(Mira Àreu, plantas y hongos, y cerca de las montañas :D)
**Position: PhD Student in Bioflora Research Group**
We are currently seeking an enthusiastic and motivated PhD student to join our Bioflora research group to work with us on co-evolution and adaptive speciation of pooid grasses and their fungal endophytes.
We invite applications from ambitious candidates with relevant research experience and a passion to conduct research and innovation activities within the framework of a project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2022-140074NB-I00).
The main objective of this research is to advance knowledge on the potential large extent of lateral gene transfer (LGT) in pooids and how this mechanism has contributed to generating evolutionary novelty. Additionally, we aim to investigate the potential co-evolution of grass-Epichloë holobionts and how this phenomenon has contributed to the success of adaptive speciation in temperate grasses.
**Specific Objectives:**
1. Generate a large representative pan-genome and pan-transcriptome evolutionary framework of Pooideae for robust analysis of LGT events between phylogenetically distant lineages.
2. Identify confident LGT events in Pooideae through comparative genome analyses.
3. Analyze the level of expression of the laterally-transferred encoding genes in the recipient species.
4. Characterize the nature and abundance of transposon families across the analyzed genomes and lineages.
5. Search for potential horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events of fungal endophyte genes into the pooid genomes.
**PhD Characteristics:**
- Cotutored PhD thesis supervised by Prof. Pilar Catalan (University of Zaragoza) and Prof. Jianquan Liu (Lanzhou University).
- Job location: High Polytechnic School of Huesca, University of Zaragoza, Huesca (Spain).
- Full-time position (37.5 hours/week).
- Duration: Four years.
**Tasks and Responsibilities:**
- Perform literature review, field, garden and growth chamber work, laboratory analyses, and data collection and management.
- Conduct genomic assembly and annotations, comparative genomics, phylogenomics, and population genomics.
- Write scientific articles.
- Contribute to the teamwork and team spirit in the research line.
**Required Qualifications and Experience:**
- BSc degree in Biological Sciences, Agronomy, Biotechnology, or similar.
- Master's degree in Plant genetics, Evolution, Biodiversity, Plant breeding, or similar.
- Candidates must be eligible for enrollment in a doctoral program according to the requirements of Spanish universities.
**Desirable Requirements:**
- Proficiency in English.
- Analytical and organizational capacities.
- Good communication skills.
- Ability to work as part of a team.
- Driver's license.
**Application Process:**
If you wish to be considered for this position, please send an email to Prof. Pilar Catalan (pcatalan@unizar.es) with the reference FPI-PID2022-140074NB-I00, and attach your CV and motivation letter. All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.
Best regards,
Miguel Campos
minutoides@gmail.com
