BATHYCARBON – Candidatus Bathyarchaeota: a major player of the carbon cycle in continental wetlands?

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BATHYCARBON – Candidatus Bathyarchaeota: a major player of the carbon cycle in continental wetlands?

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Offer DescriptionCall for expression of interest descriptionThe is a highly prestigious renowned EU-funded scheme. It offers talented scientists a unique chance to set up 2-year research and training projects with the support of a supervising team. Besides providing an attractive grant, it represents a major opportunity to boost the career of promising researchers.Research laboratories in Brittany arethus looking for excellent postdoctoral researchers with an international profile to write a persuasive proposal to apply for a Marie S. Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship grant in 2024 (deadline of the EU call set on 11 September 2024). The topic and research team presented below have been identified in this regard.Main Research Field

• Environment and Geosciences (ENV)

Research sub-field(s)Microbial ecology, Microbiology, Bioinformatics, BiogeochemistryKeywordsCarbon cycle, archaea, anaerobic respirationResearch project descriptionWetlands are unique ecosystems covering less than 10% of the world’s terrestrial surface however concentrating about a third of the world soil organic carbon (C). In wetlands, the soil is permanently or temporally flooded or saturated with water, therefore anoxic conditions prevail. These anoxic conditions favor the accumulation of organic matter (OM) in the subsoil, defined as the horizon below 30 cm depth, and the predominance of methanogenic archaea responsible for the significant CH4 emissions observed from these wetlands. However, recent ground-breaking discoveries in the fields of microbial ecology and organic geochemistry question this model. On the one hand, metagenomic analyses revealed an unexpectedly rich and diverse microbial community in wetland subsoils. It is often dominated by a recently discovered archaeal phylum, Candidatus Bathyarchaeaota with potentially high versatility in its metabolic potential to turnover subsoil OM. On the other hand, a recent paradigm shift in soil science demonstrated that OM stabilization in soils is mainly controlled by the soil environment properties, stressing the prominent role of soil microbial consortia in these stabilization processes. The goal of the project will be to understand the role of Ca. Bathyarchaeota in the carbon cycle of freshwater wetlands. In particular, metabolic capabilities of Ca. Bathyarchaeota have so far mainly been predicted from in silico analyses of metagenomic data. The objective of this project will be to identify their metabolic activity in situ and to relate it to the OM turnover and the carbon dynamics in these ecosystems.The main study site for this project will be the Ploemeur-Guidel hydrogeological observatory, part of the SNO H+ and the research infrastructure OZCAR/eLTER. It is a continental wetland fed with anoxic and iron- and sulfate-rich deep water. Preliminary results from metagenomic analysis indicate that Ca. Bathyarchaeota is the dominant archaeal phylum in the subsoil, representing up to 14% of all microbial phyla detected (Coffinet et al., unpublished data). This analysis also evidenced the presence of a large phylogenetic diversity of sub-groups of Ca. Bathyarchaeota in the subsoil of the wetland, likely spanning a large variety of metabolic pathways. This study site is thus particularly suited for an in-depth study of Ca. Bathyarchaeota metabolisms. The Postdoctoral fellow will work on the identification of OM degradation pathways metabolized by Ca. Bathyarchaeota and on cultivation strategies to enrich Ca. Bathyarchaeota from soil samples. Relevant approaches include soil incubations, notably stable isotope probing, microbial enrichments and metagenomics/metatranscriptomics analyses.References:-Hou, J. et al. Taxonomic and carbon metabolic diversification of Bathyarchaeia during its coevolution history with early Earth surface environment. Sci. Adv. 9, eadf5069 (2023).-Yu, T. et al. Widespread Bathyarchaeia encode a novel methyltransferase utilizing lignin-derived aromatics. mLife 2, 272-282 (2023).Supervisor(s)The Postdoctoral Fellow will be supervised by Sarah Coffinet:Sarah Coffinet was recently appointed as assistant professor in ecology at the University of Rennes (September 2022). Her research focuses on microbial activity in anaerobic environments. She uses and develops tools in organic and isotopic geochemistry to improve our understanding on the role of microbial communities in the carbon cycle. She has extensive laboratory and field expertise and has participated to several outreach activities Since her PhD, defended in October 2015, she published 18 peer-reviewed papers including 8 as first author. In 2020, she was awarded a Marie Sklodowska Curie fellowship (2020-2022 at the UMR ECOBIO). Over the last ten years, she supervised more than 15 students including the co-supervision of two PhD students (Dr. Cenling Ma and Dr. Maxime Tourte). Her expertise in lipidomics is internationally recognized as attested by her invitations to specific workshops and international conferences.Selected publications:-Coffinet et al., 2022, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Evidence for enzymatic backbone methylation of the main membrane lipids in the archaeon Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis ; “spotlight article” of the journal issue.-Ma et al., 2020, Frontiers in Microbiology, Marine Group II Euryarchaeota contribute to the archaeal lipid pool in Northwestern Pacific Ocean surface waters-Evans*, Coffinet* et al., 2019, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Assessing the carbon assimilation and production of benthic archaeal lipid biomarkers using lipid-RIP ; *co-first authors: the authors equally contributed to this work.Department/ResearchECOBIO ( ) is a joint research unit (CNRS/UR1) divided in 4 trans-disciplinary axes. Research domains covered by these axes are evolutionary, behavioral, community, functional and landscape ecology. ECOBIO analyses the functioning of continental ecosystems in the face of global changes, such as demographic growth, climate disruption, land use changes, within the scope of sustainable development regarding management of natural resources and conservation of biodiversity. The ECOFUN axis aims at understanding the role of biodiversity in ecosystem dynamics, notably in terms of biogeochemical cycles and nutrient fluxes. ECOBIO has hosted several MSCA fellows as well as several national (ANR) and European projects (ERC Starting Grant, Biodiversa, …). It offers all services needed to set up the proposed project. In particular, ECOBIO possesses a technical platform (MICRO) with specialized technicians dedicated to microbiology including microbial cultivation. In addition, ECOBIO is part of the OSUR, the regional Earth science observatory. This observatory comprises 700 people and is highly pluridisciplinary (including geophysics, ecology, hydrology as well as geography and archaeology). One of the fundamental missions of the OSUR is to design and monitor long term ecological observation sites such as the Ploemeur-Guidel hydrogeological observatory which will be the main study site of this project.LocationCampus Beaulieu, Université de Rennes, Rennes, FranceSuggestion for interdisciplinary / intersectoral secondments and placementsTo be discussed with the candidate.RequirementsResearch Field Environmental science » Ecology Education Level PhD or equivalentResearch Field Chemistry » Biochemistry Education Level PhD or equivalentSkills/QualificationsSpecific Skill Requirements:

• -Solid knowledge of the biology and ecology of prokaryotic microorganisms.
• -Previous experience with incubation/cultivation of prokaryotic microorganisms.
• -Skills in bioinformatics and bioanalysis for the study of genomes and transcriptomes of microorganisms isolated in culture or present in complex communities.
• -Good knowledge of molecular biology tools and methods applied to microbiology.
• -Basic knowledge of geochemistry and environmental monitoring.

Required Languages: EnglishOther skills: Autonomy, rigor, organizational skills, ability to work in a teamPublications: At least 1 publication per year as 1st author since the PhD defence.Languages ENGLISH Level ExcellentResearch Field Environmental scienceAdditional InformationEligibility criteriaAcademic qualification: By 11 September 2024, applicants must bein possession of a doctoral degree, defined as a successfully defended doctoral thesis, even if the doctoral degree has yet to be awarded.Research experience: Applicants must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date applicants were in possession of a doctoral degree. Years of experience outside research and career breaks (e.g. due to parental leave), will not be taken into account.Nationality & Mobility rules:Applicants can be of any nationality but must not have resided more than 12 months in France in the 36 months immediately prior to the MSCA-PF call deadline on 11 September 2024.Selection processWe encourage all motivated and eligible postdoctoral researchers to send their expressions of interest through the EU Survey application form ( ), before 5th of May 2024. Your application shall include:

• a CV specifying: (i) the exact dates for each position and its location (country) and (ii) a list of publications;

• a cover letter including a research outline (up to 2 pages) identifying the research synergies with the project supervisor(s) and proposed research topics described above.

Estimated timetableDeadline for sending an expression of interest5th May 2024Selection of the most promising application(s)May – June 2024Writing the MSCA-PF proposal with the support of the above-mentioned supervisor(s)June – September 2024MSCA-PF 2024 call deadline11th September 2024Publication of the MSCA-PF evaluation resultsFebruary 2025Start of the MSCA-PF project (if funded)May 2025 (at the earliest)Website for additional job detailsWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute ECOBIO – UMR 6553 CNRS Université de Rennes Country France City Rennes Postal Code 35042 Street 263 avenue Général Leclerc GeofieldWhere to apply WebsiteContact CityRennes WebsiteStreet263 avenue Général Leclerc Postal Code35042 E-Mailcontact@2pe-bretagne.euSTATUS: EXPIRED

Expected salary

Location

Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine

Job date

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 23:32:39 GMT

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