Junior research scientist on quantitative genomics of plant-microbe interactions

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

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

Work environment, missions and activities

You will be based at the Horticulture and Seeds Research Institute (IRHS) in Angers, a joint research unit under the auspices of INRAE, the Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, and the University of Angers. The institute combines a wide variety of expertise devoted to the quality and health of horticultural species and seeds. The teams within the IRHS Apple Group (25 researchers) aim to generate the knowledge needed to ensure the sustainable management of orchard health. To combat apple fungal diseases, we have chosen to focus on partial-effect quantitative resistances, considered more durable than qualitative resistances. However, there is a lack of data to explain why pests adapt so poorly to these resistances. 

One hypothesis is that the multiple pressures exerted by the plant on the pathogens force them to accumulate virulence and aggressiveness factors, which could lead them to evolutionary dead ends. As a member of the EcoFun (Evolutionary Ecology of Fungi) team, you will test this hypothesis using the pathogenic fungi Venturia inaequalis/apple model. Quantitative resistance traits (rQTL) have already been characterized in apple, and additional selection pressures may be exerted through plant resistance inducers (PRI) in a context of climate change (increases in temperature, changes in host phenology, etc.). 

Identifying the adaptive pathways that V. inaequalis populations use to respond to these selection pressures will lead you to analyse the genetic architecture of the fungus involved in quantitative interactions with the plant. You will have access to a unique collection of V. inaequalis strains sampled from apple genotypes with or without rQTL, as well as phenotyped and genotyped progenies, and to extensive omics resources. You will also have the opportunity to establish experimental facilities in orchards in collaboration with the Unité Expérimentale Horticole of Angers. 

Additionally, you will have access to the PHENOTIC high-throughput phenotyping platform and to the molecular biology and cellular imaging facilities of the SFR QuaSaV (Qualité et Santé du Végétal) in Angers. 

You will join a unique research group, where your expertise in quantitative genetics/genomics will complement the EcoFun team’s skills in functional biology and epidemiology, as well as those of the other teams in the Apple Group. Together, we will utilize the V. inaequalis/apple model to explore the evolutionary constraints that fungi encounter in overcoming both constitutive and induced partial resistances within a context of sustainable resistance management.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent). Training in genetics/quantitative genomics is recommended, as well as experience of studying plant-microbe interactions and processing omics data. Candidates should have a good command of English (both written and spoken), and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year).

Let’s talk about your future job in a video!

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. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Application guidelines CRCN 2025 pdf - 3.93 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR-2025-SPE-3
3. I apply GO