Expérimental et théorique
Helical morphologies are found everywhere in nature. They are observed at different scales, from molecular to macroscopic structures, giving them great biological and ecological relevance. We have recently observed in the dimorphic yeast Candida albicans - a benign member of the human microbiota which can turn into one of the most deadly opportunistic fungal pathogen - helical, coiled or wavy filamentous growth modalities as specific adaptative responses to environmental cues. C. albicans thus provides a relevant model system for the study of the oscillatory geometries of life from a fundamental standpoint with possible relevance for fungal pathologies. We are looking for an M2 student, with the possibility of continuing the work into a PhD thesis as part of the ANR-funded HELPATH (HELical PATHogen, 2024-2027) project, to uncover the mechanisms leading to oscillations. An exciting first step will be to explore the intriguing and still mysterious phenomenon of the directional memory of hyphae, which consists of remembering an initial growth direction over long distances in micro-mazes. The internship project is interdisciplinary by nature and will be co-supervized by two biophysicists, Catherine Villard, (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Energies de Demain, Paris) and Igor Kulic (Institut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg).