Research Project and Program

This postdoctoral position is a part of a project funded by the “Tremplin Carnot AgriFood Transition”. The “SpoBiFlu” project involves the development of microbiological (mutant) and micro-fluidic tools for the study of sporulation of Bacillus subtilis in biofilms. The main objective is a better understanding of the factors that influence sporulation in biofilms in order to control effectively this aspect in the agri-food industries. Bacillus subtilis is a well-known study model, present as a contaminant in the agri-food industry and for which many molecular biology tools do exist. Micro-fluidics has many advantages for the study of physical and biological phenomena. Indeed, biofilms that form on the walls of the microchannels are observable using a microscope and experiments can be easily repeated many times.

Research teams

LUBEM is a research laboratory of the University of Western Brittany (UBO) specialized in the study of biodiversity and ecology of microorganisms, mainly in the agri-food Industry and environment. LUBEM is recognized by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, under the 2016-2021 five-year contract, and its strategy and 5-year project were rated Excellent in 2016 by the High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education. It brings together all the microbiology research activities of UBO attached to the EGAAL Doctoral School (ED 600) “Ecology, Geosciences, Agronomy, Food” within the University of Brittany-Loire. The laboratory is associated with ADRIA Development (Quimper) within the ALTERI’X UMT (2019-2023) and is a member of the Institute “Santé- Agro- Matière” (IBSAM). LUBEM has been a component of the “Tremplin Carnot AgriFood Transition” since 2016. The recruited postdoctoral student will be funded by LUBEM, but will work in the partner laboratories of the SpoBiFlu project described below:

– IRDL, is a research institute (CNRS UMR 6027) bringing together teams from UBO, UBS (University of South Brittany), ENSTA and ENIB. This laboratory has expertise in the design and manufacture of micro-channels for the growth of biofilms as well as in image acquisition and processing using ImageJ software and Python™ codes allowing the quantitative analysis of the obtained data.

– IPR, Rennes Institute of Physics, regroups various research teams with topics related to physics into departments. The research team from the soft matter department involved in this project has expertise in micro-fluidics and hydrodynamics in confined environments that will be used to develop the flow devices studied in this project. It has the facilities to manufacture the moulds used to prepare the microchannels.

– LBCM, is a research laboratory of the UBS and UBO, specialized in the study of bacterial biofilms at the genetic and physiological level. In particular, this lab has an expertise in monitoring the formation of these biofilms in dynamic conditions by confocal laser scanning microscopy. This tool allows to observe and quantify the formation of the biofilm over time with a great resolution.

In addition, ADRIA, an Agro-Industrial Technical Institute, located in Quimper, will be involved in the comparison of biofilms in the micro-fluidic and milli-fluidic systems.

Required profile

• The candidate must hold a PhD in microbiology, and have solid experience in mutant breeding techniques. An expertise on Bacillus subtilis would be a plus for the study. Notions of bacterial biofilm analysis will be appreciated. An interest in the agri-food sector is strongly recommended.
• The candidate will also need to have excellent organizational and teamwork skills to lead this project. Fluency in English and writing skills are required.