10:26 a.m.
Dear Forpathers,
Below is an ad for a PhD position at INRA, Nancy, France.
Best regards,
Pascal Frey
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*PhD position in Population Genomics of Fungi*
I am looking for a highly motivated candidate to work on a *population
genetics/genomics project* in the plant pathogenic species /Melampsora
larici-populina/ (responsible for the poplar rust). The aim of the PhD
is to highlight the virulence factors of this fungal plant pathogen from
a population genomic approach. Candidates should have a good background
in evolutionary ecology and above all population genetics. Knowledge on
host parasite interactions would be appreciated. Interest (but not
necessarily good skills) in molecular biology (next generation
sequencing) is required.
The proposed project stands at the core of the joint unit
Tree-Microorganism interactions (located near Nancy, East part of
France) and lies at the interface of its two major teams “ecology and
population biology of tree fungal pathogens (directed by B. Marçais) and
“eco-genomics” (directed by F. Martin). The junior scientist will thus
benefit from the complementary skills and resources of these two teams,
including advanced population genetics knowledge, large and historical
population sampling on one hand and, on the other hand, great genomics
tool and molecular resources, including genome sequence and
transcriptomic analyses performed on this model pathogen species.
The subject has been selected for application as *“Young scientist
contracts”* which result from a partnership between INRA and graduate
schools. These contracts have initial duration of 3 years (PhD) and can
be renewed for 2 more years for a post doc project (including
necessarily a period of time abroad). Young scientist contracts have
*very attractive *remuneration*** **conditions*. Before obtaining
his/her PhD, the doctoral student receives *2055€* (gross) per month.
After obtaining his/her PhD, the remuneration is *2373€* (gross) per
month. An annual bonus of *796€* is paid half-yearly. More details on
young scientist contracts can be found at
http://www.international.inra.fr/join_us/positions/research_training_positi…
Successful candidate will be selected by an examination committee of the
graduate school RP2E (Nancy). All details on how to apply can be found
at (French and English version underneath).
http://www.rp2e.inpl-nancy.fr/index.php?id=5
The competitive examination is open to any nationality. Dead line for
application is May 15^th . Position will start in fall 2010.
*Don’t hesitate to contact me for any query (halkett(a)nancy.inra.fr). *
Below is the abstract of the subject I propose.
The field of population genomics has recently emerged at the cross
between traditional population genetics and the development of
high-throughput techniques, with the aim to decipher the strength of
selection events on genome evolutions. Although not yet widely applied
to plant pathology studies, these approaches seem particularly well
suited to reveal the genetic bases of the adaptive potential of fungal
plant pathogens. While the rapid pace of pathogen evolution (which
result from intensive selection pressure through the massive deployment
of resistant genes) presents a major impediment to sustainable
agriculture, it also provides interesting opportunities to better
understand the evolutionary biology of host–parasite interactions. Here
we want to apply the population genomic toolboxes to decipher the
evolution of virulence loci in the fungus responsible for the poplar
rust (/Melampsora larici-populina/). Deepening into the genome’s
organisation, the project will successively try to (i) highlight genomic
regions subjected to a selective sweep caused by a drastic selection
event which was the overcoming of a major resistant gene, (ii) point out
the genes (among these region) under positive selection, and putatively
responsible for the gene for gene interaction and (iii) study the
evolution, including recombination rate, of these genomic regions
implied in fungal pathogenicity. This project would thus bring us
fundamental knowledge on the genome evolution of pathogens, which would
help designing sustainable strategies of crop protection.
Fabien HALKETT
INRA, Nancy-University
UMR1136 "Tree - Microorganisms Interactions"
F-54280 Champenoux
FRANCE
Tel: +33 (0)3 83 39 40 55
Fax: +33 (0)3 83 39 40 69
E-mail: halkett(a)nancy.inra.fr