Junior Research Scientist on the determinism of host specificity of phytopathogenic bacteria

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INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) is a public research establishment under the dual authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Research.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

It is a major player in research and innovation created on 1^st of January 2020. INRAE is a research institute resulting from the merger of INRA and IRSTEA. It is a community of 12,000 people with more than 200 research units and 42 experimental units located throughout France.

The institute is among the world leaders in agricultural and food sciences, in plant and animal sciences, and is 11^th in the world in ecology and environment. INRAE’s main goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. In the face of the increase in population, climate change, scarcity of resources and decline in biodiversity, the institute develops solutions for multiperformance agriculture, high quality food and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will carry out your research activity within the Plant-Microbe-Environment Interactions Laboratory (LIPME), a joint INRAE-CNRS research unit located on the INRAE Occitanie-Toulouse campus. LIPME (www.lipme.fr), bringing together nearly 150 staffs, is structured into 13 research groups and benefits from a scientific framework favoring interactions with several plant biology and ecology laboratories in the Toulouse region. You will join the SIX team “Infectious Strategies of Xanthomonas” (www.xantho.fr) whose major objective is to decipher the molecular dialogue between pathogenic bacteria and plants.

Our inability to predict host specificity in plant pathogens from their genomes and effector repertoires strongly limits the anticipation and prevention of epidemic risks and host jumps associated with the introduction of new crops or pathogenic microbes. To date, only few microbial effector proteins have been described as determinants of host specificity. By relying on original methodological and biological proofs of concept developed within the SIX team, you will decipher, using a synthetic biology approach, the genetic determinisms of host specificity in pathogenic bacteria of the Xanthomonas genus and develop a predictive approach. To this end, you will study effectors from Xanthomonas of varied host spectra. The generic high-throughput strategy that you will develop can be extended to other candidate gene families and other plant pathogens.
For this synthetic biology project, you will exploit your expertise in microbial genetics, molecular biology and statistical processing of omics data. You will benefit from a suitable experimental and bioinformatics environment and pre-established collaborations on the subject.

Our research team tells you more about your future job

Training and skills

Open to candidates holding a PhD (or equivalent) in molecular microbiology and phytopathology.
Proven skills in synthetic biology and omics data analysis would be a plus. Proficiency in English is desired as well as long-term international experience: successful candidates who have not yet had any will have to spend a period of time abroad at the end of the internship year.

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE.