Postdoctoral Research Associate

The University of Edinburgh - College of Science and Engineering - School on Biological Sciences - Institute of Molecular Plant Science

Full Time: 35 hours per week

Fixed Term: 30 months

We are looking for a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to characterise genes controlling cell death and breakdown of the embryo-surrounding maternal tissues of the model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and several other non seed plant models. The post is in the group of Prof. Justin Goodrich in the Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences and will be supported by a full time RA.

The Opportunity:

The aim of the project is to characterize genes that control the programmed cell death and cell separation that occurs during the breakdown of the maternal tissues that surround the developing embryo in plants. We are mainly working with the model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, for which we have developed extensive genetic tools, but will extend this to several other distantly related plant species (a hornwort, a club moss, a pine). We will exploit the haploid genetics of Marchantia to conduct genetic screens for effector genes promoting cell death and cell wall modification using an accessible easily visualised external cell type, the pegged rhizoid. Ultimately our results will inform how the endosperm of flowering plant seed, a key tissue for human nutrition, has evolved. The project will involve taking a comparative evo-devo approach combining studies of gene regulatory networks with investigations of anatomy and development. The PDRA will be supported by a full time RA and with funding for some additional bioinformatic support. The Goodrich group collaborate with the neighbouring Hetherington lab, with relevant expertise in club mosses (Selaginella apoda), with Moritz Nowack’s group (University of Ghent) with expertise in programmed cell death analysis and several other leading international plant research groups.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• PhD in an appropriate biological science
• Experience of studying plant development
• Experience of using comparative evo-devo approaches to investigate plant evolution