The Flavolases project is recruiting an engineer.

Contract: Engineer
Duration: 2 years
Dates: Starting February 1, 2026
Location: Campus CNRS Joseph Aiguier, Marseille

Find all the details of the offer and how to apply on the CNRS website by clicking here.

This proposal is part of the Flavolases contract (Hijacking the Flavobacterium type IX secretion machinery for efficient cellulolytic activity), selected by the PEPR B-BEST programme, which brings together three partners with complementary expertise: the Génoscope (CEA Évry-Courcouronnes), the Laboratoire d’ingénierie des systèmes Macromoléculaires (LISM, CNRS Marseille) and the LCB (CNRS Marseille).

In this project, we will explore and exploit the highly efficient type IX secretion system (T9SS) of Flavobacteria to design an effective cellulolytic biocatalysis based on Flavobacterium johnsoniae in order to promote the use of cellulosic biomass, a huge renewable carbon reservoir enabling the sustainable production of biofuels or chemicals. In particular, we will participate in the creation of recombinant strains of F. johnsoniae capable of secreting large quantities of free cellulases and functional minicellulosomes, and we will focus primarily on evaluating their secretion and cellulolytic capacities, which we will improve through directed evolution in the laboratory. Our interest will be to better understand the functioning of the recently discovered T9SS and to develop an efficient and inexpensive method for producing customisable cellulolytic cocktails and cellulolytic strains, both of which can be integrated into biotechnological applications.

This microbiology project will use techniques from molecular biology, synthetic biology, biochemistry (purification, composition, enzyme activity, HPLC analysis), directed evolution, and sequencing. This work follows on from research carried out over several years by all the partners and, as part of the national acceleration strategy “Biomass, biotechnologies and sustainable technologies for chemistry and fuels.” (PEPR B-BEST), has a promising industrial application for the design of biorefineries based on the degradation of plant biomass.

If you are interested, please contact us via the CNRS job portal by clicking here.