PhD student position in the Advanced Fungal Technologies (New Zealand)

The studentship will be based at the Grasslands Campus in Palmerston North and will be supervised in close collaboration between AgResearch and the Institute of Molecular BioSciences at Massey University. The position would provide you with the opportunity to travel to Edinburgh.

The position has been created as part of a Marsden-funded programme to investigate a unique mechanism of fungal growth. Fungi normally grow at the tips of their filaments, however a recent discovery in AgResearch has shown that fungal endophytes of grasses colonise the host plant by growing along the length of the filament (intercalary growth). Hyphae of Epichloë endophytes are firmly attached to grass cells, and when host cells increase in size during growth, hyphae accommodate increases in plant cell length by undergoing intercalary extension. The aim of this PhD project is to investigate two signalling pathways through which fungal endophytes might sense mechanical stress and stimulate an intercalary growth response. This work will be integrated into existing programmes that are using powerful fluorescence microscopy techniques to track the dynamic movements of the fungal cytoskeleton, and the progression of vesicles containing cell wall building cargo to the growing intercalary cell wall.

The Advanced Fungal Technologies team consists of scientists, postdoctoral fellows and technicians. Along with Massey University this team is able to offer significant support and supervision. In addition, the PhD project is a collaboration between New Zealand researchers and scientists in the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Candidates should have a first or upper second class degree in the biological sciences, plus an Honours degree or MSc with a strong molecular biology component. Experience in fungal molecular biology will be an advantage.

The studentship provides a stipend of $25,000.00 per annum plus course fees for the 3-year Ph.D. programme. Some help with relocation expenses will be available.

The deadline for applications is 11 December 2009. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact Christine Voisey (christine.voisey@agresearch.co.nz) for further information; please attach a CV. The studentship will be awarded competitively following short-listing and interviews, and would be expected to be taken up in March 2010 if possible.