Postdoctoral researcher focused on the molecular mechanisms of actin-based in intracellular bacterial pathogens

Descrizione

Postdoctoral researcher focused on the molecular mechanisms of actin-based in intracellular bacterial pathogens Sintesi in italiano (traduzione automatica): È disponibile una posizione a tempo pieno come ricercatore post-dottorato nel gruppo di ricerca Membrane Enzymology presso il Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), Facoltà di Scienze e Ingegneria. Questa posizione è parte di un progetto finanziato dall'ERC che studia i meccanismi molecolari della motilità basata su actina nei patogeni batterici intracellulari Shigella e Listeria. Il candidato selezionato utilizzerà tecniche di biochimica, microscopia a fluorescenza e biologia strutturale per analizzare come questi batteri sfruttano il citoscheletro dell'ospite. È richiesta una laurea in biologia, biotecnologie o discipline affini, e competenze in microscopia elettronica e analisi strutturale. Il progetto mira a comprendere come i patogeni batterici controllano la motilità intracellulare attraverso l'organizzazione delle proteine dell'ospite e dei filamenti di actina. A full-time postdoctoral position is available in the Membrane Enzymology research group at the Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), Faculty of Science and Engineering. The position is part of the ERC Starting Grant project ACTIN in ACTION , which investigates the molecular mechanisms of actin-based motility in the intracellular bacterial pathogens Shigella and Listeria . These pathogens use the surface proteins IcsA and ActA to recruit host actin-regulatory factors and generate actin comet tails that propel the bacteria through infected cells. The successful candidate will combine biochemical reconstitution, fluorescence microscopy and structural biology to determine how this process is regulated at the molecular level. The project will make extensive use of the group’s in-house Talos Arctica electron microscope, which is being equipped with a new-generation electron detector through an ERC-funded upgrade. What are you going to do? The postdoc will work on an ERC Starting Grant-funded project focused on the molecular mechanisms of actin-based motility in intracellular bacterial pathogens. The project investigates how Shigella and Listeria hijack the host actin cytoskeleton to move inside infected cells. These bacteria use specialized surface proteins, IcsA and ActA, to recruit host actin-regulatory proteins and generate actin comet tails that propel the bacteria through the cytoplasm. The main goal of the postdoc project will be to understand how this process is regulated at the molecular and structural level. The postdoc will establish and use in vitro reconstitution assays for actin-based motility, combining engineered bacterial systems displaying IcsA or ActA with purified host actin-regulatory proteins. Using fluorescence microscopy, the postdoc will quantify actin-tail formation, bacterial movement, filament elongation, and the effects of regulatory host factors on these processes. Candidate regulators will be selected based on preliminary mass-spectrometry data and literature, and their effects on actin-based motility will be tested biochemically and microscopically. A central part of the project will be structural analysis by cryo-electron tomography and, where applicable, single-particle cryo-EM. The postdoc will prepare vitrified samples of bacteria undergoing actin-based motility, collect and process cryo-ET data, and determine how bacterial effectors, host regulatory proteins and actin filaments are organized within actin comet tails. This work will make use of the in- house Talos Arctica electron microscope, which will be upgraded with a new camera through the ERC-funded investment. Overall, the postdoc will contribute to a mechanistic model explaining how bacterial pathogens control the host actin cytoskeleton to drive intracellular motility. Annuncio in inglese. Fonte: Euraxess (Commissione europea).