Two-year Postdoctoral position in Natural Product Chemistry for the structural characterization of novel metabolites from Myxococcus xanthus

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description A postdoctoral position is available in the field of natural products (NP) chemistry and metabolomics, focusing principally on the isolation, purification, and structural elucidation of target specialized metabolites produced by the genetically modified bacteria Myxococcus xanthus . This bacterium is known to produce complex organic molecules deriving from PKS, NRPS or hybrid PKS/NRPS biosynthesis. The latter often leads to the production of highly modified structures such as for example the macrocyclic lactone Myxovirescin A characteristic of Myxococcus x anthus chemical space. This position is part of the recently funded NEW-SMile ANR project, a collaborative effort between teams from the LCB (Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne), and natural products chemists from the IMBE (Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale) both in Marseille. The global objective of the project is to expand the knowledge on cryptic Biosynthetic Gene Clusters by characterizing novel specialized metabolites from modified Myxococcus strains. Beyond the inherent dereplication of known compounds, the project aims to predict, purify, and structurally characterize new molecules, for which biological activities in terms of physiological roles for the producing strains will be evaluated. The overarching goal will be to gradually determine how these molecules individually shape micr