PhD student in biology (M/F)

Job Description

Thesis Subject

to decipher the structure development and evolution of jellyfish muscles, in collaboration with the Cnidevo/Leclère team from the Oceanographic Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer and the Habermann team in Marseille.
Background
Striated muscle is a defining feature of bilaterian animals, yet striated muscle-like structures are also present in cnidarians, raising a fundamental evolutionary question: did striated muscle evolve once in the common ancestor of cnidarians and bilaterians, or did it arise independently through convergent recruitment of actomyosin components? Despite its importance, the molecular composition and evolutionary history of cnidarian striated muscle remain poorly characterized. In particular, it is unclear how similar the cnidarian sarcomeric protein organisation is to those of bilaterians. This project aims to reconstruct the molecular architecture and evolutionary history of striated muscle using a novel jellyfish model species, Pelagia noctiluca. Thanks to its full transparency and direct development, this species is ideally suited for high-resolution imaging and functional experiments.
is PhD project, primarily based at IBDM in Marseille and co-supervised by F. Schnorrer and L. Leclère, aims to characterize the molecular conservation of sarcomere components between cnidarians and bilaterians. The project will combine experimental approaches in Pelagia and Drosophila, including cross-species functional analyses.
Aims:
1. Identification of novel sarcomere proteins in Pelagia. Identify new thin- and thick-filament proteins as well as Z-disc proteins in Pelagia through the generation of species-specific antibodies and super-resolution imaging (STED and/or DNA-PAINT). Particular attention will be given to proteins potentially involved in sarcomere elasticity, including titin and obscurin homologs.
2. Characterization of the Pelagia sarcomere contraction mechanism. Investigate the molecular basis of sarcomere contraction in Pelagia, with a specific focus on calcium-binding proteins. This will involve mRNA microinjection into Pelagia embryos combined with live imaging approaches and biochemical assays.
3. Cross-species functional analyses between Drosophila and Pelagia. Assess the functional conservation of sarcomeric proteins by testing the localization and function of selected proteins from each species in the muscle cells of the other species.

Your profile:
You have an education and training in cell or developmental biology. An interest in genetics and imaging techniques will be a strong plus. You are ambitious, curious, enjoy learning novel techniques and like to find answers to problems. You want to take advantage of the opportunity to carry out your doctorate in two different laboratories and learn from their different expertise.

Your Work Environment

The IBDM, located on the Luminy campus, comprises approximately 220 permanent staff members (researchers, lecturers, engineers, and technicians) and non-permanent staff (fixed-term contracts, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral students, and interns) distributed across 21 research teams and 11 technical platforms and services.

The IBDM is a joint research unit under the supervision of the CNRS and AMU, exploring the field of developmental biology and related pathologies. The work will be carried out within the "Muscle Dynamics" team, led by Franck Schnorrer. As the laboratory is composed of several nationalities, proficiency in English is essential.
This MyoMedusa project is an interdisciplinary project is collaboration between two groups based in Marseille and a group based at the Oceanographic Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer (CNRS/Sorbonne Université). The primary host institute for this PhD student will be the Developmental Biology Institute of Marseille (IBDM) in the group led Frank Schnorrer. Collaborative expertise will also be given by the Habermann team, experts in bioinformatics. The Schnorrer team is expert in muscle biology and in vivo imaging. Both groups are part of the Turing Centre for Living Systems, Centuri, which brings together biologists, physicists, and computational scientists. Thus, the PhD student will benefit from a highly interdisciplinary environment, including collaborations, courses, seminars and meetings in Marseille. The student will collaborate with the Cnidevo team co-led by Lucas Leclère at the Oceanographic Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer, a marine station operated by Sorbonne University and the CNRS. This team is expert in cnidarian biology and has developed the jellyfish model Pelagia noctiluca, ideally suited to study the structure, development and evolution of cnidarian muscles.

Constraints and risks

You will work with bacterial cell cultures, Drosophila, Pelagia, chemicals, do immunohistochemistry and use microscopes. You will also work a lot in front of computers

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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