PhD title: Search for new antibiotics in extremophilic worms and studying their adaptation and functions in extreme habitats
*Deadline for application: June 1, 2016*
*A PhD position* is proposed under the joint supervision of two teams *Unité EvoEcoPaleo/Ecoimmunology group, Université de Lille CNRS, UMR8198, France* and *Laboratoire Environnement Profond/Etude des Ecosystèmes Profonds, IFREMER Brest Le Plouzané, France*, in the context of the PIONEER program funded by Fondation Total (2016-2019).
Please contact: Aurélie Tasiemski, MCF HDR, EEP lab, (<mailto:aurelie.tasiemski@
We are looking for a motivated candidate interested in identifying new antibiotics produced by newly found species of extremophilic nematodes and studying the role played by these peptides in the interactions of the nematodes with its surrounding microbial communities.
The discovery of abundant and well-adapted nematode communities in several extreme environments has opened new frontiers in the ecology and biology of the species thriving in such ecosystems. Invertebrates adapt to extreme environments through the establishment of chemotrophic and/or detoxifying microbial symbioses. This obligatory interaction is presumably controlled by an efficient immune system based, among other factors, on the production of AntiMicrobial Peptides (AMPs). There is no consensus sequences of AMPs, with a higher AMP diversity in marine than in terrestrial species and peculiar sequences in extremophile species. The objectives of this thesis are to isolate and biochemically characterize novel AMPs produced by new discovered nematode species living in coastal and deep extreme environments and to (ii) understand the AMP based interactions between nematodes and prokaryotes in extremophile habitats by using multiple approaches. This research will accommodate basic, as well as applied, research (patents are envisaged).
Location: The PhD will take place at the EEP lab, Lille and at the LEP lab Brest, cruises for sampling can be envisaged.
Doctoral school
ED “Sciences de la Matière, du Rayonnement et de l’Environnement” (“SMRE” ; ED 104), Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies ; Filière doctorale : Géosciences Ecologie Paléontologie Océanologie ;
Funding: Co-funding between Total Fondation and the doctoral School of Lille. CV supporting the motivation and the qualification of the candidate are prerequisites for an application at the doctoral school of Lille.
Applicant profile
Application to this program is open for all students, whatever their nationality, with the equivalent of a master’s degree either in microbiology or in immunology or in ecology.
An experience of experimental work in the laboratory is strongly required. Interests for biochemistry and interdisciplinary approaches are necessary as well as mobility.
To apply
Please send a motivation letter together with your CV to Aurélie Tasiemski, (<mailto:aurelie.tasiemski@
