Post-Doctoral position in Plant Physiology

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Department of Plant Biology and Forest Genetics at Uppsala BioCenter Post-Doctoral position in Plant Physiology Research environment: You will be working in a stimulating international environment.The Department of Plant Biology and Forest Genetics is one of six departments making up the new cluster Uppsala BioCenter at SLU.The department contributes internationally recognised basic and applied science in plant biology, for more information visit our web page www.vbsg.slu.se.The main goal of the project is to study evolutionary aspects of genetic and hormonal regulation plant development.Two model species, the moss Physcomitrella patens and the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana will be used.Auxin regulates crucial developmental steps in higher plants but the knowledge of its role during the moss life cycle is sparse.Our preliminary results suggest auxin biosynthesis to be spatio-temporally regulated by homologous genes in Arabidopsis and moss, and the position of local auxin peaks during development to be similar in the two plants.This project aim to study the role of auxin in moss by changing endogenous level of auxin or auxin responses using knock-out and inducible expression technology.In a second part of the project reverse genetics will be used to investigate the function of moss sequences that are homologous to genes encoding transcription factors in higher plants that regulate meristem function, indeterminate growth, phase changes or vascular formation.As a first step, reporter constructs will be used to identify genes that show tissue specific expression patterns consistent with a role in regulating important developmental steps.Qualifications: The applicant should be highly motivated and have a PhD degree in plant molecular biology, plant physiology, developmental biology or related field.The applicant should have a good understanding of plant biology and experience in molecular biology (gene cloning, PCR etc).Experience in work with moss or Arabidopsis is a merit but not a prerequisite.Knowledge of developmental and/or evolutionary biology is desirable.The applicant should have proven skills in both oral and written scientific English. Documents that should be included in the application: CV, Publication list, PhD diploma, copies of no more than five publications.A short description (2-4 pages) of previous research, current research interests and other activities of relevance for the position.Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of at least two reference persons.All application documents should be written in English.SLU is an equal opportunity employer.An application, marked with ref no 729/08, should be submitted to the Registrar of SLU, P.O.