Postdoctoral position in plant transcriptomics

Evolution of terpene synthase in the latex of Amazonian trees

 

Starting: February-March 2019
Duration: 24 months
Funding: ANR JCJC (Project: Amazyme)
Salary: 2,000.00 € plus two flight tickets (Paris-Cayenne and Cayenne-Ithaca)
Location: Field work and molecular biology at UMR EcoFoG (Cayenne and Kourou, French Guiana, France) https://www.ecofog.gf/. Data analysis will be made partially at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA).

Project description:
Latex plants are distributed widely in various habitats and have evolved in a convergent manner several times across the plant kingdom indicating polyphylogenetic. origins. However, apart from a few taxa that have been commercialized for rubber production or used as model systems in plant defense studies, the ecology and evolution of latex plant exudates remains understudied, the role of exudates in lineage diversification is still unknown, and the enzymatic/chemical diversity and biochemical phenotypic plasticity have not been reported on a broad phylogenetic scale.
This project aims to study terpene synthase evolution in Amazonian forests, with a focus on oxidosqualene cyclase and prenyltransferase, in the latex of several tree species from different families within two habitats in French Guiana to better understand the role of these protein families in the adaptation and diversification of latex plants in microhabitats. The project will benefit from complementary data obtained in latex metabolomics and latex rheological properties.

Candidate profile: The candidate should have a Ph.D. in plant biology and strong skills in transcriptomics and bioinformatics are expected. Experience in tropical biology or biochemistry would be an added value. The candidate must be able to drive a field vehicle in French Guiana to do field work for collecting samples in a tropical environment, be independent, organized and demonstrate excellent communication skills in French and English.

Applicants should send a motivation letter, a CV and a brief summary of research in English to christophe.duplais@ecofog.gf and yannick.estevez@ecofog.gf

Deadline: December 31th, 2018