We are looking for a talented PhD candidate in the field of microbial ecology. He/She will develop strategies based on the ecological niche theory to improve the performance of biostimulants by understanding how they interact with the soil native communities, guiding inoculation practice accordingly. Specifically, the PhD student will:
- characterize mechanisms underlying the interactions between two types of bacterial inoculum and soil microbial community, by testing the importance of the niche!based theory processes and functional complementarity between community and inoculant for improving targeted functions.
- perform lab experiments with soil microcosms for testing the efficiency of different inoculation strategies to improve inoculum’s ability to better maintain high abundances, while also assessing underlying mechanisms
- quantify the functional outcomes of improved inoculum maintenance in soil
Research will be performed at the INRAE Microbial Ecology Laboratory of Lyon (LEM; team ‘Microbial functional groups and N cycling’), France and the Microbial Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics groups at the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), Groningen. Both labs comprise internationally recognized research groups in the field of microbial ecology and soil microbiology, and they have collaborated well in the past [3-6]. The PhD student will work within the context of a collaboration between these two universities, within the framework of a research project funded by the French ANR. The PhD student will also work in close collaboration with another PhD student working at the INRAE centre of Dijon. More generally, he/she will be part of a larger consortium of research groups and stakeholders, all contributing to the same goal of promoting more sustainable agricultural systems in Europe, by understanding the mechanisms driving the survival of microbial innoculates, thereofre improving the efficiency of inoculation approaches.
How to apply? Send to xavier.le-roux@univ-lyon1.fr, cc j.falcao.salles@rug.nl, (i) a CV indicating your background, skills and any experience in research work, with (ii) a motivation letter, including the names of 2 referent persons.