PhD position - Structure and function of the CCaMK/Cyclops complex in transcriptional regulation of plant root symbioses with nutrient acquiring fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Institute: LMU Munich, Faculty of Biology, Genetics

Subject areas/Research fields: Protein Biochemistry / Structural Biology / Molecular Biology / Molecular Plant Sciences / Microbiology

Name of supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Parniske

Funding: LSM-CSC / DAAD-GSSP (LSM) / Application for funding by the DFG in progress

Project title: Structure and function of the CCaMK/Cyclops complex in transcriptional regulation of plant root symbioses with nutrient acquiring fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Project description: Plant root symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria bear huge potential for sustainable agriculture by reducing the chemical fertilizer input required to maintain high crop yields. The regulation and signal transduction mechanism leading to AM and the nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis (RNS) share common components including the calcium and calmodulin dependent protein kinase (CCaMK) and its phosphorylation target CYCLOPS, a DNA binding transcriptional activator (Tirichine et al., 2006; Yano et al., 2008; Singh et al., 2014; Cathebras et al., 2022). The CCaMK/CYCLOPS complex is a central regulatory hub in symbiosis signaling. It controls the expression of three transcriptional regulators of three distinct developmental programs. NIN controls nodule organogenesis and, together with ERN1, infection thread formation, while RAM1 is indispensable for arbuscule development (Singh et al., 2014; Pimprikar et al., 2016; Cerri et al., 2017). The corresponding promoters control distinct timing, expression domains and response to different stimuli. The promoter choice and activity of CCaMK/CYCLOPS must therefore be coordinated at a spatio-temporal and a stimulus-specific level to trigger appropriate cell developmental programs. In the past, we identified additional putative complex components that may contribute to binding of diverse cis-regulatory elements within the known target promoters of CCaMK/CYCLOPS. The doctoral candidate will study the relevance of the identified additional complex components using a range of techniques, including reverse genetics utilizing transposon insertion populations and/or CRISPR/CAS genome editing technology. The spatio-temporal composition of the complex and its structural rearrangement will be the focus of the project. Biochemical in vitro measurements will be used to quantify protein-protein and protein-DNA binding affinities. We expect to unravel key steps in the molecular dynamics of the CCaMK/CYCLOPS complex underlying the specific activation of the appropriate and distinct developmental programs in response to fungi and bacteria and thus the establishment of AM and root nodule symbioses. The project will require a strong knowledge base and ideally practical experience in protein biochemistry using technologies such as protein purification, gel filtration/size exclusion chromatography (FPLC, SEC).

References: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1g3whIEAAAAJ&hl=en

For further information, please contact: Martin Parniske (parniske@lmu.de)

Research group website: https://www.genetik.biologie.uni-muenchen.de/research/parniske/parniske/index.html

Apply: Please send your application through the online portal of the Graduate School Life Science Munich (LSM)

Job details: Title: PhD position - Structure and function of the CCaMK/Cyclops complex in transcriptional regulation of plant root symbioses with nutrient acquiring fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Employer: LMU Faculty of Biology

Location: Großhaderner Str. 2 Planegg, Germany

Published: 2025-09-02

Application deadline: Unspecified

Job type: PhD

Field: Structural Biology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Botany and plant science