Bacterial cell envelope remodelling in Rhizobium leguminosarum: contribution to symbiosis and resistance to abiotic stress

The aim of this project is to investigate how bacterial cell
envelope remodelling by Ldts contributes to symbiosis (in
pea and bean) and to resistance to abiotic stress (heat,
osmotic pressure, or acidic conditions). We will also
investigate peptidoglycan structure and dynamics across
rhizobium isolates to understand how cell envelope
composition impacts persistence and fitness in the soil.
This project will lay the foundation to engineer Rhizobium
strains for sustainable agriculture.
This multidisciplinary project involves 3 academic
supervisors with complementary expertise, based in
Sheffield (where most of the experimental work will be
carried out), York and Oxford. The student will benefit from
a training in biochemistry (HPLC and mass spectrometry
for peptidoglycan structural analysis, recombinant protein
expression, enzymatic assays), bacterial genetics
(construction of mutants), comparative genomics and
rhizobium-plant interactions. The student will also spend 4
months abroad working with the industrial partner (Protein

Metrics, California) to contribute to the development of
software tools dedicated to "peptidoglycomics" analyses.
Overall, the student will acquire a comprehensive set of
skills to explore mechanistic insights at molecular and
cellular level in bacteria, and in the context of the
interaction with the plant.