We are hiring! You are a Master student? Attracted by interdisciplinary research? Fascinated by biological materials? Join us to study how bacteria design and build their cosy slimy home!
The topic: Biofilms are complex 3D structures, which form as bacteria get embedded in a matrix of self-produced fibers (amyloid and cellulose). Because biofilms are known to impair human health and industrial processes, understanding how these living materials are built would benefit to prevent their formation or favor their elimination. E.Coli bacteria cultured on 2D surfaces grow biofilms with 3D ridges and wrinkles. The emergence of these complex structures has been studied by focusing on the microscopic processes at the molecular and cellular levels. Recent work also highlighted the importance of matrix architecture in the emergence and stability of these tissue-like materials.
The project: Our research aims at understanding how the surrounding physical cues (substrate geometry, moisture, etc.) influence biofilm growth and architecture. To address this question, you will prepare nutritive agarose substrates of different water contents or controlled geometries and inoculate them with E.Coli bacteria. You will monitor the growth of the resulting biofilms in 2D and 3D by live fluorescence microscopy and use or develop computational tools to extract architectural characteristics of the structures (size, shape, curvature, number or wrinkles, length, orientation, etc).
We expect to generate further structural data using complementary characterization methods like X-Ray micro tomography, X-Ray scattering and Raman spectroscopy, while strategies inspired from cell mechanobiology will also be implemented to explore biofilm mechanics in such environment. In parallel, these experimental results feed biophysical models to understand the principles of biofilm architecture and the mechanisms of matrix organization.
Fig. 1: (Left) Biofilm grown by E.coli AR3110 on wet salt free LB agar medium. (Middle) Reconstruction from µCT scan reveals wrinkle complexity. (Right) E.coli biofilm grown on a concave surface of salt free LB agar medium. (Bottom) Time-lapse of an E.Coli biofilm grown for 5 days under a stereomicroscope
About you: You are studying materials science, biophysics or biotechnology and you have strong experimental skills. Being familiar with bacteria or cell culture and/or comfortable with computational work would be a plus. You are dynamic, curious and open to interdisciplinary interactions, and you enjoy —-research. Motivation, autonomy, team spirit and pro-active communication (mainly in English) will be the main motors for a successful project.
About us: We are a young research group looking at biofilms with the perspective of materials science and biophysics. Our group is embedded in the Department of Biomaterials, providing the opportunity to benefit from the experience and equipment of a large community of researchers in biological materials.
http://www.mpikg.mpg.de/5870009/principles-of-matrix-architecture-in-biofilms
Contact: Please submit your application to [email protected] with a CV and your transcripts.