Missions

Transcriptomic Analysis in the Fungus Zymoseptoria tritici in Response to Stable and Fluctuating Environmental Conditions
Organisms respond to their environment by adjusting gene expression. This process occurs on two radically different timescales: during the lifetime of an individual and over evolutionary time, as a result of adaptation. We seek to understand how these two processes interact and how gene regulation constrains or facilitates responses to changing environments.
Our model species is Zymoseptoria tritici, a plant-pathogenic fungus that can be clonally cultivated in the laboratory. A series of experimental evolution studies conducted in 2024 and 2025 demonstrated that adaptation to new temperature conditions (cool, warm, or fluctuating) and novel growth environments (constant or changing media) was rapid.
As part of this project, the successful candidate will analyze the molecular data generated from these experiments.

Activités

The objective of this postdoctoral project is to analyze the expression data (RNAseq) generated from these experiments to determine the roles of adaptation, plasticity, and genetic constraints in the evolution of the transcriptome. Key questions to address include:

How do complex environmental scenarios affect transcriptome evolution?
How do initial co-expression patterns constrain plastic and evolutionary responses?
Is expression plasticity a general property of a transcriptome, or is it specific to one or more environmental factors?

Compétences

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in evolutionary biology. Prior experience in population genetics and bioinformatics (RNAseq analysis) is required.

Contexte de travail

This postdoctoral project is part of a three-year initiative funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR). The scientific consortium is led by two permanent researchers (Arnaud Le Rouzic, CNRS, and Anne Genissel, INRAE). The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to interact with both project leaders. Administratively, the fellow will be based at EGCE (Institute of Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution of the Living World, IDEEV). Both institutes offer an attractive scientific environment and are located 3 kilometers apart on the new Paris-Saclay research campus, approximately 35 kilometers south of Paris.