Junior Research Scientist in structural and functional biology of the human microbiota

Organisation/Company

French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE)

Department

MICALIS

Research Field

Chemistry » Biochemistry

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

France

Application Deadline

5 Mar 2024 – 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Permanent

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

MICALIS is a Joint Research Unit (Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech) that gathers over 350 people (22 teams) and is located at the INRAE research center in Jouy-en-Josas. You will join the ChemSyBio team led by Dr. Olivier Berteau & Dr. Alhosna Benjdia. The main research objective of the ChemSyBio team is to get a better understanding of the roles and mechanisms of the enzymes of the microbiome, in the context of human health. The team is mainly interested in an emerging family of metalloenzymes that play a key role notably in bacterial adaptation to the host, the biosynthesis of antibiotics and the post-translational modification of proteins and peptides. These enzymes catalyze a wide range of reactions, some of them being unprecedented in living organisms, by exploiting various cofactors such as vitamin B12. This vitamin is essential for humans but also for the microbiome. Recent studies have shown that while only 20% of the bacteria from the microbiota produce vitamin B12, 80% of them are dependent on it. In the microbiota, there is an intense competition for vitamin B12, and bacteria have thus evolved various adaptive strategies to acquire this essential cofactor (i.e. trafficking, remodeling etc.). Finally, the importance of vitamin B12 in the microbiota also suggests critical roles in physiological processes that have yet to be elucidated.
In this context, you will develop a research program on these novel metalloenzymes with the aim of understanding their importance within the microbiome and investigating their structure-function relationships. Hence, you will explore their diversity in terms of cofactors and structure, as well as the interactions of these enzymes with their substrates. In particular, vitamin B12-dependent enzymes will be investigated with the aim of deciphering their diversity and understanding the key role of vitamin B12 in the microbiome and host interactions. To this aim, you will benefit from the methodologies and expertises of the ChemSyBio team on emerging systems, such as protein crystallization approaches, biochemistry and physico-chemical analyses, as well as additional structural biology approaches (e.g. Cryo-EM, Serial crystallography), in order to get an integrated view of the diversity and role of these novel metalloenzymes in the context of human health and physiology.

Requirements

Research Field

Chemistry

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competions-research-scientists-…

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE)

Country

France

City

78350 JOUY-EN-JOSAS

Postal Code

78350

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competions-research-scientists-…

Contact

City

78350 JOUY-EN-JOSAS

Website

https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competions-research-scientists-crcn

Postal Code

78350

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED