General information
Organisation
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.
Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.
The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
Reference
SL-DRF-25-0436
Direction
DRF
Thesis topic details
Category
Life Sciences
Thesis topics
Unraveling the mechanism of enzymatic carbon fixation
Contract
Thèse
Job description
The Synchrotron Group at the Institut de Biologie Structurale in Grenoble is currently developing an innovative method called TR-FOX (Time-Resolved Functional Oscillation Crystallography). This technique aims to elucidate, firstly, the global dynamics of biological macromolecules in action and, secondly, their fine catalytic mechanism. It relies on the use of an injector capable of depositing onto the crystal, during the course of the X-ray diffraction data collection, a nanoliter droplet containing the substrate and cofactor of the studied reaction. This triggers the enzymatic reaction within the crystal. The approach can be combined with UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy to characterize the reaction kinetics more precisely. The goal is to obtain a series of structures during the catalytic cycle in order to make a molecular movie depicting the functioning of the enzyme. This thesis has two objectives: (i) improve and validate the TR-FOX method and, (ii) study the catalytic mechanism of two enzymes involved in carbon fixation either by capture or conversion of CO2.
University / doctoral school
Chimie et Sciences du Vivant (EDCSV)
Université Grenoble Alpes
Thesis topic location
Site
Grenoble
Requester
Position start date
01/10/2025
Person to be contacted by the applicant
Engilberge Sylvain
sylvain.engilberge@esrf.fr
CEA
DRF/IRIG//IBS
71 Avenue des Martyrs
38000 Grenoble
0476882839
Tutor / Responsible thesis director
ROYANT Antoine
antoine.royant@ibs.fr
CEA
DRF/IRIG//IBS
71 avenue des Martyrs
CS 10090
38044 Grenoble Cedex 9
0457428539
En savoir plus
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0YciGv4AAAAJ&hl=fr
https://www.ibs.fr/fr/recherche/assemblage-dynamique-et-reactivite/groupe-synchrotron/
https://www.esrf.fr/home/UsersAndScience/Experiments/CRG/BM07.html