POST-DOCTORAL POSITION OPEN
in
ECONOMIC BOTANY OF OIL SEED PLANTS
Inventory, typology and classification of oilseed plants;
identification of potential candidates for industrial uses
open at the Jules Verne University of Picardy (UPJV)
Prof. Guillaume DECOCQ’s Lab (EDYSAN), Amiens city (France)
A one-year postdoctoral position in economic botany is available in
the research group of Guillaume Decocq at the Jules Verne University
of Picardie (Amiens, France), beginning in September 2012. The
fellowship is to work on oilseed plants through compiling available
data on an extensive number of plants, building a database and writing
monographs.
Background: World agricultural production of vegetable oil has doubled
over the past 25 years. Oilseed crops have been increasingly used as
raw materials for food, feed and industrial non-food applications.
Plant breeding has played a major role in supporting these
developments: selection for increasing yield, oil content and quality
of the fatty acid profile. This strategy has allowed an increase in
oil production per unit area, improved quality for human health,
animal feed and availability of new resources for oleochemicals.
Oilseed plants represent a wide reservoir of chemical compounds of
interest for industrial development as they contain a lot of molecules
that can be commercially valued: fatty acids with different physical,
chemical or biological properties, proteins with various amino-acid
compositions, sugars, sterols... They may also contain secondary
compounds, such as, for example, glucosinolates in crucifers, which
are often considered as toxic, but could be of therapeutic interest.
The chemical composition of oilseeds depends on a large number of
factors and conditions, among which the most important are the
botanical taxon (species and intra-specific taxa, chemotypes),
environmental and cropping conditions. Identification of oilseed plant
candidates among currently or formerly cultivated plants, as well as
among wild plant species, is a prerequisite to develop innovative
industrial fields. Some of these plants are widely grown and can be
used to produce raw materials for industry. Other plants may be
difficult to be cultivated but can serve as a reservoir of genes of
interest for new developments. A first step is thus to inventory
candidates and compile the available information about their taxonomy,
autecology, ecophysiology, genetics, chemistry, agronomy, abiotic and
biotic interactions, etc.
The main objective of this project is to build a database on oilseed
plants containing botanical monographs for all plant taxa that are
currently or used to be cultivated as oilcrops. For each taxon
previously recognized as such, a literature survey should be
implemented to record botanical, ethnobotanical (former and current
uses), ecophysiological, ecological, agronomic, genetic and
phytochemical aspects. Priority will be given to domestic taxa
(cultivars and their wild ancestor), but the database should be
extended to wild species that are phylogenetically related, taking
advantage of recent advances in molecular phylogenetics of plants.
Regarding phytogeographical areas, the researches will be
progressively extended as follow: Northern France (exhaustive survey),
Temperate Europe (screening of potential candidate plants), other
temperate biomes (overview of potential candidate plants that are
prone to be acclimated in Europe), other bioclimatic regions of the
world (overview or existing resources with an attempt in identifying
species that are susceptible to be acclimated in Europe).
The successful applicant will be based at the Jules Verne University
of Picardie in Amiens city (N France).
Applicants should have the following experience and qualifications:
• Ph.D. in a field related to the topic of the position, conferred by
September 1st, 2012.
• Strong background in economic botany, plant phylogenetics,
phytochemistry, plant ecology; a previous experience with oilseed
plants is highly desirable.
• Experience in building and managing a large database (e.g. MS
Access, FileMakerPro) and bibliographies (e.g. EndNote).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to facilitate a
collaborative research environment and dissemination of results in
scientific outlets (English required).
• Desire to take the lead role in writing publications (e.g. plant
monographs).
• Willingness to read a number of papers over a short time to derive
synthetic information
• Willingness to work together with scientists, stakeholders and end-
users of the research
The salary is approximately €2100 net per month (ca. $2960).
Position to begin September 1st, 2012
To apply, please send a cover letter addressing each of the requested
qualification, a CV, two or more references (contact information or
letters), and relevant reprints (optional) to Prof. Guillaume Decocq ([email protected]
). Applications will be considered until the position is filled.
