POST-DOC IN MICROBIOLOGY, INSTITUT PASTEUR PARIS

General Information
A 23-months post-doctoral position is available in the Unit “Genetics of Biofilms” [1] at the Microbiology Department of the Institut Pasteur to work with the group of Christophe Beloin [2]. The position is offered in the frame of the project “Fir-OM” funded by the ANR (The French national research granting agency) and is expected to start at in April 2017 at the latest.

One main focus of our group is the identification and characterisation of biofilm-promoting factors favouring bacteria to surfaces, inter-species and intra-species interactions.

We have recently started collaboration with the group of Simonetta Gribaldo at the Institut Pasteur on the Negativicutes, a peculiar lineage of Firmicutes that stunningly harbours an outer membrane and can therefore shed light on the diversity and evolution of bacterial cell envelopes, and the transition between Gram-positives and Gram-negatives [3].

Phylogenomic analyses have revealed that the outer-membrane components of Negativicutes were potential remnants of an ancient diderm cell envelope that was present in the ancestor of the Firmicutes [3]. We are
addressing different aspects of the properties of the outer-membrane of these poorly studied bacteria, including the characterisation of its components and their  influence on biofilm life-style.
 
Project Description
The post-doctoral fellow to be recruited will work more specifically on Veillonella parvula, an anaerobic member of the Negativicutes that is present in different human microbiomes (mouth, gut, lung, vagina) and behaves both as a commensal and as an opportunistic pathogen.

By adapting genetic tools recently developed in Veillonella atypica, the post-doc will perform both targeted and random mutagenesis to identify genes involved in the capacity of V. parvula to grow as biofilms and to interact with other relevant members of the gut microbiota. In parallel, selected proteins will be expressed in Escherichia coli to assess the effect of their expression on E. coli adhesion and their capacity to complement certain E. coli mutants defective in outer membrane integrity. These proteins will be tagged and expressed both in E. coli and V. parvula allowing both their localisation in these bacteria and their purification to raise polyclonal antibodies.

Besides functional characterization of the biofilm-promoting factors of V. parvula, other aspects of the project include the possible participation in the development of an in vivo model of gut colonisation by V. parvula and in the characterization of other important outer membrane systems in the Negativicutes.

• health insurance
• contribution to retirement plan and unemployment benefits
• company restaurant
• vacation: 2.5 days/month worked

https://research.pasteur.fr/en/job/post-doctoral-position-in-microbiology/