Oferta genética de doctorado en Alemania

*PhD position - meiotic drive of supernumerary chromosomes *

A PhD position is available for three years to study the *meiotic drive of supernumerary chromosomes *with the Max Planck research group “Environmental Genomics” headed by Prof. Dr. Eva H. Stukenbrock. The Max Planck group is affiliated with the *Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Biology* in Plön and the *Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel* in the North of Germany. The position is compensated at 65% of TV-L 13 and candidates are expected to complete a PhD.

*Background***

Selfish genetic elements are widespread in all groups of organisms. They
are likely to have shaped the evolution of diverse biological systems,
including genome structure, sex determination, and meiosis. To date,
surprisingly little is known about the exact processes that underlie the
spread of these elements. This project focuses on selfish genetic
elements that cause uniparental meiotic drive of supernumerary
chromosomes in a fungal pathogen.

Recently we could show that the supernumerary chromosome of the
commercially important wheat pathogen /Zymoseptoria tritici/ show a
chromosome drive, i.e. are inherited to more progeny than expected by
Mendelian segregation, and these chromosomes may therefore be considered
selfish genetic elements. Interestingly this chromosome drive is
restricted to chromosomes inherited from the female parent. We
hypothesize that this drive is based on an additional amplification of
unpaired chromosomes during meiosis. This project aims at understanding
this previously unknown aspect of meiosis and its exploitation by
selfish chromosomes using the model organism /Z. tritici/.It will
involve the establishment of in vitro crosses and the identification of
the genetic and epigentic traits responsible for the chromosome
amplification.

*Expectations and Requirements:*

The candidate must have university degree (Master or equivalent) in
biology or a related field. High competence in statistics, experimental
design, and English writing is a must. Ideally, the candidate has
comprehensive experience in molecular genetics, work with plant
pathogens or performance of evolution experiments. The selected
candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate in an
interdisciplinary team of biologists (molecular biologists, evolutionary
biologists and population geneticists) as well as to pursue unique
research in the field of chromosome biology.

Kiel University aims at a higher proportion of women in research and
education, and, therefore, specifically encourages qualified female
scientists to apply. Female scientists will be preferentially considered
in case of equivalent qualification, competence and achievements.

Kiel University specifically supports employment of severely handicapped
people. Therefore, severely handicapped applicants will be
preferentially considered in case of suitable qualification.

Kiel University specifically welcomes application from people with
migration background.

*Application*

Applications should include a motivation letter (max. 2 pages long), CV,
publication list, names and contact details of two referees (who are
familiar with the applicant’s work), and copies of certificates.
Deadline for applications is 15. February 2019. Applications should be
sent to:

*Prof. Dr. Eva Stukenbrock, Botanisches Institut,
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, 24118 Kiel*

*or _preferentially as a single-PDF-document_ by e-mail to:
office@bot.uni-kiel.de*

We explicitly do not require application photos and therefore these
shall be omitted.

Further information can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Eva Stukenbrock
(estukenbrock@bot.uni-kiel.de). Please also check:
http://web.evolbio.mpg.de/envgen/