impacts of climate change on the establishment and development of crop and forest pathosystems in France. Climate change largely questions food security, but its impact on fungal diseases has been under explored, resulting in poor anticipation by management strategies designed to limit epidemics. The most significant work on climate change’s impact on diseases in France is related to forests, with INRA already having developed research models resulting in a fine description of plant x pathogen x climate interactions, as well as operational approaches largely used in forest health to identify and quantify the risks associated to future bioclimatic niches. The main objective of this post-doctoral appointment will be to improve these existing models and use them on a country-wide scale in order to identify areas favorable to the development of selected diseases, both for present and for future climates. This will be done for two forest foliar pathogens (Dothistroma Needle Blight disease on laricio pine and Diplodia pinea on pine) and two soft and durum wheat aerial fungi (stem and leaf rusts).

The successful candidate should hold a PhD with a background in epidemiology or agronomy/forestry, and also have experience in modeling. Excellent written and spoken skills in French or English are a must. The project is part of the larger framework of the newly started research network CLIF (Climate change and fungal diseases) within the INRA meta-programme, Adaptation of Agriculture and Forests to Climate Change. The successful candidate would join a group of approximately 30 scientists, including two international leaders in the field.
The appointment is for two years, with a provisional start date of July 2014. The candidate’s time would be split between the two labs, with 15 months spent at the Agroclim unit in Avignon (http://www6.paca.inra.fr/agroclim) and 9 months at the Tree/Microorganism Interactions unit in Nancy (https://mycor.iam.inrae.fr/IAM/)

Candidates must send their CV and a cover letter to Marie Launay (Agroclim, Avignon) mlaunay@avignon.inra.fr and Benoit Marcais (IAM, Nancy) benoit.marcais@nancy.inra.fr.

Candidates will be encouraged to apply for an AgreenSkills fellowship that will bring the gross monthly salary up to €3500. The next call for submission is 5 May 2014, 24:00 CET. To find out more about the programme and whether you are able to apply for a fellowship, visit www.agreenskills.eu
One of the AgreenSkills eligibility requirements is not having spent more than 12 months in France within the last 3 years immediately prior to the expected date of recruitment.

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Post-doctoral position IAM

Open position: Two-year postdoctoral position in the team “Stress response and redox regulation” in Nancy

A two-year postdoctoral position is open in the team “Stress response and redox regulation” (UMR1136 Université de Lorraine/INRA) located at the faculty of sciences in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France. The research project, funded by the national funding agency (ANR), aims at dissecting the mechanisms of maturation of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins in plants using a functional genomics approach, focusing on A-type carrier proteins, which are present both in chloroplast and mitochondria. Several roles have been proposed for these proteins, but their exact function is unclear. We want to develop a multidisciplinary project associating plant genetics and physiology as well as molecular, biochemical and structural approaches. This approach will allow delineating the biochemical and spectroscopic properties of recombinant proteins and should help identifying the interaction partners and understanding the transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation mechanisms necessary to coordinate the expression and activity of the different components of the Fe-S cluster assembly machineries. For the latter aspect, we would like to develop fluorescent probes. Applicants should have a solid background in biochemistry and structural biology, especially concerning metalloproteins if possible. It would also be appreciated that the candidates possess competence in cell imaging.

The position will be open in the first months of 2014. Applicants should send their CV with the names of referees to Nicolas Rouhier (Nicolas.Rouhier@univ-lorraine.fr).

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