*POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN ECOLOGICAL GENOMICS IN ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA*
*CNRS, TOULOUSE, FRANCE*
A post-doctoral position is available for two years on the following
project, “Identification of key genes underlying disease resistance to
estimate the adaptive potential of natural plant populations in the
current climate change”. The postdoctoral researcher will spend 24
months in the research group of Fabrice Roux
(http://www6.toulouse.inra.fr/lipm_eng/Research/Fabrice-Roux) at the
Institute of Plant — Microbes Interactions (LIPM) in Toulouse (France;
http://www6.toulouse.inra.fr/lipm). This position is available from
September 2014 and is funded by the Laboratory of Excellence ‘Towards a
Unified theory of biotic Interactions: the roLe of environmental
Perturbations'(Labex TULIP) and the Région Midi-Pyrénées.
The main goals of the post-doctoral project are (i) to identify genes in
the model plant /Arabidopsis thaliana /associated with natural variation
of microbiota, and (ii) to identify the signatures of selection acting
on those genes. The postdoctoral researcher will be in charge of (i) the
characterization of the bacterial and fungal communities (barcoding
approach) in 80 natural populations of /A. thaliana /located at
different altitudes in the South-West of France, (ii) the genomic
characterization of those 80 /A. thaliana/ populations (Pool-Seq
approach), (iii) the statistical analyses to map the genes associated
with natural variation of microbial communities, and (iv) the genome
scan of molecular signatures of natural selection. The post-doctoral
researcher will work in close collaboration with the bioinformatic
platform (Institute of Plant — Microbes Interactions, LIPM) that will
perform the analysis of NGS data. The project offers many opportunities
for the postdoctoral researcher to pursue its own ideas using available
genomic data.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated evolutionary biologist
with a strong background in quantitative genetics and population genomics
(with the prerequisite bioinformatic skills to carry out analyses of
population genomic data sets) and, if possible, with laboratory experience
in molecular methods related to metagenomics.
The Institute of Plant-Microbe Interactions (LIPM) of Toulouse, located
on the campus of the French National Institute for Agronomy (INRA)
belongs to an institute (FR-AIB) which homes about 350 researchers from
INRA, CNRS and University studying Molecular Biology and Evolutionary
Ecology in plants. Toulouse, located in the South West of France, near
the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean sea, is attractive for its wide
variety of food and wines, and is an active area for Plant Research and
seed companies.
For application, please send a short CV including a description of past
and present research activities, a motivation letter and the contact
details of at least two referees. Applicants should not have more than
five years experience after they obtained their PhD degree.The salary is
about 2200 EUR a month.
*Applications or informal enquiries should be sent to:*
*Dr Fabrice Roux, Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes-Microorganismes
(LIPM), UMR CNRS/INRA 2594, BP 52627, 31326 Castanet-Tolosan cedex,
France. Tel : +33 (0)5 61 28 54 59. Fax : +33 (5) 61 28 50 61. E-mail :
fabrice.roux@toulouse.inra.fr***